Making a Video for Ukraine’s Military Intelligence | Full Breakdown

In this video, I share the full journey of creating a video for the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine — from the first idea to the final result. A deep dive into concept development, production, and what it’s like to film for one of the most powerful units in the country.

Filming a video for the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) was one of the most exciting and challenging projects in my portfolio. Just one shooting day, two locations, three soldiers in full combat gear, and minimal equipment.
The final video was highly praised, became a banner on the official DIU website, and remains one of the key works in my portfolio.

The project was created in collaboration with the communications agency 9.Department.

In this behind-the-scenes video, I share my experience of creating a cinematic product under tight time and resource constraints. It will be interesting for filmmakers — beginners and professionals alike — cinematographers, directors, and anyone curious about filmmaking and what happens behind the scenes.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro: Project for DIU
00:40 Final result
2:10 Idea development and the initial brief
2:45 Preparing for the shoot: gear & equipment
3:13 First location: gearing up in the shooting range
4:10 Action scenes at the range: shooting & dynamic shots
4:55 Field shooting
6:08 Night shoot: night vision
6:55 Final thoughts

Gear:

Camera: Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G1
Lenses: Meyer Optik 50mm, Tokina 11–16mm
Lights: LED panel, RGB units & tube light
Audio: Sennheiser MKE 600
BTS filmed on iPhone 15 Pro

Next video — about editing and sound design.
Subscribe so you don’t miss it!

Hit the like button and drop a comment with your questions or thoughts!

#filmmaking #military #ukraine