Woe to any underwater cinematographer who hasn’t learned to fly a drone—you’d better include some epic aerial shots in your movie if you want to impress your audience. But serious underwater videographers now have another set of tools in their arsenal—a Underwater drones in the shape of Luna canned fish. Launched in mid-2021, this version of Boxfish Research’s eponymous product aimed at “natural history and research filmmakers” can be equipped with a Sony a7SIII or sony a1provides—in the second case—up to 8K/30p 10-bit 4:2:0 or 4K/120p 10-bit 4:2:2.
But we know what you’re thinking: What can you do with an underwater drone that you can’t do yourself while scuba diving? With their new feature-length documentary, It’s all so obviousNatural history filmmakers Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert’s husband and wife Produce inspired planet soon discovered the benefits of using the newest ROV in the cinema to tell their story about the Great Lakes ecosystem and the threats it faces from invasive quagga mussels.
“When we started talking about making a story about the Great Lakes offshore ecosystem, we realized it was a huge challenge,” said Melnick, director and cinematographer at Inspired Planet Productions. . “So how do you show people something they’ve almost never personally experienced unless they’re a diver? And even then, most of the area we’re talking about is inaccessible to divers.”
Melnick says they discovered that there are some consumer devices that are “fine,” but that their cameras are “terrible,” and that there are a number of remote-controlled vehicles designed primarily for scientists and great adventure. Then they came across Boxfish Luna by chance. “The Boxfish Luna is a great fit for this niche, where someone like an independent production company can buy one and start exploring routes,” said Drebert, the company’s producer. waters, lakes and oceans in a way that was really impossible before,” said Drebert, the company’s producer. . “So this is a really exciting time for us as filmmakers.”
Having chosen the Boxfish Luna with the Sony a7S III for its low-light capabilities, Melnick praises the ability to shoot at more than 300 feet without the need for the camera’s extra lights (apart from the two 8,500-lumen lights on the drone), impressive 4K uncompressed RAW output (sent to the surface in real time) and the ability to have full control over camera settings. Filmmakers also love the Boxfish Luna’s battery life, which allows them to shoot for hours (compared to divers’ much more limited time), as well as the significant safety benefits of using the camera. unmanned flight.
“Having the freedom to film underwater has completely changed the way we think about what we will do with our work in the future,” Melnick concludes. “We can get in the middle of a school of fish and get along with them in a way that I don’t believe was possible before. The sky is the limit, really.
Check out the interview in the video below, and go to The website of the planet maker is inspired to learn more about It’s all so obvious. Learn about Boxfish Research’s underwater drones at www.boxfish.nz.
