Crane on the Move: Drone and ground Filming "Margaret" From Southampton to ABP Newport
Filming the move of "Margaret" - a quayside crane relocated from the Port of Southampton to ABP Newport - captured from the air and the ground at both ends.
Pre-Production
Briefed directly by ABP to capture the move of the crane "Margaret" from the Port of Southampton to ABP Newport, filming at both ends of the operation. Planned aerial and ground coverage at each port, coordinated access and security clearance with both ABP Southampton and ABP Newport teams, and completed airspace planning, risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for combined aerial and ground operations across two separate live, secured port environments.
Production
Filmed the departure from the Port of Southampton and the arrival at ABP Newport, using a combination of aerial and ground coverage at each port. Captured the scale of the lift and the wider quay environments from the air, alongside ground-level detail of the crane and the specialist teams handling it, while keeping clear of live operations at both sites.
Post-Production
Edited and graded the air and ground footage from both ports into a complete two-port visual record of the move, finished for use as both promotional brand content and an operational record of an inter-port investment across ABP's network.
Moving a quayside crane between two ports is a serious engineering exercise. They are huge, heavy and complex pieces of kit, and putting one to work at a new port involves careful planning, specialist lifting and transport, and - at the receiving end - bringing the crane into a live, working environment without disrupting it. ABP commissioned us to document one such move in 2025, when the crane known as "Margaret" was relocated from the Port of Southampton to The Port of Newport.
The move is itself a story worth telling. Newport is the UK's leading steel-handling port and a key part of ABP's Wales & Short Sea Ports region - exactly the kind of operation that benefits from added crane capacity. ABP shared the story under the banner "Making the most of our assets across ABP" - and that framing says everything about why this move mattered. It's the kind of network-wide investment that ABP's scale makes possible: redeploying assets where they'll deliver the most value, rather than buying new. Our job was to capture the move from both ends, in the air and on the ground.
The shoot covered:
- The crane's departure from The Port of Southampton
- The crane's arrival at The Port of Newport
- Both aerial and ground coverage at each end of the operation
- Promotional and operational record content for ABP's channels
Filming an operation like this is about combining storytelling with documentary clarity. Aerial coverage gives the scale of the lift and the environment - quays, vessels, the wider port - while ground-level filming captures the detail of the crane itself and the specialist teams making it happen. Robert Wynn and Sons provided the barge for the move, and King Lifting were the lifting contractor, handling the crane at both ports. Working across two different ports means duplicating that planning, coordination and safety preparation twice, and our long-standing relationship with ABP and our CAA permissions made the access at each end possible.
The result was a complete, two-port visual record of an inter-port investment - a piece of content that works as both promotional brand material and a genuine operational record of how ABP redeploys assets across its network.
Equipment Used
Filming Locations
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