Southampton Airport’s 164m runway extension may not sound like a dramatic change, but it made a world of difference—allowing aircraft like the Airbus A320 to take off fully loaded, opening new routes, and making the airport more viable for low-cost carriers. The entire construction took place overnight to avoid disruption, and I was brought in to create a short film capturing the project’s journey.

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The first challenge was the time-lapse. We set up a camera to record for four months, but there was no perfect vantage point, just one small hill, and strict airside restrictions meant the camera had to stay below a metre in height. It quickly became clear the time-lapse would only be useful for brief moments in the final edit, rather than being the backbone of the film.

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Then came the drone work, and as you’d expect at an airport, this was no simple task. Every flight needed airside passes, security checks, and clearance from the control tower, all while navigating a live working airport. We had to plan our shots carefully, knowing we’d only have short windows of time before bringing the drone back down. In the end, we decided to film at two key moments in the project: first, when the groundwork was laid, and again when the extension was fully marked, looking like a finished runway.

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But the real heart of the story came from the Senior Project Manager who had spent four years overseeing the build. When we first met, it was obvious that no one could tell this story better than him. Instead of filming in a quiet office, we decided to embrace the environment and record airside, next to the runway itself. It was far from ideal for sound, as every time a plane prepared for take-off, we had to pause. I also learned just how many trucks and service vehicles roam at airport, with a diverse range of bleeping sounds… But it was real, and it put the audience right there next to the runway.

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That’s always the goal: bring people into the story. Controlled environments are great, but sometimes the best way to engage an audience is to immerse them in the energy of the moment.

This project was a reminder that the best stories aren’t just told, they’re felt.