We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dalton Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dalton, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.

Adventure to the Dry Tortugas

At NPI productions we are known for many different things including wild adventures, action packed films and the highest caliber production team. Within that blend we have also become unofficial problem solvers for many clients and projects that would otherwise be deemed impossible.

Almost one year ago to the date we were contacted regarding 2 tourism projects in the state of Florida, both of which had been turned down by multiple production companies and at this point we were the last option. Both projects required specialty equipment, specialty training, intensive logistics and a production team willing to take on extreme environments for both people and equipment. This is where NPI thrives.

The first project was an underwater museum of art in Grayton Beach Florida that required the ability to document beautiful visuals 60 feet beneath the sea. This project was tricky and we nailed it…but nothing compared to the Dry Tortugas.

The mission was to capture all the beauty and elements involved around Fort Jefferson and Dry Tortugas National Park. Now would be a good time to mention that the park itself is mostly underwater and located 60 miles southwest of Key West – literally in the middle of the ocean. None of this was a concern for our crew as we were truly built for projects just like this. Not just the adventure and excitement but the logistics and extremely tight timelines to pull this off.

Before the fun began the logistics had to be completed and a ‘daunting task’ would be putting this project lightly. Hi first major problem was that we needed to capture beautiful aerial imagery of a National Park that has highly protected wildlife – meaning it is illegal to operate drones and in turn creating an immediate hurdle. The first thought is let’s film from a helicopter or plane, the issue is that helicopters cannot get close due to the damaging winds from the blades near this protected nesting ground for birds. A plane is traditionally not ideal, especially as Sea Plane because 80% of the view out the window is the aircrafts wing. That’s not going to cut it and we MUST secure these serial visuals.

At this point we say to ourselves, now what?

We started making phone calls and within a couple days we had located a Sea Plane which was a huge win. However, this wasn’t just a sea plane – this was a state of the art futuristic looking Sea Plane known as the Icon A5. This was a huge hurdle to overcome as finding a Sea Plane is much harder than one would think and there are only two formal ways to enter Fry Tortugas National Park. The first is the public Sea Plane which is booked out months in advance and was not an option. The second is a fairy boat which again is booked many months in advance and was not an option. Locating a Sea Plane allowed us to get phase one covered, which was capturing the actual feeling of flying and landing on the water at dry Tortugas national park.

This does not include the massive amounts of work and logistics to communicate with the National Parks system and all of its connected partners to get permits and access to actually do this. Finding a plane is one thing, having the legal ability to do what you need is another. Thankfully this was a success even though it took some serious orchestration.

The problem is we only fixed half the problem, we still need aerial visuals! Thankfully our new friend the Sea Plane pilot had another connection for a Gyrocopter… something we were not familiar with. Essentially a Gyrocopter is a tiny helicopter that ironically does not operate anything like a helicopter and has much less damaging winds, much smaller fuel consumption and a lot more maneuverability and open door space for photography/videography. This was the absolute game changer in the long run which we will circle back on.

At this point we now have the ability to fly over the Dry Tortugas for our required visuals and we have a Sea Plane for the visual effect of flying and landing. The issue… How are we going to do both of these in one day? How are we going to fit the entire crew in a two seater Gyrocopter or a two seater Sea Plane? How are we going to land a Gyrocopter on a natural preserve? How are we going to be able to afford fuel for two aircraft instead of one?

This is where the strategy and logistics our team provides came in to play. We found a way to break this up into two production days covering all dynamics of the project that we needed. Phase 1 was flying the Gyrocopter from Key West over to Dry Tortugas National Park without landing to get all the beauty shots we need from the sky. Keep in mind we are inside a tiny little helicopter with two seats and no doors flying 60 miles over open ocean with no land in sight. As an avid aviation/airport photographer I have flown dozens of helicopter hours, but this was different. Being out over open water without visual of land, knowing anything could go wrong inside a unfamiliar aircraft… had me nervous to say the least.

Crazy sidenote is the day we actually did the Gyrocopter flight the pilot called while I was heading to the Key West Airport riding a moped that I had rented. The Gyrocopter pilot let me know that he needed more fuel but they didn’t have any at the airport, so he wanted me to come grab the fuel bags and go get some for us – 10 minutes later I am literally driving a rented moped in Key West carrying 20 gallons of fuel that I just picked up at the gas station… that I was about to go put into a Gyrocopter to fly over the ocean.

Fast forward and we are on the runway at Key West airport taking off for the first time in a Gyrocopter. The aircraft takes off in a very unique combination of forward movement down the runway like an airplane but then a weightless feeling as the top rotor lifts you in the air long before you expect it. Unbelievable sensation that feels unlike any other aircraft in my opinion and then I look up to see the most stunning scenery of the Florida Keys expanding north. We pull a tight u-turn and start heading over open water with two cameras strapped around my chest, extra lenses wedged between my legs and the cool ocean breeze flowing through the open capsule. The blue water was unlike anything I’ve ever seen and we saw nothing less than 100 sea turtles and dolphins playing in the shallow water along the way. In all honesty this flight to the Dry Tortugas was possibly the most exhilarating and beautiful experience of my entire life and that’s a strong claim.

We approached the Dry Tortuga‘s and spent about 25 minutes flying various patterns around the three main islands getting some incredible photo and video of all the key points we needed for this project. To this day I think these are the best aerial images we have ever taken and it’s going to be quite hard to beat them! The job was wrapped up so we made our way back to Key West and at that point I simply lean back and enjoy the ride. After landing I got picked up by the crew and then we got prepared for the next day and phase 2 of the operation.

Day two was much harder than day one because we had multiple components of transportation overlapping and very little wiggle room to play with. If you recall I stated earlier that one of the big issues was our staff and equipment, how are we going to get this to an island? The answer is that we had one of the best and largest charter operations on the planet save the day. We hired two individual charter boats (both bailed) to run us out to Dry Tortugas, a task that is not for the weary.

This is a 60 mile open ocean track each direction passing directly through the gulf stream which can be very dangerous. We had several captains flat out turn the job down because they did not feel their boat was a safe option for the journey. Thankfully our many connections came together and brought us to none other than Two Conchs sport fishing in Marathon Key. For those who live under a rock, the Two Conchs crew has the largest Charter operation with 20+ yellowfin boats running in their fleet + their very own sport fishing show on television. Needless to say, these were the only guys for the job.

The plan was to drop off two of our crew members and all of the equipment with the Two Conchs boat at a marina in Key West. We arrived early and I dropped off the crew then made my way to the Key West airport once again. Timing was critical and very hard to pinpoint as we needed the boat and camera crew to be at the Dry Tortugas ready to film the landing of the Sea Plane with perfect positioning to get the fort in the background. We calculated the timing and sent the boat out before the sea plane and hoped all went well for both parties to keep the schedule.

I will never forget walking onto the runway and seeing the plane for the first time. This was not your average Sea Plane and if anything it looked more like some thing a storm trooper would be flying. Absolutely beautiful aircraft and again not for the faint of heart as this was a tiny two seater just big enough to fit the pilot, myself and one small backpack. Since this was my second flight in two days the butterflies were gone and I was really excited about flying in this new aircraft.

Along the way my job was to get POV GoPro footage from the pilot, some POV footage as a passenger and then capture the landing as it feels from within the aircraft. Meanwhile we had to hope and pray that the rest of the crew was in position and ready to capture the landing as that was the true money shot. When we made our final approach we could see the crew but they were slightly off by a couple hundred meters and ultimately captured the shot from the boat while running parallel to us as we landed. Truly incredible moment to be inside a beautiful Sea Plane approaching a water runway for my first time while watching my production crew chasing us in a beautiful Charter Boat operated by some of the best in the business.

At this point the true problematic scenes had been captured successfully which was a huge win. Moving forward we had a few extra scenes to shoot with the Sea Plane on the beach and then our entire crew moved into Fort Jefferson itself. If you have not done research about this location please take the time because it is one of the most incredible places on this planet and the history that has occurred there is nothing less than astounding. Walking through the halls that were once prisons as we documented the history of this location was a true honor and I had no idea what we were getting into until it was happening. We interviewed the most incredible park ranger who’s passion translated into the final product and instills the sense of extreme rarity and importance for this national park.

Our last strategic hurdle was getting the Sea Plane out by a certain time so that he could get back to a different project. We finished all the shooting with the pilot and Sea Plane then captured a video of him taking off over the fort. The last moment I had with the pilot was capturing him backing off the shore from inside the plane then jumping off the plane into the ocean and swimming over to the boat to get on with the crew. This again was one of those moments that I still can’t believe and will truly never forget.

At this point we have captured everything we need from the sky and the ground within the fort and all that remained was underwater. As I mentioned most of this national park is located underwater and we take pride in capturing beautiful visuals everywhere, but underwater is where we truly thrive. There is too much information and incredible facts to share in this interview but the density and variety of marine life in this area is unlike anything else. We were blessed to capture beautiful corals, incredible tropical fish and even some rarities like baby squid during very short dive.

After wrapping up the final scenes in the water we jumped on the boat and made our way back towards Key West which takes about 2 1/2 hours to make the 60 mile trek on water. Keep in mind I arrived at the Dry Tortugas via Sea Plane and I’m now leaving on a boat so my mind is exploding with adrenaline and excitement from this incredible 48 hours. The whole ride back I wasn’t even paying attention to how gnarly the ocean conditions were getting, I was just absorbing this experience.

We finally make it back to the marina in Key West just before dark, unload all the equipment and say goodbye to our newfound friends at Two Conchs. However, we did not know until this point that the journey was not over yet. During the planning process we missed one small detail – I left the truck at the Key West airport for my flight that morning and we were on the other side of Key West at a marina… thankfully we had one more ace in the pocket and I had a mostly charged one wheel that we used for filming on the island and had enough battery to get me the 5 miles to the airport.

Once again I’m absolutely tripping at how this is even real life. I left in an airplane, came back in a boat, used an electric one wheel to travel across an entire island, then grabbed our truck and went back to get the crew. The moment we all sat down in the truck and started rolling back to the hotel is when it really hit. We actually pulled this thing off.

This was once in a lifetime opportunity and not every project presents itself like this one did. However, we take pride in being readily available at any given time to make the impossible come to life for our clients. The wild part? We pulled off the entire logistics and production within four weeks from being notified about the project. Oh and the gyro pilot? We are now best friends and have worked dozens of projects in the year since we first met for the Dry Tortugas.

Hands-down the most involved multi segment project we’ve ever done but the final product is one of the best pieces we’ve ever been a part of. The real question is… what’s next?

Dalton, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The NPI Productions brand is extremely unique in many ways.

On the forefront we provide a variety of services, skills and equipment that would traditionally take 3-5+ different companies. Over the years we have identified that many clients are forced to source multiple companies for a single project including talent, logistics, script development, on site production, post production editing, final product application and the list goes on.

NPI is the single team solution to this problem.

This combination of skills and services we have mastered has been hyper enhanced with an online presence for 10+ years accumulating tens of millions of social media impressions. The end result is a never ending cycle of growth for NPI Productions and residual benefits for all of our clients and projects. The quality of our products will always be the forefront of our brand, however the process is where we blow past the competition.

Ask any client, the NPI experience is always exciting, exceptional and unlike any other. Your product should always be of the best quality, but the process must be at the same level and bring the project to life in a refreshing and exciting way. Our growth over the last 3 years is unprecedented and the reality is that we have nearly tripled in just 12 months.

We have produced 500+ small business commercials, 1,000+ billboards, 100+ weddings, 100+ live events and if it’s legal… WE DO IT!

Scaling a brand takes extreme precision so that with the growth has to follow consistent high quality products. It’s a really exciting time at NPI as we add new services, new equipment, new deliverables and elevate everything we have already been doing for 10+ years. Our brand is growing at a rate that is enabling entire wings of the company to open up and fully excel as individual types of services.

This includes commercial ads for businesses/products/services, weddings, events, aviation, business development and much more. As we continue to build the vision is to have multiple teams operating in many different locations so that we can take the NPI products and offer them on a nationwide scale.

The future is bright and limitless for NPI and we are eager for what comes next.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Most businesses in the world can vouch for how difficult the pandemic was in 2020 moving forward into today. The growth of our business has been slow and steady with intent to make investments and growth as they are actually needed. Because of this we had a good plan and Safetynet for if and win anything like the pandemic were to happen. I would not say that we were anticipating 2020, but we had made decisions for years that put us in a place where we were not taken out immediately.

Now that only goes so far as cash burns very quickly when more cash is not coming back in. The decision was made immediately to put a halt on all outgoing payments to anyone in the company other than myself as the founder. This was temporary and only to see what was about to happen next and keep as much work and cash flow in the business as possible. Shortly after the pandemic started we immediately shifted gears with our services.

Product advertising and small businesses are a big part of what we do and we identified the need for content that could be produced away from the real world. If anything there was a larger need for content during this time because so many companies were unable to produce content and the actual companies themselves were locked down. Work needed to go on and all of these businesses needed content to push sales regardless of the situation. This plus some inspiration on TikTok led to the official opening of our studio and product related advertisements produced in that studio. By following this rabbit hole we were inspired by a completely new way to capture products and businesses within our own environment during a time where no one else was able to work.

Ultimately the world began to slowly open up and our other lines of services became relevant once again. However, we had now created an entire new line of services and we actually re-designed all of our deliverables and packages in an exciting new way that was more relevant to the needs of today. In addition to this we redeveloped how we hire our internal team and opened up full-time positions opposed to hiring individuals on a single basis. This combination lead to an explosion of new clients, a much higher average order value and much better margins for our income versus overhead. In other words, the pandemic was the best thing that ever happened to NPI Productions.

I can give you several examples of situations like this where things out of our control completely changed what we could do and how we could do it. The reality is that because we were ready and driven to survive while adapting we were able to not only escape this trying time, but double the size of our company in the process. This should be encouraging and exciting to all small businesses out there reading this. We lost tens of thousands of dollars in contracts within a few days when the worldwide fear began and instead of panicking we regrouped, redeveloped and exploded our brand in a powerful way.

This is a very proud process and transition for us to have overcome but also a reminder that growth is available at any time and we have the power to grow our brand even without the pressure of a worldwide pandemic.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

First I would say an uncontrollable addiction to film making and creating amazing stories keeps the engine running non stop. The reality is I have transitioned more into an entrepreneur than a filmmaker. This does not have anything to do with the amount of hours I produce film, but rather my vision is becoming more honed in on the growth of the brand.

We have done an incredible job growing this business and showing the world what NPI productions has to offer in dozens of markets and types of businesses. This has always been encouraging and exciting to see, but the reality is we are barely scratching the surface. Many businesses become successful and run their small business for many years and that’s great. We want something more. Our business does not just create content, we solve problems for businesses.

The second I identified this I realized there is no limit to how far this can go. We have solved problems in Central Florida then expanded throughout the state of Florida. That led to us solving problems across the country and ultimately across the globe. The reality is that we have the team, assets and drive to create a literally 100+ times larger than we are today. What is simply known as “NPI style” has become the associating term for what we do and how we do it. We are not just providing content, we are doing it the NPI way. This is bigger than simply stating we did a job, we did the job in a better, more effective and more exciting way. You can do something or you can do something right, that is why we are here.

To condense, our mission and the drive is to provide those solutions to a much greater basis of clients on a continually growing scale. There is nothing too big, too far, too complicated or any other combination for our team. We have the logistics and systems in place to truly provide something for everyone. Our goal is to maintain the quality and exciting feeling our clients get when working with us, while pushing to a global scale.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.npiproductions.tv
• Instagram: @npiproductions + @thelifeofdaltonsmith
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/npiproductions
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daltonsmithnpi
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/NPIProductions
• Other: TikTok: @npiproductions

Image Credits
@npiproductions