Le Mont Ventoux – one of the legendary Tour de France Mountains where biking history was written. And Jan Ullrich was undoubtedly one of the great protagonists of the battles on this absolutely fearsome mountain.
I am very pleased to have worked with one of my personal all time heroes Jan Ullrich on his comeback project. It was a pleasure to see him back on the bike and to shoot this film with him. Enjoy!
Thank you Jan Ullrich and Team for this project and everybody supporting! 🤙
Concept, Creation & Production: Thomas Thiele
Dop: Karl Volkenanndt
Client: Jan Ullrich
#montventoux #janullrich #tourdefrance #tdf
A year ago, I never thought I’d be filming underwater. Diving wasn’t on my radar at all. Just the thought of it felt overwhelming.
Then came a unique opportunity. Two freedivers. One idea. And suddenly I found myself in Mallorca, with a diving license and a camera in hand.
We spent days filming in caves and open water, chasing light, silence and that feeling of complete weightlessness. It was intense, emotional and unlike anything I’ve done before.
Our short film “Meet Me On The Other Side” is now live on YouTube.
I’d love to hear what you think. What feeling does the underwater world trigger in you?
Shot on Sony FX3 📷
Crew: Director of Photography: @dennisschmelz Creative Producer: @jttplus Freediving Cast: @_alizee.clio_ & @egon.dj Editor: @phil_graphy BTS: @frames.leo
It was nerve-wracking, incredibly challenging, extremely exhausting, and incredibly time-consuming.
In other words: It was pure pleasure!!!
That’s what jobs should be like – then they become perfectly good!
It’s literally a whole different game to plan and execute a production underwater than above water. Countless hours of preparation and planning went into the film project „Meet Me on the Other Side.“ The stages we went through along the way – simply incredible! And since we wanted to manage and implement the entire production ourselves, we quickly became familiar with the requirements of such an underwater shoot and still learned a ton every day.
We wanted the challenge, and we undoubtedly got it.
Hardly any project will ever be the same as the first time we produced a film, including a shoot, at a depth of 10 meters.
What began with a brief phone call about the possibility of a joint project with a free diver has now culminated almost a year later in the launch of „Meet me on the other Side!“
It was worth every minute.
Many thanks to a great team and the trust in Dennis and me that we would know what we were doing in the end.
We didn’t always know that, but we knew which shots we wanted.
We just didn’t know the ways to get there underwater.
Now we do.
Thanks to everybody involved for the exceptional teamwork!
Crew:
dop: @dennisschmelz
preative producer and photo: @jttplus
freediving cast: @_alizee.clio_ & @egon.dj
editor: @phil_graphy
bts: @frames.leo
Shots taken with Leica Q2, Leica SL2 and Sony FX3
#freediving #creativedirection #photoshooting #leica #bts
📍Mallorca, Balearic Islands
Behind the scenes of an underwater short film – shot over four intense days on the island of Mallorca.
“Meet Me on the Other Side” follows a surreal encounter beneath the sea, blending mystery, beauty, and transformation.
From dive training to filming in the depths, here’s a short glimpse at what it took to bring this dreamlike world to life. 🌊✨
📌Watch the full BTS series (Three episodes) at:
YouTube Channel: Dennis Schmelz
Bringing this project to life was a challenge, but with this amazing crew it was possible:
DOP: @dennisschmelz
Creative producer: @jttplus
Freediving cast: @_alizee.clio_@egon.dj
BTS: @frames.leo
Content produced with @sony
Grateful for an incredible crew & partners who helped make this possible:
@scubapro@godox_global@aquatech_imagingsolutions@uk.germany@skualoportocristo@dreadshop
#UnderwaterFilmmaking #BehindTheScenes #Mallorca #ShortFilm #SonyFX3 #MeetMeOnTheOtherSide
If you had told me a year ago that I would have a diving license in my pocket today and that I would be releasing my first underwater film - I probably wouldn’t have believed it. Diving was never on my bucket list, just the thought of it seemed oppressive.
Then an opportunity arose: the chance to make a short film together with experienced freedivers. Within two weeks, an intensive project was born - with a diving license, the first underwater shoots and a trip to Mallorca. A production that took them far out of their comfort zone.
Today I can say: it was worth it.
The Advanced Open Water Diver will follow next month - and in September, a dive at the “Wall of Sharks” awaits in French Polynesia: 30 meters deep, over 500 sharks.
Sometimes the greatest adventures happen when you embrace the unknown.
Please check out our new short film „Meet Me On The Other Side“ on my YouTube channel! 🎬🙏
Crew:
Director of Photography: @dennisschmelz
Creative Producer: @jttplus
Freediving Cast: @_alizee.clio_ & @egon.dj
Editor: @phil_graphy
BTS: @frames.leo
MEET ME ON THE OTHER SIDE
A freediving film project.
Coming soon!
dop: Dennis Schmelz
creative production: Thomas Thiele
freediving cast: Anne & Tobi
bts: Leo Hernandez
Photos shot with @leica_camera
Film shot with @sony
Yes, corporate shoots for holdings can be fun!
Send DM for your production.
Thank you Jessica!
#corporateshoot #shooting #production #leica @leica_camera_deutschland
Some making of insights of how to produce scenes für a commercial production for Volkswagen and Glinicke Group.
Enjoy!
Feel free to comment or DM if you have any questions on production insights!
Check out full case on my website soon!
Link in bio above.
DoP, cut and production lead: @pascal_blaurock
Concept and direction: @jttplus Thomas Thiele
Thank you very much:
@volkswagen@glinicke.erfurt
Martin Stuth
@dominic.hofmann97
Absolute pleasure to work with:
@_paulabaginski@dloebling@beatrice_wlf@rampkid_226@erikkuwan
BTS shots: @justmeshooting
#bts #production #commercials #direction #creativedirection
Pleasure to work with @janullrichofficial in France.
Allez Jan!
Check out: janullrich.de
Thx to everybody involved!
BTS: @karl_volkenanndt
#bts #retour #tdf #letour #pinarello #breitling #leica
New production for campaign launch Radkultur Hamburg.
Very pleased being commissioned to bringing this campaign concept to life.
It was quite a ride.
btw: Project with integrated AI support.
Enjoy!
Full case on website.
Link in bio 👆
Special thanks to:
Catrin Brüggemann
Christopher März
Judith Amshoff
Gonna Jensen
Ilseken Roscher
Hamburger Hochbahn
Radkultur Hamburg
P+R Hamburg
IFOK
Thanks to a great team:
DoP - konstantin.tanner
Direction, concept - @arnesehm
H&M, styling - @ina_muehlhaus
Setstyling - @theresa__rohe
Cast - @Jan.hasenfuss
Cast - Corinna Waldbauer
Casting - Katharina Krischker @juno_casting
Production, Concept, PM, Photo - Thomas Thiele @jttplus
#production #campaign #radkulturhamburg
