The Thames is a bustling hive of all sorts of activity throughout the year – indeed, a quick glance at our Services page illustrates just how varied Livett’s work can be every day.
However, the number of TV and film productions on London’s winding river always seems to ramp up somewhat as we enter the winter months.
So it came as no surprise that yet another Hollywood blockbuster pitched up in the capital at the start of October, as filming for the latest instalment of the Transformers franchise took place.
Livett’s were heavily involved in this, before days later assisting in a test flight of a landmark new jet pack over the river.
Here’s how Livett’s helped make it all happen:
Transformers: The Last Knight
Various vessels of the Livett’s fleet were involved in filming for the latest Transformers sequel, which took place on Sunday 2 October. The scene required the closure of Tower Bridge and the Thames itself to facilitate low-flying helicopters and high-speed vessels.
On the day, the Scheldemond was used as a camera platform, while the Eddie C, Lima Lima I and Alfie were used as action vessels. Livett’s also provided the essential marine coordination required for the shoot, ensuring all activity on the river was delivered to the production team’s requirements.
The key to this particular shoot was timing. Two helicopters were in use for an hour for flyover shots, while two vessels worked under Tower Bridge as vehicles drove over it. We had to guarantee every element on water, land and air worked together cohesively in time, giving the production team the exact shot they wanted.
When helicopters are involved with filming, there is no room for error – you have to get the shot.
The jet pack man
Just two days later, Livett’s were involved in more sci-fi occurrences within the Royal Docks.
In Royal Victoria Dock, just by the landing of the cross-river cable cars, one daredevil Australian flew above the river for four minutes in a state of the art jet pack.
We provided the safety boat and safety rescue team for this highly dangerous and spectacular stunt. The jet pack reached speeds of up to 100km/h and, while the pilot had full confidence in his space-age equipment, he was able to successfully perform the activity safe in the knowledge that he had the best safety team around if it went wrong.
We’re glad to say we weren’t called into use on this occasion!
It’s better by water. Contact Livett’s today if you have any marine enquiries.
