Igluna 2019 Trailer
Project and the Logistics
I was hired as the producer for the first Igluna exhibition, an event focused on space exploration and astronaut survival. The main showcase took place inside a glacier tunnel on top of the Klein Matterhorn near Zermatt, at an altitude of 3,883 meters. A smaller part of the exhibition was down in the valley at the Backstage Hotel in Zermatt.
Because it was the first time this event was ever held, and because of the extreme location, nobody really knew what to expect. Traveling from the town up to the glacier took 40 minutes each way, which meant the shooting schedule I put together had to be incredibly tight with very small margins of error.
High-Altitude Challenges
The location forced us to keep our setup minimal. Zermatt is completely car-free, so we couldn’t bring heavy production vehicles or tons of cases. I chose a lightweight Sony Alpha 7R kit to keep the crew mobile.
Even with light equipment, working at nearly 4,000 meters is exhausting if you aren’t acclimated to the thin air. The lack of oxygen was instantly noticeable, making simple tasks physically straining. We had to carefully manage our pacing and energy levels throughout the shoot.
B-Roll and Drone Shooting
Alongside producing, I stepped in to shoot B-roll and handle the drone cinematography. Flying a drone in sub-zero temperatures at that altitude is tricky on its own. An additional challenge was that I was flying in an active tourist flight zone.
To keep the production safe, I coordinated our flight plans directly with the local helicopter company, Air Zermatt. Because the mountains block both the sight and sound of approaching aircraft until they are right on top of you, this communication was essential.
The footage ended up looking stunning and very much worth the effort and the frozen limbs.
VIP Documentaries
I was also tasked with documenting the arrival of the event’s VIP guests, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt and ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier, who flew in via a Super Puma helicopter from Zurich. I followed them from the landing pad as they toured both exhibition locations.
Because the astronauts were visiting Switzerland as part of a separate event in Zurich, that production team retained the exclusive rights to the footage, meaning we couldn’t use it in our final edit. While it was a shame not to include it, getting to talk astrophysics with two such accomplished astronauts was an absolute highlight..
