Somewhere between 21 million and 46 million gallons of crude oil have been disgorged into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, according to government estimates. Eleven workers were killed in the blast. Our only reference point for the ecological repercussions of this much oil spilled into US waters is the Exxon Valdez oil incident (only 11 million gallons) which, to date, the death of 1,000 to 2,800 sea otters, 302 harbor seals, and (est.) 250,000 seabird deaths has been ascribed.

As an effort to highlight the natural resources now at risk, Aerial
FilmWorks synchronized select clips from their 2009 footage of the Gulf Islands National Seashore with a music track by UK-based artist Entropik to create this unsettling web video:

The Behind-the-Scenes Story:

Aerial Filmworks specializes in gyro-stabilized Cineflex HD aerial projects. With two full-time camera operators and thousands of hours of Cineflex time, it should be little surprise that their footage library contained recent beauty shots of the Gulf.

“The Cineflex V14HD system allows us to shoot from wide angle to amazing telephoto views of the same subject matter.”, explains Ron Chapple, owner of Aerial Filmworks. “We work with the helicopter pilot[s] to create stories in the air. Through the use of helicopter moves combined with camera moves, the viewer gets to see a unique angle……aerial filming can be an awesome experience.”

The music chosen by Aerial Filmworks is a track by UK-based recording artist Entropik called “4 AM”.

“Music, of course, is the key element to any of our demo reels.”, says Chapple. “Having great music connects the various clips. Music influences how our viewers will feel about our footage.”

“4 AM”’s soaring, unaccompanied cello melody produces a pensive contrast to the footage that was intentional on Chapple’s part. His original request to the music licensing company was “haunting, end of the world [kind of music]”.

Husband and wife Danny and Deryn Cullen, who make up Entropik, recorded “4 AM” in Danny’s studio using a fairly basic Samson condenser mic on the very first weekend they met in person.

“The instrument I played in the recording is my beloved 120-year-old Hornsteiner cello.”, explains Deryn. “She’s called Nina. We decided that the improv sounded distinctly like ‘4 am’ – a time of day we were both painfully familiar with at that time. It spawned the concept idea for our first album, Reflections on Time. Three versions (solo cello, electronica and trance) are available for licensing on MusicRevolution.”

Oil drilling in the Gulf is an example of what was a defining campaign issue in the 2008 US presidential election. According to the Telegraph: “…state-backed national oil companies have seized back control of the world’s oil resources in the Middle East, South America, Russia and Asia in the past 40 years. This has compelled the old international oil companies, such as BP, Shell and Exxon, to explore in ever more remote and dangerous provinces in order to supply our demand for energy…”

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Mike Bielenberg is a professional musician and co-founder of http://www.musicrevolution.com, a production music marketplace where media producers and business owners can license high-quality, affordable music from a online community of musicians.

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