What does the solar eclipse look like from 40,000 feet?
Rather than point a camera at the sun, our crew launched a highly modified Embraer Phenom 300 with stabilized IMAX-grade camera systems and pointed downward to showcase the majesty of this phenomenon as one continuous shot.
Cruising at FL430, the result is a three-dimensional perspective with visibility stretching 250 miles in every direction as the shadow moves across the horizon and engulfs the earth below.
There are no words to describe this experience. Incredibly proud to share our work, made possible by the best crew around.
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A big thanks to @gadinbc and @nbcnews for coming along for the ride and sharing what we do.
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Full video at link in bio.
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Executive Producer: @mikesaysfly
Producer: @jonathan_spano
DP: @greg_wilson_dp
Film Pilot: @flanman34
Systems Pilot: @jonathan_spano
Meteorology: @jpicca11
Technician: Steve Rogers
Second Flight Crew: Jim Yoder and @jamesyoder
Photography: @greg_wilson_dp@delving@philip_scott_andrews
DRIVEN BY WEATHER.
🔊🔊
Storms and weather are a unique challenge. Working up close with nature’s most fearsome forces requires diligent planning, precise harmony, and the most experienced professionals on the planet.
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Take a look behind the scenes as @vspeed.us navigates filming big weather, one of the most challenging environments on Earth.
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America the Beautiful, a new @disneyplus Original Series narrated by @michaelbjordan and presented by @natgeo
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BTS footage filmed by @bradmcclain
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@wildstarfilms@mikesaysfly@jpicca11@greg_wilson_dp@tomstephens83@flanman34
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Big thanks to everyone involved in this series with us. See tags.
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#nature #natgeo #natgeowild #weather #wx #aviation #avgeek #tornado
#EarthDayonRED with @vspeed.us
Our idea of what jet cinematography could deliver to nature documentary was purely conceptual until this day in Monument Valley.
We targeted the back side of a small but potent low-pressure system that left the sky deep blue and the red desert briefly dusted with snow for a proof-of-concept shoot based out of Page, Arizona.
This run of about 17 miles took just a few minutes in our L-39 fighter. A perfect flight path hand flown by pilot Michael Steiger and the stability of the SHOTOVER F1 Rush gimbal system allowed our RED HELIUM to deliver an entirely new type of shot - the V/SPEED Hyperlapse.
We all have an inherent sense of what it would be like to fly like Superman, and our goal was to create this experience with real-life imagery. The speeds needed to achieve this effect are immense - much higher than even the fastest planes - and we have to operate knowing our acquisitions will be sped up many times with any mid-run corrections shot breaking.
Monument Valley was the perfect scale both vertically and laterally to deliver the first look of this new perspective, with a day’s worth of sun having melted just the right amount of snow to showcase mesmerizing terrain relief.
On 16 May 2021, the @vspeed.us team launched into clear blue skies from Garden City, Kansas to intercept a tornado-producing low-precipitation supercell expected to form near Lubbock, Texas.
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Just a twinkle in the eye of team meteorologist @jpicca11 at takeoff, this clip shows our storm soaking up the sunset after it’s legendary display.
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By this point, the storm’s updraft had become decoupled from the surface, but its rotational momentum was in full tilt - spinning like a top while processing massive buoyant energy toward the heavens.
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V/SPEED Team
Aerial Coordinator / EP @mikesaysfly
Cinematographer @greg_wilson_dp
Film Pilot @flanman34
Systems Pilot Jim Yoder
B Cam Op @kevin_denning@shotoversystems tech Steve Rogers
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Captured for America the Beautiful, a new @disneyplus Original Series narrated by @michaelbjordan
#americathebeautifulseries
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#natgeo #nature #weather #wx #filmmaking
We are honored for the release of “America the Beautiful” today and couldn’t be more proud of our small, nimble team who produced and captured such stunning imagery of the most diverse continent on earth. America the Beautiful is finally here.
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We were tasked with designing and executing the jet-aerial cinematography for the series, unlocking entirely new perspectives in the most photographed country on the planet, America.
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Over three years in the making, America the Beautiful - a National Geographic Original narrated by @michaelbjordan is on @disneyplus
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@natgeo@wildstarfilms@mikesaysfly@greg_wilson_dp@tomstephens83@jpicca11@flanman34@shelbyknockenhauer@kevin_denning@ryanhoskingcinematography
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#americathebeautifulseries #natgeo #disneyplus #nature #cinematography
We hope you enjoy this show as much as we treasure the chance to have had a part in making it.
Vanessa Berlowitz and Mark Linfield - the folks who brought us Planet Earth - trusted us to do the high-speed aerials for their landmark Disney+ series America the Beautiful.
Witness the wildlife of North America as you’ve never seen it before in #americathebeautifulseries narrated by @michaelbjordan 🦅 Stream the Original series July 4, only on @disneyplus
We’re so proud of the team we’ve brought together and beyond belief we finally get to share what we’ve been working on for the past three years.
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@wildstarfilms
This July 4th, we can finally share some of our proudest moments.
Over three years in the making, America the Beautiful - a National Geographic Original narrated by @michealbjordan._ is set to be released on @disney +
We’re honored to have created and delivered new perspectives on our great continent with our unique approach to aerial cinematography.
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@natgeo@wildstarfilms@mikesaysfly@greg_wilson_dp@tomstephens83@shotoversystems
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#americathebeautiful #natgeo #disneyplus #nature #cinematography
“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.”
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- Carl Sagan
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Happy Earth Day! 🌎🌍🌏
