Access invaluable at Royal Wedding

Following last week's story about the contribution made by access equipment and rental companies at the wedding of Prince William of Wales to Katherine Middleton, EPL Skylift, the vehicle mount division of Lavendon Access Services, has reported back and sent through some images taken on the day.

EPL Skylift was praised for its contribution to the television coverage by ITN and the BBC. Both companies have described their coverage the best they have ever provided at a Royal event - and filming from high platforms was crucial to the spectacle.

James Marchant, Key Account Manager (Media), at EPL Skylift said, "It was a very successful project for us. We had been planning and preparing for the event since the day the Royal Wedding was announced so we're very pleased with how smoothly everything went."

Jim Cathcart, the Outside Broadcast Coordinator for ITN, said: "That was the best outside broadcast event I've worked on during 40 years in the business, and the team from EPL Sky Lift certainly played a major part. Their work was stunning.

"Their professionalism and contribution during planning and on the day was first class. It allowed us to concentrate on other elements of the event and to broadcast some breathtaking images from the platforms. It's always great to work with people who know exactly what they are doing and do it superbly well."

ITN booked a 100m TTS1000 Ruthmann for Wellington Barracks, a 62m MDT Bronto for Horse Guards Parade, two 50m MDT Brontos, one for Whitehall and one for The Mall, and a 27m T270 Ruthmann which went to Hyde Park. The BBC took a 58m T580 Ruthmann, a 37m XDT Bronto and two 35m MDT Brontos.

The 100 metre Ruthmann is the largest asset in Lavendon's fleet and had been transferred from Lavendon's German operation, Gardemann, especially for the wedding. Its extra height provided dramatic panoramic shots of Buckingham Palace and helped film the RAF flypasts.

In other cases, horizontal reach played a critical role. For example, ITN used a 50m Bronto MDT to gain 23 metres of reach that placed a camera directly over The Mall, resulting in perfect shots of the Royal procession and the many thousands of spectators.