Humpback whales in Hawaiian waters are a recurring subject in Malaʻe Productions' aerial and underwater reels — humpbacks from the air, newborn calves taking their first breaths — and a standing part of the Hawaii stock footage library. Humpbacks are among the marine subjects in the archive that supplied stock video to National Geographic / PBS's Wild Hawaii: Secrets of the Deep and PBS Nature's Sharks of Hawaii.
What is in the library
The aerial material is the most distinctive: humpback whales filmed from above on the DJI Inspire fleet under FAA Part 107, with the coastal airspace authorizations handled by us, over the waters where the whales winter. A still from that work, Humpback Whale (Aerial · Hawaiian Waters), is in the photography portfolio. Underwater, the archive holds sequences shot on RED Digital Cinema cameras in Nauticam housings, including newborn calves taking their first breaths, with wildlife approaches made from our own boats.
Maui's whale season is where much of this discipline is practiced — it is the work the DJI Inspire 3, the Nauticam housings and the wildlife-approach boats were assembled for — and humpbacks in Hawaiian waters are staples of the underwater and aerial reels described on the Oahu and Big Island pages. The same marine archive holds whale shark encounters and tiger shark sequences, so a production building a Hawaiian marine story can source several subjects from one library.
The library is described across this site as 4K and 8K, and the RED Digital Cinema systems we shoot on record in 8K. For any specific clip we confirm the resolution, frame rate and delivery format before quoting, rather than promising a specification a particular shot does not have.
Typical licensing uses
Broadcast and documentary productions license humpback sequences as behavior and establishing footage; Wild Hawaii: Secrets of the Deep and Sharks of Hawaii drew on the same marine archive. Commercial and brand work uses aerial humpbacks as a Hawaii signature, from tourism campaigns to brand films that need the islands' most recognizable wildlife. Editorial and news outlets license whale footage during the season and around marine events, and educational and museum productions use the calf and mother sequences.
How licensing works
Licensing runs in four steps. First, an inquiry: send the humpback whale sequence you are after, the production it is for and how it will be used, through the form below or to sales@malaeproductions.com. Second, clip selection: we pull the candidate clips from the archive and send you a selection to review, with the resolution and format of each confirmed. Third, a quote: pricing follows the use — broadcast, documentary, commercial or editorial — along with territory, term and the number of clips, and we reply with availability and pricing, typically within one business day. Fourth, delivery: once the license is agreed, the selected clips are delivered at the resolution and format in the quote.
If the archive does not hold the shot, the crews that made it are available for assignment during whale season: the DJI Inspire 3, the Nauticam housings for RED and the wildlife-approach boats travel to Maui, Oahu and Kauai from our Big Island base, and we plan multi-island productions.
Humpback whales footage questions
Is the humpback footage aerial or underwater?
Both. The archive holds humpback whales filmed from the air on the Part 107 drone fleet and underwater sequences shot on RED cameras in Nauticam housings, including newborn calves. We confirm which clips are aerial and which are underwater, with resolution and format, during clip selection.
Which islands is the humpback footage from?
Hawaiian waters; Maui's whale season is the setting most often described on this site. Tell us if a specific island or backdrop matters and we select accordingly.
Can you film humpbacks for our production instead?
Yes, during whale season. The DJI Inspire 3, the Nauticam housings and the wildlife-approach boats travel to Maui, Oahu and Kauai from our Big Island base. Send dates and the behavior you are after and we quote a shoot alongside the licensing option.
Credits that drew on this subject
- Wild Hawaii: Secrets of the Deep (National Geographic / PBS)
- Sharks of Hawaii (PBS Nature)
More stock footage subjects
License humpback whale footage
Describe the sequence you need — aerial, underwater, mother and calf — the production and how it will be used. We reply with availability and pricing, typically within one business day.
Related
- All stock footage
- Maui video production
- 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.
- 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.