Flying fish
Monterey, Calif. - When the world reknown Monterey Bay Aquarium needed a video crew to document the historic airlifting of a live sunfish to freedom, the call went out to Bay NewsVideo.
The two-man crew, Mark "Mr. News" Jeannette, and Steve Perez, were at the scene, during the early morning hours of November 4, 1998. Euipped with two Betacams, their mission was to record the release from every angle for later distribution to the news media.
The release required six months of planning, engineering studies and a helicopter. The 880-pound ocean sunfish, also known as a Mola mola, weighed 880 pounds and was believed to be the largest ever kept in a North American aquarium. It was also believed to be the largest ever released into the ocean, where it had to be let go before it became too big for the million gallon indoor tank.
Aquarium
officials said the entire operation was "surprisingly uneventful,"
despite the fact that the researchers learned that morning that the sunfish
was about 300 pounds heavier than expected.
When first collected in August, 1997, it weighed just 57 pounds and was just 41 inches long. It measures 6 feet, 6 inches upon its release.
The Bay NewsVideo crew's work didn't end once the Mola mola was let go. The video shot had to be reviewed, edited and dubbed for distribution and airing that same day. The project was a perfect example of the value of having an experienced crew of ENG-trained videographers on hand, to document an unpredictable event and get the work out under a tight deadline.
11-4-98