Coastal Dawns on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Brandon A. DuHamel
The Film
Ah, the sea and the sun! Throughout history humanity has peered out across the open seas in wonderment at its vastness and been moved by the site of the sun slowly peeking over the horizon in a fiery display flashing across the ocean's ebb and flow. As Sol slowly reveals herself in the sky heralding the spark of a new day with her crimson display in the breaking hours of dawn, the hush of that vast expanse of waters that has played such a large part in our history soothes with its sound and the possibilities it represents.
Poseidon was the god of the sea in Greek mythology, worshiped as part of the trinity of deities who created the Earth and Sól is the Germanic sun-goddess whose name is bestowed upon the great star that brings warmth and life to our planet. What would our planet be without these two elements -- water and light?
Coastal Dawns, from the same people who gave the world the Discovery HD Theater series,
Sunrise Earth, captures the essence of dawn over the sea in real-time in a brilliantly shot high definition production.
In two 50-minute episodes of what the company, Blue Marvel, has dubbed Experiential HD TV with very few edits and no narration or music, sunrise on the coast is captured in the splendor of original high definition recordings. The first episode, "Maui, Hawaii" is shot from the Hana Coast on the North East shoulder of Maui in Wai'anapanapa Bay and the second, "Camden, Maine", from Camden Hills State Park at the summit of Mt. Battie looking out over Penobscot Bay. I have been to both of these states and, in particular, I have looked out over Penobscot Bay and I can tell you, Blue Marvel have captured it perfectly.
By far the most colorful and soothing of the two episodes, as one might expect, is "Hawaii", with its dreamy tropical palms swaying effortlessly in the breeze and its pastel-like seas of crystalline blue, but "Maine" also offers a dazzling spectacle as the autumnal foliage offers up its varied palette. As the images go, so do the sounds -- nothing but the natural world surrounding you in a beautiful 5.1 mix. The disc can be played with two options of text overlays -- Field Guide Notes, which will periodically display the time, date, and location plus facts about the geography and wildlife, or Inspirational Quotes, which will display related literary quotes pertaining to the sun, the seas, etc. There is also the option to turn the text off entirely.
Blue Marvel has continued what was begun with
Sunrise Earth and based on this release, surpassed it, at least in the quality of the picture and the excellence of the camera work. If they continue to put out releases of this quality, they will have this niche all to themselves as the ultimate go-to studio for HD showcase pieces.
The Picture
Originally shot in high definition,
Coastal Dawns appears on Blu-ray Disc in an absolutely flawless and spectacular 1080p/24 VC-1 encoded 1.78:1 high definition transfer. I have to admit that I actually heard myself saying aloud, "wow!" more than once as I watched this immaculate presentation. The level of detail purveyed is of the highest quality and surpasses even the most popular nature documentary series on Blu-ray to date, such as
Planet Earth,
Ganges, and
Galapagos. In fact,
Coastal Dawns displays an even more detailed and consistent picture on BD that its predecessor which started it all,
Sunrise Earth.
Colors are stunningly natural and realistic, with marvelous black levels and shadow details. The vibrant orange glow of the early sun rising over the azure Hawaiian waters is just breathtaking. This VC-1 encoded high definition production is almost like looking through a window. If it weren't for the fact that you can't open that window up and feel the breeze or smell the sea air, you'd be easily fooled into thinking it was the real thing. There are no signs of color banding, no black crush, no macroblocking or any other compression artifacts to spoil the view. This is the perfect disc to show off any high definition display.
The Sound
There's not much to say about the sound on this release. Staying true to the "experiential" moniker as well as most other nature releases on Blu-ray,
Coastal Dawns offers up only a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The mix consists only of the natural sounds of the surroundings -- no music, no narration, no foley effects, only the wind rustling through the trees, the rush of the ocean's waves, the sound of birdsong. Everything surrounds you just as it would in the natural world, and it is really quite soothing. I suppose a lossy Dolby Digital encoding is good enough for such purposes, though at times the sound of the ocean is not quite as full and realistic is it might have been had something like PCM or DTS-HD MA been used, but if it is a sacrifice for the betterment of the picture, then that is one I am willing to gladly give in on. It's an adequately relaxing mix.
The Extras
There is one brief promo spot on this disc entitled
The Blue Marvel Way (1.78:1/high definition) in which director David Conover, creator of
Sunrise Earth, discusses the Blue Marvel vision and the direction in which the company is heading. The spot itself is filled with some wonderful but fleeting high-def nature images.
Final Thoughts
Coastal Dawns is pure high definition ecstasy that makes a perfect showcase piece for any high definition display. The Blue Marvel team has provided a flawless video transfer of this "experiential" material and it is truly a sight to behold.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Director: David Conover
- Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, Full Screen, HiFi Sound, Surround Sound, THX, Widescreen
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Region: All Regions
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: Not Rated
- Studio: BlueMarvel
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: August 12, 2008
- Run Time: 110 minutes
- List Price: $24.99
- Extras
