Video Archives - Page 10 of 12

Come to London! 1966 Style

The video above is part of British Pathe’s archival footage of London.

Come To London, by British Pathe in 1966. This short clip shows a couple using a “water motorbike” on the Thames and Britt Ekland cutting a publicity stunt cake that Peter Sellers drivers out of in a Minnie!

You can watch the full 8 minute video here.

I really love these old movies about how London looked in the past. It’s funny how some places, such as the Houses of Parliament, look exactly the same as today. Whereas other things, such a reporters working on fleet street, have virtually disapered. A nice reminder of how some things change and others remain the same in London, but that it’s always hard to predict which will be which.

Who Didn’t Jet Packs Ever Take Off?

The film above is from:

Jet Man, from the 1966 British Pathe reel “Jump Jet”. Filmed on location at Brands Hatch in Kent, UK.

It’s intersting to watch because the Jet pack operator seems to be in near total control. It’s always puzzled me that we were able to do these things in the 60s, but can’t widely do them today. I’d love to get the chance to use a jet pack. Anyone know why these never took off, aside from the obvious safety risks?

TUBE TUBE 8 – Masterplan – London Underground Short Film Series

Masterplan is the eighth film in the TUBE TUBE series. It goes outside the normal format of focusing on predominately white stories – instead it focuses on the lives of two immigrants to London. More interesting still is the fact none of the dialogue is in English, but is in Urdu (I think anyway). In my opinion, the format really works and is one of my favourite of the whole series so far. I’m glad too, because I felt the quality of the films may have been slipping a bit recently.

This film stars Hassan Raza and Asif Sayed Mohammed, who both put in great performances. Really hope to see them in some future episodes of the series. As always you can follow @tubetubelondon on twitter, Like them on facebook and most importantly subscribe to their YouTube channel.

What Were Hammersmith and Fulham Council Thinking When They Made This Video?

I’m not sure if the video above is serious production by Hammersmith and Fulham Council or not. I found it via reddit user Scary_, with the general consensus seeming to be that it’s real. If real, it’s nice that they’re thanking their residents for saving the council millions. Residents will feel even better when they see that the council haven’t wasted those savings on a high budget thank you video.

30 Second Shard Inauguration Timelapse Video – Almost Makes It Look Good

The video above is a very short 30 second timelapse of the Shard inauguration laser and light show. Watching it sped up almost makes the whole show look good. Certainly much better than being there in person was. The video was made by Mattia Bicchi, who also made the amazing London Architecture in Motion Video, I linked to last month. He’s fast becoming one of my favourite London videographers.

What did you think of the Shard laser and light show? Leave your comments below.

Insomnia by Faithless Part of Play Me, I’m Yours At City of London Festival

Great video of someone playing Insomnia by Faithless on a piano, spotted by a friend of mine via Reddit. The pianos are part of the Play Me, I’m Yours artwork installation by Luke Jerram. There are currently 50 such pianos scattered across London as part of the City of London Festival for it’s Golden Jubilee.

Have you seen anyone else that’s better?

Slow Sunday – Video By Drew McFayden

What better choice for a Sunday afternoon than a video called Slow Sunday. As the name suggests it shows London slowed down – specifically the areas around City Hall and the South side of Tower Bridge. It was created by Drew McFayden as an experiment using a Canon 600D with a Canon 50mm and 18-135mm lens (I don’t know what that means, but I assume it’s pretty good).

He says that

I spent a few hours late Sunday afternoon taking shots. In a few hours I took 150 shots, mostly short takes lasting around 30sec -1min. some was unusable but the were some nice shots as well. It was all shot hand held without any tripod (I don’t own one at the moment).

Overall, I think the video shows a lot of promise but isn’t quite as polished as it could be. This may be due in part to issues he had with editing it on an old computer. However, I really enjoyed the use of Philip Glass’ music as it creates a bit of a haunting feeling. I look forward to seeing what Drew comes out with next.

TUBE TUBE 7 – Advert – London Underground Short Film Series

This is the 7th film in the generally wonderful TUBE TUBE series. However, I have to say it is probably my least favourite of the bunch so far. There isn’t anything wrong with it, just not anything particularly amusing or engaging about it. The Youtube description says it’s based on a true story – which is what it feels like – just one you had to be there to find funny.

If this is your first experience with the TUBE TUBE series and you felt meh about it; don’t let it put you off! Make sure you watch the rest of the fantastic series – either from the TUBE TUBE tag or from their YouTube channel. You can also Like them on Facebook or follow them @tubetubelondon.

Still looking forward to all future instalments.

Must Watch London Architecture in Motion Video

I really want to get the word out about this amazing video of London’s architecture shot in Hyperlapse. It was shot by Mattia Bicchi and features pretty much every single iconic landmark in London. These include:

King’s Cross Station, Strata Tower, Palestra Building, Royal Albert Hall, British Museum, RBS Building, Wembley Stadium, Heron Tower, Broadgate Tower, O2 Arena, St. Giles Building, Tower Bridge, Shard Tower, National Maritime Museum, Wellington Arch, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Canary Wharf.

You can learn more about Mattia from his website, follow him on twitter @Matt_hi (protected account) and visit his Facebook page.

I was a little worried when I first watched the video on Youtube because it only had 550 views. However, it turns out you can also watch it on Vimeo here, where it seems to have gotten a lot more love. I really look forward to seeing what Mattia comes out with next.

Two Helicopters Fly Through The Middle of Tower Bridge

The two videos show two helicopters flying though the middle of Tower Bridge. The first clip I found via this post on Reddit from user nonlinearmedia. It shows the Helicopters flying in from the West towards the East.

The second video was found via the related video feature of Youtube and shows the exact same fly though, but from the other side of Tower Bridge (facing West). From the video description it is claimed that:

The spectacular event was believed to be for the film ‘The Arrival’, a short film being directed by Danny Boyle, which will be shown during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

…

Crowds thronged both sides of the River Thames around iconic Tower Bridge as road traffic was stopped to allow the two helicopters to fly through — not once but three times.

The only other time aircraft have flown through Tower Bridge was on 5 April 1968 when an RAF pilot, Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock, flew his Hawker Hunter jet between the bridge towers in an unauthorised stunt.

No idea if that’s true or not, but either way, I think you’ll agree, two helicopters flying though Tower Bridge looks pretty cool.