4×4 Drivers Tell Their Story

As a keen ‘Green Laner’ – one who drives unsurfaced roads for creation, to give it a formal description, I am often asked to do work for the Green Lane Association. There is a lot of anti vehicle feeling in the countryside, occasionally justified by a small number of inconsiderate individuals but largely unfair.

We wanted to make a film that showed the variety of people who go out laning, who they are and the amount the activity means to them. Various companies and the association itself provided contacts and after a lot of calls and emails we created a shortlist, found locations and went out to film across a week around the UK.

There are probably very few production companies other than ours who could complete such a project, one requiring both specialist vehicles and filming knowledge.

Working with the Green Lane Association we recorded an interview on what turned out to be Amarue Day at the local aerodrome, providing an ambient backdrop of planes taking off and landing – ‘circuit and bumps’.

We used AI audio enhancements to remove the aeroplanes yet leave the voice natural. Traditionally the type of treatment used to combat background noise over bakes audio introducing a robotic element to any speech. With AI this does not happen – the natural properties are preserved, and the overall audio quality is improved.

As often on our projects we met great people and heard remarkable stories – many of which made it int to final cut. The Green Lane association are hoping the film will let the public see the diversity of people who use vehicles to access the countryside and how important it is to them.