Sky diving

May 29 2014

BASE jumping off the tallest building in the world

Base jumping is an intense and adrenalin filled sport and the World Champion Soul Flyers Vince Reffet and Fred Fugen take this craft to a new level leaping from the world’s tallest building in Dubai. The pair gear up and are sponsored by Skydive Dubai to accomplish the goal of free falling from the pinnacle of Burj Khalifa setting a new world record. There are several excellent and up close shots from both a third base jumper and a helicopter that helps give you the full experience of leaping off the building and having the ground rushing up to meet you. With bright yellow jump suits and a red smoke, the video provides a very thrilling and eye-catching sight of the record setting moment. The Dubai Film Production brought the video to life and the music is licensed by The Rights Workshop.

This video, uploaded just one month ago by Skydive Dubai, already has almost 6.8 million views and over 22,000 likes. It is available to view in youtube’s new 2160p 4k high definition. In the video you see Soul Flyers World Champions Vince effete and Fred Fugen break the world record for BASE jumping by jumping off of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building at 828 meters (2,2716 ft, 6 inches). BASE jumping has been pursued by action sports enthusiasts since the late 70s. BASE is an acronym for four commonly jumped from objects: building, antenna, span and Earth (cliff).

+ Who

This video was put together by the Dubai Film Production in partnership with Skydive Dubai and features the base jumping skills of Soul Flyers Vince Reffet and Fred Fugen. These two world champions take the sport of base jumping to a new level by taking on the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa. Vince and Fred leap from the pinnacle of the tower setting a new world record of 828 meters. Vince first saw the building three years before attempting the jump and he knew it would be a dream to take it on. The pair of French skydiving veterans trained for a week to prepare for this record setting event.

The video was sponsored by Skydive Dubai, who offer skydives over the extraordinary sights in Dubai. They also sponsor skydiving teams and athletes, including Soul Flyers World Champions Vince Reffet and Fred Fugen. Reffet and Fugen are French skydivers who have been diving and jumping for over a decade. Their parents of both were seasoned parachutists. They joined together on the French national Freefly team in 2004 and then soon after both joined the Skydive Empuria parachute club in Spain, the most prestigious skydiving school in Europe. They won World Championships in Freefly in 2004, 2006 and 2008. In addition to freefly and BASE jump, they are enthusiasts of canopy piloting, extreme landings, wind tunnel skydiving, wing suit flying and speed riding.

+ Where

The Burj Khalifa, or Khalifa Tower, is the world’s tallest building and located in Dubai. It is the tallest man-made structure in the world and was completed in 2009 and opened in 2010. The tower was designed and built by the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill from Chicago. The building was designed to be the centerpiece of a huge development in Dubai to diversify the country’s economy from oil to tourism. It also holds the record for the tallest skyscraper, the building with the most floors (163) and the world’s highest elevator. Dubai is an emirate in the UAE, located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf. It is home to over 2 million people.

From the adrenalin pumping leap off the 828 meter building to the ground this whole video takes place as a base jump off the world’s tallest building in Dubai, Burj Khalifa. The Skydive Dubai helps set up this location for the pair of extreme skydivers Vince Reffet and Fred Fugen to set a new world record.

+ What

The video starts off by giving you a good idea of just how tall and immense the Burj Khalifa building is peaking with a orange tinted sunset shot of the platform at the pinnacle (0:23) where Vince and Fred will begin the leap. A little bit of dramatic lead up comes when the pair are standing on the edge of the platform (0:29) geared up and ready to go with a helicopter flying overhead in slow motion. It totally sets the scene and gets you on the edge of your chair waiting for what will happen next. The wide shot of Dubai in the background and this pinnacle stretching up into the sky (0:31) again let’s you experience just how high the 828 meters is above the ground. The jump begins with Vince and Fred having red smoke trailing off their feet as they lean over and leave the platform (0:37). The duo glides through the air taking your breath away (0:50) as they plummet toward the ground as they circle around the building. We get up close and personal with a point of view shot (1:04) as the two come together and grab hands to perform a little mid-air acrobatics twirling and spinning together. A shot from a third jumper (1:10) lets you see the two spin with Dubai in the background before they separate (1:13) and prepare to land back on Earth. The parachutes both deploy (1:17) and the intense journey is nearly complete. Both are safely on the ground (1:26) celebrating their triumph in the new record with the realization of a dream come true.

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Feb 22 2014

Skydiver knocked out in midair

James Lee is a very lucky man. He was diving out of a plane with some friends when he was was accidentally struck and knocked unconscious by another jumper. The other skydivers realized something was wrong and came to his help. They gathered around him making sure his parachute would open. James woke up under his canopy just moments before hitting the ground, a true miracle. James says he feels blessed that they realized something was wrong, had they not, he would have died that day.

+ Who

James Lee a 25 year old was taking part in a sky-dive jump when just seconds after leaping from the plane he was hit by another skydiver.  The blow knocked him out and sent him hurtling towards the ground uncontrollably.  Thankfully two other skydivers noticed something was wrong and chased after their unconscious colleague.  After realizing he was unresponsive the two men managed to roll James into a more stable position and deploy his parachute for a safe landing. The Telegraph, the most popular UK newspaper on YouTube, published this video.

+ Where

The video takes place in Wiltshire, which is South West England.  It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. In this video, it takes place in the air above Wiltshire as a group of people jump out of an airplane for a sky diving excercise. 

+ What

(00:05) We see the group jump from the plane beginning the sky diving activity. (00:10) we notice that after the jump, James had been hit by another diver and was knocked out. (00:17) we see the wind and pressure of the air knocking his helmet camera around slightly. (00:19) Words are displayed on the screen telling us what happened to James to put him in danger. (00:31) the other sky divers circle around James and are trying to get in to position to help him get his parachute deployed. (00:42) they realize James isn’t responding and are working quickly to deploy his parachute with one of them grabbing on to his arm to steady himself. (00:50) Another sky diver grabs James’s other arm and does the same, by the time a third sky diver has realized something is wrong and is coming to help. (00:56) Two more sky divers see that everyone is gathered around James and float over to see if they can help as well. (00:58) The sky diver on the right makes a hand motion to the other telling him to reach for James’s rip-chord on his parachute. (01:07) The Parachute is deployed and James beginning slowly floating torwards the ground. (0:1:10) James wakes up underneath his canopy. (01:27) James lands safely on the ground. 

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Feb 06 2014

Wingsuit Flying: Pure Awesomeness

Wingsuit Flying has been described as “the most fun you can have on this planet” and, more succinctly, “pure awesomeness.” This short video features some stunning shots of wingsuit flying clipped together with wingsuit flyers talking about how much they love their extreme sport, and why they do it. Perhaps nothing makes for more exciting video than wingsuit flying, with nothing between the viewer and the experience but the camera and a thin, expanded suit. Many people can see themselves doing traditional skydiving, with the comfort of a parachute to guide them gently to the Earth, but wingsuit flying is too extreme for all but the most gung-ho air sport enthusiasts.

+ Who

This video features extreme athletes Mike Wilson, Miles Daisher, Suzanne Graham, Carson Klein, and Andreas Matischak talking about their favorite sport. The video was compiled as part of Intel’s “A Momentary Lapse” photo and video contest, and includes the athletes speaking frankly about their enthusiasm for wingsuit flying and about the dangers involved in the sport. Mike, miles, suzanne, Carson and Andreas are among wingsuit flyers that appear regularly in popular videos about the sport, many of which have gone viral. One of their most popular videos features a wingsuit “race” in Hawaii. The Intel contest was created to celebrate creativity and technology, and this video certainly accomplishes that.

+ Where

Neither the video nor its description say exactly where the footage for this video was filmed, but the scenes on the ground all appear to be in a lightly wooded area. Most of the exciting footage is pure, crystal-clear, blue sky, of course. The other shots present in the video are close-ups of the extreme athletes giving their testimony to the power of wingsuit flying.

+ What

The video begins with a bang: the athletes in their wingsuits jump out of a small plane into the blue sky. Carson Klein is the first to talk about wingsuiting (0:08). Suzanne Graham (0:11) talks about the excitement of the sport. The athletes pile back into the plane (0:12) and then (0:18) Mike Wilson talks about wingsuiting. Andreas Matischak chimes in at (0:19). More quick hits of description are followed by Miles Daisher (0:33) talking about the “pure awesomeness” of wingsuit flying. Breathtaking shots of the wingsuit flyers zipping through the air (0:45) are interspersed with more description and at (0:49) we get a point of view shot. At (1:09) there is another shot from the air, more description, and back to the air at (1:14). The rest of the video follows like this, with talking and then shots of flying, until (1:34) where they come in for the landing. At (1:40) we return to the descriptions, and at (2:09) there is more of the landing followed by more of the athletes talking about the sport they love.

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Jan 30 2014

The GoPro Bomb Squad: The World’s Most Exciting Job

Extreme Sportsmen Marshall Miller, Neil Amonson, Jesse Hall and JT Holmes are the GoPro Bomb Squad. They are daredevils who have made their love of extreme sports into a full time job. This video has many heart-racing scenes from the GoPro cameras the guys carry. They jump off buildings and from helicopters and airplanes, and they plummet off the side of sheer rock faces. As you watch you feel as if you are right there with them as some of the world’s most beautiful scenery flies by. The twists and turns, from the point of view of the jumpers themselves, will have your heart in your throat and your stomach turned inside out even as you watch from the comfort of your computer chair.

+ Who

This is a video from Barcroft Media, an international media company based in London, England. They specialize in “the amazing side of life.” They deliver and market extreme content to clients all over the world. The video was directed and shot by the GoPro Bomb Squad themselves, a team of four friends. They formed the Bomb Squad in 2008 after securing sponsorship from GoPro. They were able to turn their hobby into their careers. Now they travel the world and showcase their skills and guts in paragliding, speed flying, wingsuit cloud surfing, base jumping and skydiving. The GoPro Bomb Squad are Marshall Miller, Neil Amonson, Jesse Hall and JT Holmes.

+ Where

This video was shot in various locations. The video makers don’t outline exactly where the team is performing their exciting stunts, but they range from the top of a building in a city to remote and more exotic locales. They hang from helicopters and jump out of planes over sparse, desert terrain and beautiful, mountainous locations.

+ What

The video gets started with the team hiding out in a bathroom and they quickly move to the roof of a building (0:18) and jump off, landing in a parking lot nearby. Then they dangle from the skids of a helicopter (0:30) and jump off. The team is introduced at (0:41). They ascend in a helicopter at (1:00) for further jumps wearing wingsuits. At (1:20) we see several breathtaking jumps off of cliffs. (1:39) shows a jump off of a very tall tower and (1:48) is a jump from a rock towards a street and body of water below. At (1:54) we see a jump from a plane and at (1:59) a helicopter jump and the landing.

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Dec 11 2013

Base jumping off Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malaysia

This video is awesome. It features Fred Fugen & JP Teffaud Base jumping off Kuala Lumpur Tower at the Menara Kuala Lumpur 2012 Event. This tower stands at 1,379 feet. Base jumping is a fairly new sport that didn’t really develop its own identity until the mid 80’s, known for its high fatality rates. Don’t try this one at home, kids. Though unless you live in the Kuala Lumpur Tower, that might be hard to do anyway.

+ Who

Turbolenza FollowtheFlow was the user name of the person who uploaded the video on youtube.com. Fred Fugen & JP Teffaud are starring in the video. They are base jumpers attending a base jumping event in Malaysia.


+ Where

This video was made in Malaysia. Most of it was filmed on and around the Kuala Lumpur tower. It is where the base jump took place. Kuala Lumpur is the most populated city in Malaysia and has many sky-scrappers. It is for this reason that it is one of the better cities for base jumping in the world. The tower itself Stands at 1,379 feet.


+ What

There are two professional base jumpers attending a base jump event in Malaysia. (0:01) Fred & Jp are both opening the video with a base jump right from the start. (1:48) they jump again. (2;20) another awesome jump. (3:00) They are on their way to the next jump. (3;34) They jump again. (4:00) They jump again. (4:20) They jump together. (4:47) They jump again.(5:30) They step take it to the next level and swing from the building from a rope. (6:20) Atop each other shoulders they jump from the building again. (7:00) They jump again holding hands.(7:25) They pretend to throw their friend off the building.


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