‘Flying Dreams’

Sent by Phantom International: “Flying Dreams movie directed by the talented Elsa Blayau is an ode to ocean, water sports and femininity. Based on an original idea from Alex Udin, Elsa Blayau transformed the project to a complete story and brought it to reality with this realization.

The main character is played by Claire-Lise Welter a french water ski athlete double European champion in slalom. Claire-Lise embodies the modern woman, elegant and sporty.
The movie was shot with 2 cameras one Phantom Flex rigged on a stabilized crane and a Sony F55 CineAlta 4K to provide high speed, high quality and high resolution. During two days, more than 20 crews participated to the shooting that took place some miles away from the coast of Brittany.

Phantom International is very pleased to share this movie with you and we hope you will all have Flying Dreams.

Elsa Blayau, Movie Director
“I have known Alex Udin for several years, and each of us has progressed in our respective careers. He turned to me
for this film project, with the final objective of bringing our two worlds together: filming and sailing.

We spent a long time preparing the shoot. The major challenge was to get beautiful images of course, but also ones that were very stable. We had to follow the Goldfish and the Flying Phantom that sail at high speed in waves, without any movement. With Pierre-Hugues Galien, chief cameraman , we chose to shoot with a stabilized camera hanging from a crane. We then were able to shoot most of the movie from the boat, with a lot of flexibility, mobility and all the point s of views needed.

At the end, I found it very interesting to work with a mixed team of experienced film technicians and sailing enthusiasts, who know by heart the Emerald Coast and the Channel Islands. We do not have the same concerns or the same needs when shooting. It was a great challenge for me to film at sea and overcome the difficult working conditions. We were shaken around for 48 hours by the waves. It was more tiring than shooting on land!

I am very happy with the result and I thank Claire-Lise Welter and Benjamin Lamotte for their participation in the project. Claire-Lise slalomed for two hours in water at 18° without a complaint and Benjamin sailed on the edge the Flying Phantom single-handed for many hours. It was a real physical effort! I love the emphasis of the beauty, the lightness and the elegance of the Flying Phantom. I think the story is one to follow: we could make a new film aimed at showing the incredible speed of the boat created by Alex Udin.”

Claire-Lise Welter, Water Ski Athlete
“The main factors to accept this participation were that this was a new challenge and a desire to discover the world of sailing that was unknown to me. I knew Alex Udin through a friend and the plot of the project intrigued me immediately: A flying boat, really? It was really exciting so I accepted straight away.

The world of high performance and high speed sailing was a complete discovery even though I already have done some catamaran sailing during my vacations.

The whole team was really pro, so I left myself be guided by all the members who gave me good advice. It was such a great experience meeting such people.
I’m very surprised with the result and by the beautiful images filmed in slow motion zigzagging on the Flying Phantom. It’s always embarrassing to see yourself on the screen but it is rather flattering in this movie.
Now, I will finish my water ski season with the Pro Tour in Florida-USA late October. A season that really went smoothly. Winter is coming and it will be time to prepare for downhill skiing.”

Alex Udin, Founder Phantom International
“I have for a long time wanted to make a film that connects to people who are not necessarily experts in sailing. To show our sport in a new way, which is more artistic, more sensual and less focused on the racing and performances. I also wanted to show how surprising some unknown places in Brittany could be.

This film focuses on the passion I have for the sea, it is a place of total freedom. I wanted to share with people, the environment in which I live and that fascinates me. I am captivated by water skiing also because I find this extremely elegant and graceful, especially when practiced at a high level by a woman. Sailing is my passion and also my job as a designer of flying boats. That is an interesting combination of both worlds furthermore with this sporty and elegant woman embodied by Claire-Lise Welter.

It was an amazing experience to have had the opportunity to work with true screen professionals such as Elsa Blayau, the cinematographer Pierre-Hugues Galen and his entire team.
I think the film shows our sport and our region as we have never seen it before. I hope we’ve managed to make the audience enter this world that makes me dream so much.”