LAT35 | Preparing for a Polar Ocean Rowing Expedition

Steven Gourlay Media was commissioned to film LAT35's ocean rowing team during a two-day training camp in Oban, on Scotland's west coast, as they prepared for an ambitious expedition into polar waters.

The production combined aerial drone filming, onboard cinematography and interviews to document the team's preparations, the physical demands of ocean rowing and the challenges of training in an exposed maritime environment.

The brief was to produce a short documentary and promotional content while also capturing additional footage for the team's main expedition documentary, being produced by a separate film crew.

Maritime Filming in Challenging Conditions

The first day focused on filming the rowing boat from a moving support vessel, using a DJI Ronin 4D cinema camera alongside aerial footage captured with the DJI Inspire 3.

Rough seas made the production particularly demanding, especially for drone operations. Filming over open water while working from a moving support boat required careful planning, constant assessment of the conditions and flexibility in how each sequence was captured.

The combination of aerial and boat-based filming provided contrasting perspectives, from wide shots showing the scale of the surrounding environment to closer footage of the team rowing through the challenging conditions.

Onboard Cinematography and Interviews

On the second day, filming moved directly aboard the LAT35 rowing boat.

Using the DJI Ronin 4D, I captured the team from within the vessel, working around the limited space, moving equipment and constant motion of the boat.

This provided a more personal perspective on the expedition preparations, showing the physical effort, teamwork and practical realities of operating a rowing boat at sea.

Interviews were also filmed to explore the story behind the expedition, the training involved and what the team hoped to achieve.

Documentary and Promotional Content

Following the two-day shoot, the footage was developed into a short documentary combining interviews, onboard filming and aerial cinematography to tell the story of the team's preparations.

A separate promotional taster reel was also produced to introduce the expedition through a shorter, visually driven edit.

In addition to these completed films, footage was supplied for use in the team's larger expedition documentary, which was being produced independently by another production company.

The project brought together documentary storytelling, maritime camera operation, challenging drone filming and post-production, demonstrating the ability to deliver both finished content and high-quality footage for a wider production.