FPV Drone Flythrough of Plan B’s Live Materials Recovery Facility in Cardiff

Cinematic FPV drone filming through Plan B Management Solutions’ fully operational Materials Recovery Facility in Cardiff, captured by Emmy-winning FPV pilot and drone cinematographer Lewis Whyld. The flight followed recyclable material through its complete journey across the site, moving around excavators, forklifts, delivery trucks, heavy processing machinery, giant sorting magnets and teams working on the line. Some parts of the route required flying through gaps only a few inches wide, demanding precise close-proximity control while operating inside a live industrial environment. The result was a continuous FPV journey through the machinery and processes of a facility capable of handling up to 75,000 tonnes of material a year.

Continuous FPV drone filming through Plan B’s live Cardiff Materials Recovery Facility, following recyclable material through conveyors, sorting machinery and giant magnets while flying around excavators, forklifts, delivery trucks and active staff — including precision passes through gaps only inches wide.

Project Details

Client / Facility: Plan B Management Solutions
Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK
Role: FPV Pilot & Drone Cinematographer — Lewis Whyld
Filming: Industrial FPV drone cinematography
FPV Platform: Whyldthings Moonshot — used for all FPV filming
Facility: Fully operational Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)
Capacity: Up to 75,000 tonnes of material per year
Coverage: Excavators, forklifts, delivery trucks, conveyors, sorting machinery, giant magnets, processing equipment, staff working on the line and the full recycling process
Flight Style: Continuous close-proximity FPV following recyclable material through the facility
Technical Challenge: Precision flying through gaps only a few inches wide while maintaining continuity around moving machinery, vehicles and live operations
Environment: Active industrial site with heavy machinery, vehicles and personnel operating throughout
Operation: Fully planned FPV filming inside a live recycling facility
Challenges: Moving vehicles, heavy machinery, narrow flight paths, staff activity, signal management, safe clearances and maintaining continuous visual storytelling through the material’s complete journey
Client Feature: Plan B Management Solutions - Cardiff MRF launch video
Facility Information: Plan B Management Solutions - Cardiff Materials Recovery Facility
Specialism: Industrial / Manufacturing / Recycling / Infrastructure / Indoor FPV / Commercial Cinematography

Following the Recycling Process with Moonshot

The Plan B shoot was designed around following recyclable material through the facility as continuously as possible, using Whyldthings Moonshot to move through spaces that would have been difficult to access with a larger camera platform.

Moonshot’s compact size, low weight and endurance were particularly useful inside the live MRF. The aircraft could move close to conveyors and sorting machinery, pass through gaps only a few inches wide, and continue through different stages of the process without constantly breaking the sequence into short flights.

The route was built around the actual movement of material through the plant, weaving past working staff, excavators, forklifts, delivery vehicles and heavy machinery before following the recycling stream through conveyors, sorting systems and giant magnets.

That made the FPV flight more than an industrial establishing shot. It became a visual journey through the complete recycling process, using the drone’s movement to explain how the facility works while operating safely inside a fully active production environment.

Specialist FPV for Industrial & Operational Environments

The Plan B project sits within a wider body of FPV and drone work in industrial, infrastructure and operational environments, where the filming has to work around live processes rather than stopping them.

I use specialist FPV systems to move through factories, processing facilities, ports and other complex sites, combining close-proximity camera movement with the planning, coordination and control required around machinery, vehicles and working personnel.

At Plan B, the value of FPV was the ability to follow the recycling process from the inside — moving with the material through parts of the facility that conventional cameras could not access in the same continuous way. For industrial productions, that makes FPV particularly effective when the brief is not just to show the scale of a site, but to explain how it actually works.

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Planning FPV Filming in an Industrial or Operational Environment?

Through Whyldthings, I provide specialist FPV and drone cinematography for factories, recycling plants, manufacturing facilities, ports, logistics sites and other complex operational environments.

Using lightweight bespoke platforms such as Moonshot, I can design close-proximity routes through machinery, vehicles and working spaces while maintaining the control, endurance and precision needed for live industrial filming.

From route planning and risk assessment through to coordination with site teams and filming around active operations, the aim is to create ambitious camera movement without disrupting the process being documented.

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