Making a Documentary on a Record-Breaking Rocket Launch
I directed, filmed, and edited the entire documentary from concept to final cut. This involved travelling to the Mojave Desert to capture the launch, conducting interviews with team members, and managing the creative direction throughout. I also collaborated with five talented music students from Sheffield's music department, coordinating original scoring for five tracks and overseeing sound design to ensure the film's audio matched its visual intensity.
Project Sunride is a student-led rocketry team at the University of Sheffield. Following their debut launch in May 2023, they returned to the Mojave Desert in June with an upgraded liquid-fuelled rocket, one that would shatter the European amateur record and mark the UK's first student-built liquid rocket launch. The goal is to capture this historic moment through compelling documentary filmmaking that honours the team's grit, ambition, and technical brilliance.
Filming a Record-Breaking Launch in the Mojave
Documenting a rocket launch isn't like shooting a standard event. You've got one shot. Literally. The Mojave Desert provided a stunning, unforgiving backdrop, but it also meant dealing with harsh lighting, unpredictable schedules, and the sheer tension of knowing that months of engineering work hinged on a single ignition sequence. I focused on capturing not just the launch itself, but the human side of it all: the late-night troubleshooting sessions, the nervous laughter before countdown, the exhausted relief afterwards. Beyond raw footage, I experimented with 3D visual effects to give context to non-engineering audiences, breaking down complex rocket mechanics in ways that felt accessible.
Post-Production and Cross-Department Collaboration
Editing nine months of footage into a coherent narrative required brutal decision-making. I had hundreds of hours of material, but the story needed to breathe. It couldn't just be a technical showcase. Working with five music students added another creative dimension entirely. We scored five original tracks together, each tailored to specific emotional beats in the film, shaping everything from the tension of pre-launch checks to the euphoria of ignition.
The Result
The documentary has been remarkably well-received. The University of Sheffield's official LinkedIn account reposted it, giving the project institutional recognition. The trailer alone generated 15,000 combined impressions with a 20%+ engagement rate.
