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The hunter becomes hunted

FZ Productions

Extreme shooting condition specialists, FZ Productions are the production team behind some of the world’s most popular and extreme television shows.

Land, sea, or air, FZ can produce it; at national broadcast level. Providing full video production studio services, FZ Productions delivers video and TV projects from conception to completion and does it all “in-house” with its efficient and dynamic team.

Land, Sea or Air – FZ Productions is there.

Executive producer Fouad Zayed and his FZ Productions team recently contributed to four out of seven episodes of the latest season of one of the world’s most widely watched and buzz-worthy nature series. You can probably guess which one we’re talking about – it’s a week of documentaries focused on sharks in their native habitats around the world. Their stunning footage of the world’s most fearsome predator was made possible thanks to tough and reliable gear from Litepanels, Sachtler, and Anton/Bauer.

With Anton/Bauer power you won't be all at sea.

Each new season of of the world’s most recognized nature network’s show is eagerly anticipated. For the latest season, FZ completed four episodes in locations as diverse as Texas, Florida, California, Cuba, and Australia. For every show, they relied on four Litepanels Astra 1×1 LED lights powered by Anton/Bauer Cine 150 V-Mount batteries, as well as a Sachtler S1 tripod equipped with a Video 20 fluid head.

We know we can always count on Anton/Bauer to perform in any conditions. Our work requires us to push our gear to the very limits every single day and in the world’s harshest environments

Fouad Zayed, Executive Producer - FZ Productions

“Filming apex predators like sharks is not for the faint of heart, and any distraction underwater could cost us our lives.” said Fouad.

“Plus, as some of our filming expeditions take us more than 100 miles offshore – quite a long way from rental houses – we can’t afford to have any gear malfunctions.” he continued “We know we can always count on Litepanels, Sachtler, and Anton/Bauer gear to perform up to our expectations in any conditions. The nature of this work requires us to push the limits of our equipment every single day and in the world’s harshest environments. Videndum Production Solutions products work every time and give us the peace of mind we need”.

With dependable and long-lasting power from their Anton/Bauer batteries, the Litepanels Astra 1×1 LEDs could run for up to eight hours of full-power light. The lightweight and highly portable panels were the go-to choice for lighting the boat topside for the night scenes when divers emerge from the water after a risky rendezvous with the sharks down below.

Shark week

The incredibly versatile Litepanels Astra LED panels allow a wealth of options; for instance, at any location on the boat where they needed a clean and powerful light source, they simply mounted an Astra with a Cardellini clamp. “One of the fantastic things about the Anton/Bauer batteries is that they can power anything with a V-mount — cameras, lights, and other accessories — and the P-Tap power outlet means we can mount cameras on gimbals and power them without having to having to dangle heavy and cumbersome batteries off the camera itself.” said Fouad.

To capture natural footage of sharks without the distraction of a human camera operator nearby, they took advantage of the incredible resilience of  their Sachtler gear by submerging the tripod and fluid head in the sea.  Weighting the camera and tripod down to keep them up to 60 feet under the sea, the divers were able to set the camera rolling and swim away leaving the gear to capture awesome images.

Combining image capture gear from Anton/Bauer, Litepanels and Sachtler on one of the world’s most popular wildlife series – to capture stunning aquatic scenes in extreme and harsh conditions – demonstrates the tremendous versatility and durability of the products.

Watch out for the next action-packed season of the show that follows underwater apex predators over seven days, to see how Fouad and the FZ Productions crew continue to use Anton/Bauer, Litepanels and Sachtler solutions.

 

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