Branded Content

BRAND DESCRIPTION

OCEARCH is a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and protecting marine life, with a primary focus on sharks. The organization tags, tracks, and studies sharks worldwide to collect valuable data on their movements, behaviors, and habitats. This research helps advance ocean conservation efforts and supports the protection of marine ecosystems. OCEARCH operates a research vessel, the M/V OCEARCH, which serves as a floating laboratory for scientists studying sharks and other marine species. The organization provides open-source data to researchers, educators, and the public through their Shark Tracker, which allows anyone to follow tagged sharks in real time.

MINDSOIL OBJECTIVE

After entering into a partnership with Caterpillar back in 2013, the OCEARCH set out on three expeditions: Jacksonville, Cape Cod and The Galápagos Islands. Mindsoil was brought on to conceptualize and create a series of short films that would change the tone of the brand's story from the dramatic narrative created by the TV networks into a true representation of the hard work, devotion and camaraderie required to complete expeditions at such an unprecedented level.

MINDSOIL SOLUTION

All of the boat’s previous video content had been captured on 1/2 sensor cameras, so the first step was to upgrade the technology. We switched from the Sony Ex 3 cameras to a combination of the Sony F3 and Canon 5d mk3 cameras to provide a more cinematic look. This eventually caused a shift in the post pipeline from Final Cut to Premier Pro to avoid transcode issues. Next was deliverables. For Jacksonville we decided to shoot and edit a finished 3-4 minute short film every day for 10 days without leaving the ship.

The style evolved with every video. A natural sound palette was used to bring the viewer into the world sans music and sound-ups. The graphics grew from lo-fi to polished. Camera movement was used to evolve the feel. We gradually introduced dollies, macro lenses and stabilizers once the operators were used to their positions in proximity to the sharks. When compared to the current style of videos in 2025 the content we created remains relevant with over 32k views among their audience. of 42.8k.