Malaʻe Productions (also written Malae Productions) is a full-service Hawaii video production company based on the Big Island of Hawaii, with crew and equipment on Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Since 2003 we have produced natural history documentaries, broadcast sequences and commercial work for PBS Nature, National Geographic, Discovery, ABC, NBC and CBS.
A Hawaii production tends to need several disciplines at once, and we cover them with one crew and one inventory: aerial cinematography under FAA Part 107, underwater cinematography in Nauticam housings, time lapse of landscapes, night skies and weather, in-water surf cinematography, gyro-stabilized Shotover F1 work from vehicle and boat, macro, motion control and stills photography at 8K resolution.
We shoot in 8K on RED Digital Cinema systems and own every camera, housing, drone, vehicle and boat we use. That matters on active lava fields, remote coastlines and open ocean, where the moment does not wait for outside gear support to arrive.
Our broadcast credits include PBS Nature's Sharks of Hawaii (co-producer and Directors of Photography), National Geographic's Wild Hawaii: Secrets of the Deep and Wild Hawaii: Land of Fire, Discovery Channel's Sharkcano, Sharks of the Fire Goddess and Deadliest Catch: Bloodline, National Geographic's World's Most Dangerous Sharks, and equipment and stock footage for PBS and IMAX's America's National Parks.
Video production services in Hawaii
Natural history and wildlife documentary production. Aerial and drone cinematography with the DJI Inspire 3, Inspire 2, Mavic 3 Cine and Mavic 4. Underwater filming with RED cameras in Nauticam housings. Time lapse and motion control. Photography for editorial, commercial and documentary clients. Licensing from one of the largest private 4K and 8K Hawaii stock footage libraries in existence. Camera and production equipment rentals, with or without an operator, and turnkey field crew packages for visiting networks and production companies.
Islands we work on
Our home base is the Big Island of Hawaii (Hawaiʻi Island), where every piece of gear lives and where most of our natural history work is made, from Kīlauea's lava fields to the summit of Mauna Kea and the Kona coast. We regularly move full RED, Shotover, DJI and Nauticam packages to Oahu, Maui and Kauai and plan multi-island productions, with boats based at Keauhou Harbor and Kawaihae on the Big Island and a 14 ft McKee in Kaneohe on Oahu. Each island has its own page describing the locations and logistics.
Equipment we own
RED V-RAPTOR 8K VV, DSMC3 S35, MONSTRO 8K VV, HELIUM 8K S35 and GEMINI 5K S35, each with PL and EF mounts; two Shotover F1 gimbals, one in a dedicated production truck and one portable; Ronin 2 and DJI RS3 handheld kits; Nauticam housings for RED DSMC2 and DSMC3; Salty surf housings; Emotimo, Rhino and Kessler motion control; Chrosziel and Nucleus wireless lens control; LED, HMI and underwater lighting; cinema, macro and Canon L-series lenses in PL, EF and RF mounts; UTVs and 4x4 trucks, channel-crossing fishing boats, a Zodiac inflatable and a GoPro fleet.
Get a quote for a Hawaii production
Send your shoot dates, islands, locations and the crew or equipment you need. We reply with availability and pricing, typically within one business day.
Related
- About
- Cinema — Malaʻe Productions has filmed Hawaii's natural world for broadcast since 2003 — as Directors of Photography and cinematographers on PBS Nature's Sharks of Hawaii, National Geographic's Wild Hawaii: Secrets of the Deep and Wild Hawaii: Land of Fire, and Discovery Channel's Sharkcano and Sharks of the Fire Goddess.
- Equipment & Production — Broadcast-grade production equipment based on the Big Island of Hawaii and available statewide, operated by crews who know the islands.
- Equipment Rentals — Rent RED cinema cameras, Shotover gimbals, DJI drones, Nauticam underwater housings and full production packages on the Big Island, with delivery statewide and a price match guarantee.
- Natural History Video Production
- Hawaii Film Fixer
- Contact — Tell us about your production, rental or stock footage needs anywhere in Hawaii. We reply with availability and pricing, typically within one business day.