BP PIPELINE LAUNCH

Commissioned by Polar Media, Ripple Effects director Justin Hall records the launch of the largest man made structure in the world; a seven kilometers long pipeline and tow head being dragged into position off the wild Scottish coastline…

Getting to grips with objects on this scale presents a special kind of creative challenge. How do you make pipework look sexy?  Working with hundreds of tons of liquid nitrogen under pressure isn’t my favorite environment either but the sheer scale of the task being undertaken hear is extraordinary. Commanding a team of 200 men, the launch site controllers ushered BP’s new supply line into the frozen ocean. The images captured for Polar Media will form part of their highly complex interactive project that recreates every detail of every component.

The film side charted the physical launch process.

By shooting on a Canon EOS 5DMK2 and armed with an array of hi-end lenses (we love the EF  100-400mm L IS UM) Justin was able capture the action in exquisite detail.   The real complexity emerged when detailing the structures. Shooting over 5000 images Justin painstakingly mapped out a asset strategy for the digital build, compiling the images in a folder structure ready for Polars teams.

Its an astonishing project, and great to have been selected for the challenge by the extremly creative guys at Polar Media. As a very strong agency with many high profile clients, their work requires the highest standards so again it was great to be trusted and left alone to get on with the it”.