Karen Watson
Film & Animation
Creative Communications
Educational Promos - 'What Amy Did' mini-documentary about the pioneering pilot, Amy Johnson Read more....
Karen Watson Film & Animation accepts commissions for educational short films such as, 'What Amy Did' which charts some of the record-breaking achievements of the British pioneer aviatrix, Amy Johnson.
Created as a free educational learning tool, the film combines live-action, drawn animation and rare audio footage (courtesy of the Yorkshire Air Museum) to tell the inspiring story of the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
After gaining her pilot’s C and A licences to become Britain’s first female ground engineer, Amy, who was originally from Hull, embarked on her pioneering flight to Australia.
Having only begun flying lessons two years earlier, and despite limited flying hours under her belt, a lack of funding and doubts from a sceptical public, the 26 year old reportedly took a ruler and drew a line on a map connecting London and Australia to design her route.
She took to the skies on the 5th May, 1930, in a De Havilland Gyspy Moth biplane, which she named Jason after her father’s fishing business. It was her first major flight and her first attempt at a world record.
Although, Amy did not break Bert Hinkler’s world record for flying from England to Australia, she did become the first woman to make the journey solo, winning world-wide acclaim in the process.
Amy Johnson’s passion and determination made her one of the leading ladies of her time and a strong, inspiring role model for later generations of women entering aviation, engineering and the sciences.
More world records and achievements followed, and despite her humble career beginnings as a typist, she became one of the nation’s sweethearts. As a major celebrity, she mingled with eminent actors and writers of the time, such as, Charlie Chaplin and George Bernard Shaw, and lunched with President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Songs and films were also made about her and she counted the American aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart, as one of her friends.
2016 marks the 75th Anniversary of Amy Johnson’s death when her plane mysteriously crashed in the Thames Estuary.
Thank you also to The Mercer Gallery (Harrogate) for use of the Underwood Typewriter
To commission educational short videos from the film-maker, please contact: info@karenwatsonfilmandanimation.com
