‘Sharks up close’ with Bertie Gregory

Last year I had the pleasure to work as Aerial Cinematographer and safety diver on this series in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. We were after the Great Whites in the area which I had worked with for a few seasons previously. The sharks were scarce but the ocean gave us some other surprises and we ended up making a great show.

The edit is very drone heavy, we had the Mavic 3 Pro cine and Inspire 3 on location. The Mavic was the real workhorse sometimes doing 15 flights a day, scouting for sharks, picking off animal behavior crafting elements for the story. The 3x zoom lens usable for TV is a game changer. The Inspire 3 did a few flights and the image quality, especially on the 18mm lens is unbeatable, also it is really stable to fly which is great when operating off a boat. Boat based drone shooting is safer and produces results much better then just a few years ago.

All in all I really like how the story came together, Bertie is a exceptional cameraman and his comfort in the water really comes across in the show.

Watch on Natgeo Channel on Disney+ and Hulu