Two student filmmakers recently released some jaw-dropping footage of one of Earth's most dramatic landscapes. Florian Nick and Marcus Sies spent 14 days in Iceland in May and June this year, filming the seemingly desolate landscape for their Audiovisual Media degree at the Stuttgart Media University in Germany.
The pair used two cameras: the Canon 5D Mk III, which they used to film timelapses in raw, and the Arri Amira video camera for slow-speed and normal footage, shot using Apple ProRes 4444.
Iceland, an island country between Greenland and Norway, seems a forbidding place. It sits right over the gap between two tectonic plates, making it a region of high volcanic activity and earthquakes. This is seen all over the landscape: from the beaches of black volcanic basalt sand, to the strange rolling land formations of cooled and hardened lava.
Yet, as we see in "Eylenda," life tenaciously clings to the volcano-hewn land. Sea birds swim the icy waters, plants grow over the lava, ponies graze the slopes.
"Our desire was to capture that stunning landscape and wildlife to take you on a journey through this magical island," Nick and Sies said.
Their six-minute video doesn't show all of what Iceland has to offer -- how could it? -- but it's a gorgeous journey through a side of Viking country that few get to see.
Crank up the resolution, set it to fullscreen and enjoy.