The Right Angle

Filming a free solo with Conner Jeffress along the Sonoma coast was an exercise in nerves, patience, and perspective. The cliff dropped straight into the ocean, waves detonating against the rock below, and every movement, his and ours, felt amplified by the exposure. Fear was always present, but so was beauty. The light, the wind, the endless motion of the sea all demanded respect. Nothing about it was rushed. Every decision mattered.

Finding the right angle became a full-blown obsession. We tested, adjusted, scrapped ideas, and tried again, chasing that feeling where the frame finally made sense. Static cameras forced commitment. You had to believe in the shot before it happened. The drone was placed with intention, hovering in just the right pocket of air to reveal the true scale of it all. The magnitude of the waves, the raw violence of the ocean, and one climber moving deliberately above the chaos. When it finally clicked, the angle did more than show the climb. It pulled you into the fear, the focus, and the silence. That moment of alignment is the whole point.

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