Drone film project takes flight on Yorkshire Coast to showcase Scarborough DJs

Husband and wife Helen and Richard Mitchell are creating a “sunrise to sunset” feature film promoting DJs from Scarborough and Whitby, whose industry has been one of the worst affected by the pandemic.

Festivals, nightclubs and live music venues have been some of the hardest-hit businesses during the pandemic, and have been shut now for more than 15 months.

Helen Mitchell, founder, said: “The project came about when Richard saw some amazing drone footage of the DJ Charlotte de Witte at Mogren Fortress in Montenegro.

"He told me he would love to recreate something similar, and as we are regular visitors to Whitby, I contacted Scarborough Borough Council to see if they could help with filming locations and they loved the idea.

"I contacted several local Facebook sites appealing for DJs and soon came up with several recommendations!”

The film features sweeping drone shots as it moves along the coast between Whitby and Scarborough showcasing four DJs at landmark locations, including Whitby East Pier, Scarborough Spa and Peasholm Park.

The project is a not-for-profit collaboration between Drone Support Services, founded by Richard, and events company Secret Sub Rosa Events.

Helen said the original plan was to find one young DJ to feature in the film, but as several names kept coming up during their search they decided to extend the film to several DJs and locations.

To achieve the “sunrise to sunset” effect, filming began at 4am on Whitby Pier with DJ Smokin-J overlooking the sea and finished with DJ Kyle Rees in Peasholm Park’s Japanese Garden at 10pm.

“During the pandemic, the loss of opportunities to dance and enjoy live music has hit the entertainment business and those who love festivals and clubbing extremely hard,” Helen said. “It was something that Richard wanted to address as someone who has enjoyed dance music for many years, he was inspired to support local DJs in some way.”

The finished film, featuring DJs Kyle Rees, Smokin-J, Deelicious and Big Louis, will soon be released on Elevate Project UK’s social media pages.