Air Jaws Apocalypse - Shark Week 2012

What can I say – I am highly impressed with the first episode of Shark Week 2012 and very much looking forward to the rest.  While Air Jaws as a concept is not new and breaching White Sharks are not novel anymore – the technology used to film this episode made for some stunning footage and made me feel like I was seeing these majestic animals up close again for the first time.

A Phantom camera was used to film most of the episode, which allows for extremely high quality video and the possibility to slowing down frames without losing any detail.  The camera can shoot at resolutions up to 2560x1600 pixels at anywhere from 10 frames-per-second up to 1,455 frames-per-second (fps).  To put that into perspective, my GoPro shoots at 720 pixels at 60fps. (Then again, my GoPro only costs a few hundred bucks – I believe the Phantom can go into the six digits).

Some other things I enjoyed:

• Labeled sharks as highly intelligent, with individual personalities that actually learn from one another.  Good to hear when others speak about sharks having small walnut brains with only two modes – predator and not.  Anyone that has spent enough time in the water with these animals will know that sharks are adaptable, intelligent, and each unique.
• GoPro seems to be a standard for all U/W productions these days one-way or another.  Fantastic product!
• Luke Tipple and the VW ad – congrats on the work Luke!

There was only one thing I did not enjoy and that was the Jaws DVD release ad– give sharks a break.

Good stuff Discovery.