Independent producer Doc Hearts has created a “drone’s eye view of history” for Hearst Networks in EMEA. Entitled Flying Through History, the five-part season of short form digital documentaries will be launched on January 7 2025, across HISTORY Play, Sky HISTORY VOD and social media platforms.
Doc Hearts said the series will provide a dynamic perspective on British history through hard-to-access places and untold stories. Using First Person View (FPV) drones, audiences will get to see historic locations from angles and heights they’d never normally be able to experience. In addition, they will be introduced to locations that they wouldn’t usually be able to gain access to.
As well as providing historical insights, the films offer a “visceral viewing experience in which the sheer pleasure of flying through narrow spaces and into apertures is at the core. Native drone shots are used almost exclusively – as these are favoured over anything that could be shot by helicopter or by body-mounted stabilising cameras.”
Adam Gee, head of content at Doc Hearts, said: “It has been a delight to bust out of the studio with this digital-first series in the most dramatic way possible – by flying over, round and through difficult-to-reach historic sites in an entertaining way that brings together the history expert and the urban explorer.”
Sam Pearson, head of short form commissioning at Hearst Networks EMEA, added: “Utilising cutting-edge drone technology, Flying Through History offers an escape through Britain’s rich historical tapestry with thrilling visual storytelling. Doc Hearts have delivered an immersive, smart and funny series that viewers are going to love.”
The series has been shot on location around the UK, with each episode featuring a different, contrasting location. Episodes cover everything from Mediaeval to Victorian, from the dissolution of the monasteries to the boom in the railways.
The project marks the first collaboration between Doc Hearts and Hearst Networks EMEA. The indie aims to expand its drone-led series formats to historic sites worldwide as part of the Digital-First pillar of its strategy.
