UK company FlightShows has been planning the display for about a year, said director George Chatburn, and a lot of thought has gone into its content.
There was also discussion about where the drones would operate from, and after liaising with the Guernsey authorities it was decided to use the east arm of St Peter Port Harbour, which will be a restricted zone on the day.
FlightShows has worked closely with States marketing manager Jo Ferguson on the content of the display.
‘We basically went through the whole process with her and talked about different ideas, what sort of themes she’s going for, what sort of energy levels she’s looking at – whether it’s a high energy pop show or whether it’s more of a storytelling moving moment,’ said Mr Chatburn.
He and his partner Eoin O’Grady established FlightShows in 2020, with Mr Chatburn coming from a background behind the scenes in musical theatre, and Mr O’Grady having already spent hundreds of hours flying drones for TV shows and films.
Their philosophy is that the shows should be more than just shapes in the air.
‘We really spend a lot of time working on the creative elements of our show and making sure that it is a show from start to finish,’ said Mr Chatburn.
‘We believe it should be synced up to music. It should tell a story. It should be a theatrical production in the sky.’
Once the number of drones involved is decided, the designers work out what shapes they can create and a storyboard is drafted and the music chosen.
Initially this is all done on a computer screen before a test flight of the whole show takes place, which happened last week in the case of the Liberation Day display.
Each of the drones is programmed to fly a specific sequence of moves, with GPS being used to help them locate themselves, plus one other element.
‘We use what we call RTK, which is basically a ground anchor. By giving the drone a base location, it has a reference to a specific place on the ground.’
While GPS accuracy is usually one metre, the addition of the ground anchor allows an accuracy of about 10cm. With the show taking place east of the harbour, Mr Chatburn said the best viewing point would be from the seafront, without being too far north or south. That will also allow people watching to hear the music which is an important part of the display.
The accompanying soundtrack has been put together by local composer Jean Owen, using a variety of well-known pieces to complement the display.
The show will also be livestreamed at liberationday.gg/livestreams.
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