Merritt Island drone pilot produces 'Wonder of the Blue' ocean documentary

Neuroscience explores what the ocean does to our brain.

Florida Today

The ocean's beautiful — and it's necessary, too.

That's the message from 20-year-old Makayla Wheeler of Merritt Island and her documentary, "Wonder of the Blue."

Makayla Wheeler of Merritt Island on the beach with her camera and underwater housing. She has produced a documentary "Wonder of the Blue" that combines scientists, watermen and even non-profits, to explore our connection to the water and how that can benefit other areas such as conservation and non-profits.

"I am hoping to inspire more people about what they love and to enjoy the ocean and embrace it," Wheeler said. "My main message is seeing the ocean as a resource."

The young drone pilot, who fell into filmmaking after making movies about her horseback riding adventures, finds the ocean enchanting. She started working on her documentary in fall 2017 and finished it a few months later in January.

The research, however, took about a year.

"Wonder of the Blue" features six people, from surfers to scientists, three of which are from Brevard. They are Girard Middleton, John Dornellas, Nikki Viesins, Wallace Nichols, Jennifer Adler and Mark Koch.

Video:How a drone changes storytelling in "Wonder of the Blue"

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Wheeler collaborated with other cinematographers and drone pilots from around the world. The documentary combines neuroscience, watermen and nonprofits, and explores what water does to our brain and its connection to the ocean.

To show the ocean's beauty, Wheeler's drone played quite a role in the documentary: "It really provides great, adventuresome cinematography that we can add to our ground cinematography."

She believes those gorgeous shots of the ocean — in Brevard and beyond — may inspire conservation efforts, too.

"I asked myself, walking along one of the beaches, why is the ocean so inspiring? Why is it so relaxing, so enjoyable?" Wheeler said. She hopes the film inspires people to get out and enjoy nature — and maybe wonder about the blue.

For more information and to watch the 18-minute "Wonder of the Blue" documentary, visit mgwpro.com/wonder-of-the-blue.

FLORIDA TODAY visual journalist Malcolm Denemark contributed to this report.

Manderville is a community content specialist at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Manderville at 321-242-3614

or lmanderville@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @lumanderville

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Makayla Wheeler from “2 Drone Gals” photographs the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster arrival at Port Canaveral in this file photo. The booster was from the launch of the JCAT communications satellite, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.