Birnbeck Pier in Weston super mare was commissioned in 1867 and is still the only Pier in the UK which links the mainland to an Island.

The Pier used to be the hive of holiday and entertainment activity but it has now been left to decay beyond repair.

During World War II the pier was commissioned as HMS Birnbeck by the Admiralty as part of the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD) for research into new weapons. The pier reopened after the war, but the number of visitors and steamer passengers declined. The final excursion visited the pier in 1979

Birnbeck looks a sinister place now in a side of town that Weston Super Mare seems to have forgotten. Such a sad way for a once grand spectacle of huge public interest to end up.

During the filming of this the drone picked up on a sign on the floor near the old RNLI Lifeboat station which simply reads "Death Lies This Way", This may mean don't step out on to now rotted walkway for fear of falling through or it may just be spelling out the future for Birnbeck Pier, either way I thought it made for a good title for this short film.

"Death Lies This Way" was filmed on a DJI Mavic pro and edited in Final Cut Pro.

Filmed in 2.7K at 24p. Cinelike with a custom setting of -1-1-1 and edited in Final Cut with 50% Black and White added, a tad of sharpening and a little contrast tweaking.

Your comments and thoughts, as always appreciated.

Excellent!

Man, you have a knack for this stuff!  And you also pick some really interesting locations...

Wow-great work on this!  Very smooth work--did you pan by hand or use something like Litchi or Autopilot?

WolfgangStiller Posted at 2017-1-6 06:56
Wow-great work on this!  Very smooth work--did you pan by hand or use something like Litchi or Autopilot?

Hi Wolfgang, I did it manually. I would have like to have got close up and used the tripod mode on a few sections but that wasn't an option being so far away from the pier and not being able to have a good eye on what was close by. Thanks for your comments

BuzzCut Posted at 2017-1-6 05:52
Man, you have a knack for this stuff!  And you also pick some really interesting locations...

Many Thanks BuzzCut.

You're getting good at this! Shame the politicians/local council/entrepreneurs haven't had the same dedication. Birnbeck has received so many broken promises over the last 40 years and it looks set to join Clevedon as a relic of what once was.

Very good video one of the best I've seen filmed with a mavic. I remember seeing that pier when I was 9 years old I'll never forget it. It's got a lot worse since I clapped eyes on it 40 years ago.

Airobotix Posted at 2017-1-6 08:12
You're getting good at this! Shame the politicians/local council/entrepreneurs haven't had the same dedication. Birnbeck has received so many broken promises over the last 40 years and it looks set to join Clevedon as a relic of what once was.

Thankyou Airobotix, Birnbeck is in a place that is just far enough away from the main town for it to be out of sight and out of mind. The whole structure is shot so there really is only one option and that unfortunately looks to be the end of Birnbeck Pier. Now, Clevedon Pier is on my hit list! ;)

Warrior200 Posted at 2017-1-6 08:20
Very good video one of the best I've seen filmed with a mavic. I remember seeing that pier when I was 9 years old I'll never forget it. It's got a lot worse since I clapped eyes on it 40 years ago.

Your very kind warrior200. Thankyou. It's such a great shame it's been left to rot!

WOW, very nice.
Great job.

Jon Avery Posted at 2017-1-6 08:54
Thankyou Airobotix, Birnbeck is in a place that is just far enough away from the main town for it to be out of sight and out of mind. The whole structure is shot so there really is only one option and that unfortunately looks to be the end of Birnbeck Pier. Now, Clevedon Pier is on my hit list! ;)

You do seem to like mud! My Mavic is on order and when I get it, I'm going to film some mud as well....under the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Jon Avery Posted at 2017-1-6 08:03
Hi Wolfgang, I did it manually. I would have like to have got close up and used the tripod mode on a few sections but that wasn't an option being so far away from the pier and not being able to have a good eye on what was close by. Thanks for your comments

That's impressive. You were very smooth on the sticks and got some great video.  

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-1-6 09:01
WOW, very nice.
Great job.

Cheers Ken.

Jon Avery Posted at 2017-1-6 08:54
Thankyou Airobotix, Birnbeck is in a place that is just far enough away from the main town for it to be out of sight and out of mind. The whole structure is shot so there really is only one option and that unfortunately looks to be the end of Birnbeck Pier. Now, Clevedon Pier is on my hit list! ;)

Yeah... a fresh coat of paint will fix that baby right up!  Great video!

Wow, very nicely done, and yeah, that placed looked sketchy enough from the air to keep me off of it in fear for my life...

Interesting footage , I like it.

Ex Machina Posted at 2017-1-6 18:05
Wow, very nicely done, and yeah, that placed looked sketchy enough from the air to keep me off of it in fear for my life...

Thankyou, Ex Machina, You can walk out on low tide as many do but you take your life in your hands as the structure is super unsafe. So sad to see it rotting away ;(

love your work

Ricky Wu Posted at 2017-1-7 04:58
love your work

Thanks Ricky, I really appreciate your comments

Absolutely brilliant, I enjoyed that.

Looks great. I prefer a bit more cinematic: black and white and some grain. Just my two cents . Well done.

Really nice! I particularly like the beginning approach and ending departure. The music is the perfect haunting match for the black and white subject. My only critique, and I've never accomplished anything even close to what you have done here, I felt that the transitions were too abrupt. A dissolve or something smoother felt like it would match the music and the subject matter. Perhaps you did the abrupt transitions on purpose, but I thought it would be smoother and hold the mood with a more gentle transition.  All that said, I really liked it.  

Gagaryn Posted at 2017-1-7 11:33
Absolutely brilliant, I enjoyed that.

Thanks Gagaryn.

NavigatorNL Posted at 2017-1-7 12:17
Looks great. I prefer a bit more cinematic: black and white and some grain. Just my two cents . Well done.

Thanks for your  comments  Navigator, I really enjoy others comments and perspectives, I didn't think of grain but that sounds like a plan or a future film. Thanks

Submanager Posted at 2017-1-7 17:42
Really nice! I particularly like the beginning approach and ending departure. The music is the perfect haunting match for the black and white subject. My only critique, and I've never accomplished anything even close to what you have done here, I felt that the transitions were too abrupt. A dissolve or something smoother felt like it would match the music and the subject matter. Perhaps you did the abrupt transitions on purpose, but I thought it would be smoother and hold the mood with a more gentle transition.  All that said, I really liked it.

Thanks Submanager. I will certainly take those points on board and look into dissolving on another project. Appreciate your comments