Getting Started Capturing Charter Memories

Make a charter experience even more special with a video.

M/Y Loon and Below Deck helped yachting shoot into fame, and charter guests often want that spotlight too. Chartering a yacht in some of the most beautiful, inaccessible places in the world is fleeting, and capturing video is one of the few ways to bring home a piece of such an expensive luxury.

It’s surprisingly easy to do if you prepare accordingly, and I can confirm the process of capturing moments through a lens is much more exciting than polishing stainless.

Let’s cover the caveats: confirm that your charter guests actually want a charter video, and if so, let them know the crew will be filming them. While it’s up to the captain and management to figure out how they want to manage privacy, all footage is generally considered the boat’s property. Your SEA or NDAs will spell it out, but it’s worth making sure it’s crystal clear for green crew. Some boats have strict policies against filming, so it depends on the vessel and its owners.

The filming we’re doing is for highlights and memory capture, so it’s best to set expectations beforehand. High-end videography is for the professionals. Things like sales shoots are (usually) beyond our skillset and equipment budget. If charter guests do want professional grade content, then likely a team would need to be brought in.

The best setups I’ve seen are one crew member in charge of the final editing process, while the rest of the crew help capture the content. Having everyone take part of the filming, interior included, allows for capture of all the best moments of the charter and makes the actual filming itself less of an “event” — letting it just happen in the background.

Beginners can make a fantastic edit with just iMovie editing software (Macs only). Stick with that until moving onto the complex stuff like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. Most iPhones (even a few years old) can capture 4k at 60 frames per second, which is more than enough for decent looking video. Have the crew film landscape, not portrait as the final video is probably going to be on a laptop or big screen. iPhones are a reliable fallback, but you’ll need at least one drone as well as a couple GoPros for the action stuff. An Insta360 can also do wonders with its ability to capture a 360-degree field of view; just remember it takes longer to edit the raw footage.

Always be charging your filming devices. When not in use, film gear should live in the bridge, on charge always. If not the bridge, then somewhere convenient on the boat has to be designated, as it’s going to be grabbed at short notice. The same goes for spare batteries, especially for drones that burn through them.

SD cards should also have a designated home; otherwise, I guarantee they’ll go missing. When not in the devices, they should be in a labeled, sealed container. Only change them out on the bridge; salty air will absolutely destroy them.

The families that have the money to charter a yacht, have sacrificed family time to make that money. So you’ll notice how important that family time becomes for our owners and guests. If we can capture some of those memories, we can make the experience even more special.