Our Universe
Boat-launched aerial cinematography of Channel Islands kelp forests for the BBC and Netflix series Our Universe.
BBC producers reached out to DRONESURF for the "Water" episode of Our Universe, the series showcasing the beauty of our planet. The shots had to come from one of the Channel Islands, far off the Los Angeles shore and reachable only by launching the aircraft from the boat itself.
The shot list was directed by the BBC's UK division. DRONESURF completed it in full and sent daily footage reports back to the UK throughout the shoot. The BBC trusted the production and added DRONESURF to its list of trusted vendors.
Project details
Location
Channel Islands, California
Client
BBC Studios / Netflix — Our Universe
Engineering challenge
There was no fixed ground station and no stable launch pad — only a moving deck, salt spray, and a marine horizon with no visual references. DRONESURF flew an extensive program of safety flights beforehand and built a launch-and-recovery procedure that kept the aircraft accounted for on every cycle.
The shoot ran five to six days at sea, relocating continuously across the water to find the strongest kelp forest. Over-water boat operations are among the least forgiving in the discipline: losing an aircraft means losing the day.
Credits
Aerial Cinematography: Jovany Jimenez
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