Amazing Grace: The Untold Story

Feature Documentary - 2025

Amazing Grace: The Untold Story is a story of salvation, repentance, and grace.

I was brought on to film the historical reenactments, including the recreation of a massive deep-sea storm. Working under a tight schedule, the goal was to create scale and intensity without relying on an extensive visual effects infrastructure. The storm sequences were filmed in the San Diego Bay, where practical rain, wind, and water shaped the physical environment in front of the camera.

Because of high winds and the rain system, large green screens were not feasible around the ship. Instead, I embraced long lenses as a key part of my visual language. They compressed the environment to eliminate the modern skyline, narrowed the field of view to maximize practical effects, and allowed us to maintain visual authenticity without large-scale rigging. The result was a controlled and immersive scene aided by lensing strategy, rather than relying solely on digital effects.

Additional sequences were shot at sea, along the coastline, and within the historic district of San Diego, grounding the reenactments in real locations. Each environment needed a balance of historical credibility and logistical efficiency, ultimately shaping our entire approach to the producetion.

Amazing Grace: The Untold Story was filmed in Spring 2023 and released on streaming platforms in Winter 2025.

Camera: RED V-Raptor
Lenses: Sigma Cine Primes
Shot on Location in San Diego, California