Today, Ubisoft released a new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, showcasing one of the most ambitious filming projects ever to hit London’s skyline, in celebration of the upcoming launch of the game. For the first time, a Bald Eagle was flown over London, launched from some of the most iconic and tallest buildings in Europe with a 4K camera attached to its back, offering stunning, never before seen footage of the UK’s capital city from an Eagle’s eye.
The video was made to showcase the new Eagle Vision feature in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate- while the in game Eagle Vision works a lot like the Detective Vision mode in the Batman: Arkham games, the video in question shows off a glorious view of some of London’s most iconic vistas top down- a hell of a way to make a statement, and to get people talking about Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, that’s for sure.
“The ambition of this project was huge and it was months in planning to make sure we could achieve the stunning content that we set out to capture,” said Tom Goldberger, Senior PR Manager at Ubisoft. “We worked with a fantastic production team, vastly experienced eagle handler and highly trained eagle to ensure the project was a huge success. We’re delighted to have finally been able to bring to life one of the most iconic features in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.”
Falconry Expert Chris O’Donnell, along with his 29 year old Bald Eagle, Sidney, were recruited to make the filming concept a reality. “An Eagle has never been flown to this extent in an urban environment, so this was a very exciting project to be involved in,” O’Donnell said. “Sidney is a Bald Eagle who is used to large crowds of people and was highly adaptable to a busy city environment. We developed a bespoke harness and fitting for the camera and spent months testing it for comfort and stability. We had good flying conditions, incredible launch points and the footage we captured was utterly remarkable.”
The video really is breathtaking- no matter what your thoughts on Assassin’s Creed may be, this is something you owe it to yourself to watch. Check it out for yourself below.