VIDEO RELEASE:

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AIRBORNE HYPERLAPSE CAPTURE

DALLAS, Texas – As featured on NBC Nightly News, Emmy®-nominated production company V/SPEED in collaboration with Jonathan Spano today captured a first-of-its-kind airborne hyperlapse video of the total solar eclipse’s shadow moving over North America. 

From a flight altitude of 40,000, there is approximately 250 miles of visibility in every direction. The eclipse shadow, at about 115 miles in diameter, entered the United States from Mexico moving at a speed of roughly 1,600 miles an hour and accelerating to 1,800 miles an hour over Little Rock, where the capture took place. In all, it took just over 20 minutes for the shadow to move across the ground from horizon to horizon, which V/SPEED then sped up to a hyperlapse video of 30 seconds.

“Most observers of the eclipse are focused on the solar disc itself, and likewise, most eclipse photography is pointed upward at the sun as the moon passes in front of it,” said Mike Knockenhauer, founding partner and CEO of V/SPEED and executive producer for the total solar eclipse project. “We sought to capture a three-dimensional perspective, from high in the air looking downward, that showcases the majesty of this phenomena in a more perceptible timeframe and one continuous shot.” 

The carefully planned mission departed from Addison Airport, just north of Dallas, Texas and accounted for meteorological factors to intersect with the eclipse’s path of totality under the most favorable conditions. The mission aircraft is a highly modified Embraer Phenom 300 certified by the FAA to carry large, stabilized, and precision-steered IMAX-grade camera systems on the nose and tail. It is the same jet used to film many of the aerial sequences in TOP GUN: Maverick. 

ABOUT V /SPEED

V/SPEED is a full-service, Emmy®-nominated production company that specializes in cutting-edge stabilized camera systems on jet airplanes for motion picture, television, commercial, and aerospace companies, including Disney, FX, NASA, National Geographic, Netflix, TIME, and more. The company’s multi-disciplinary approach melds expertise in aviation, cinematography, meteorology, and other mission-specific fields.

For more information about V/SPEED and the mission team, visit https://www.wearevspeed.com/.

Press Contact:
Erin Webb
erin.webb@vspeed.us
+1 865.591.6917