Chad Copeland / Dispatches
Launch sites. Rivers. Cities in motion. A closer view of the assignments and encounters that shape the work.
01 / CNN · Blue Origin
Pilot, cinematographer, FAA liaison and Air Boss. A launch brought my aviation and filmmaking experience into the same brief: coordinate the airspace, prepare the cameras and be ready when the moment came.
See the film & fieldwork →On location
NBC / Rio 2016
For NBC’s Olympics coverage, I produced, directed, filmed and edited features and immersive content. With Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, the work explored the city beyond the competition: Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf and Carnival.
The production record →
Topgolf / Four cities
Cinematography, editing and aerial direction took me through New York, Las Vegas, Houston and San Francisco. In Houston, In Focus: Hurricane Harvey followed the recovery effort. The campaign received PR Daily’s first-place video award, a team achievement.
Watch the Hurricane Harvey film →
Brew Dogs / Scotland
The Aberdeen episode brought aerial camera work and camera operation to Brew Dogs. The landscape, the brewery and the people all belonged in the story.
Brew Dogs · Amazon Prime Video →
World Extreme Medicine / Edinburgh
The conference connects with a lasting interest in preparation, medicine and the judgment required to work in remote environments. An expedition is as much about its people as its destination.
Explore the expedition work →A home landscape / Central Oregon
Central Oregon · an original film from my portfolio.
Recovered from the archive
A different kind of movement
My commercial production record includes Tesla, bringing an eye for movement and a background in aerial cinematography to automotive storytelling.
View my professional record →Further entries
Oaxaca / Mexico
For Forward Edge’s children’s project in Oaxaca, I worked as executive producer, director and cinematographer. Documentary work concerning trafficking and exploitation required attention to dignity as well as the story.
Alaska / MMIP
My connection to Alaska includes documentary work concerning Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and a separate chapter of Air Force service at Elmendorf.
The Air Force chapter →Fiji / Pacific fieldwork
Whale research and field imagery in Fiji form part of a wider Pacific chapter, alongside humpback-whale work around Vava’u in the Kingdom of Tonga.
See the Tonga photographs →London / England
Production operations in London form another part of the international record, connecting the travel, people and practical work behind the films.
The expedition atlas / 34 locations
Representative places and regions from my assignments, service and expeditions. Regional markers locate the general area; they do not identify a filming position, flight path or whale encounter. Geography: Natural Earth. Map notes & sources.
Map notes
The atlas uses geographic reference points, rather than exact filming sites or vessel tracks, for regional assignments. Coastlines: Natural Earth. Landmark reference: Great Getu Arch. Explore the China expedition photographs and spatial artwork.