Coastal Connection with Rainey Wallace

Behind the Scenes of Coastal Connection: Capturing Wilmington From the Air and On the Ground 

We recently wrapped filming the fourth episode of Coastal Connection, a real estate-focused show starring Intracoastal Realty agent Rainey Wallace. The episode will air this fall, and like each installment, it combines real estate, local businesses, coastal living, and a nonprofit component. 

What I love most about filming this kind of show is the variety. Over five half-day filming sessions, I’m moving constantly — from a school classroom to a tile showroom, a Wrightsville Beach home, a surf and yoga retreat at the Lumina Resort, and plenty of locations in between. The finished show has a lot of energy, and that starts with how we capture it. 

Rainey is a great filming partner because she is incredibly organized. She puts her scripts together ahead of time and knows what she wants to say and where she wants to say it. When I understand what the subject envisions, I can concentrate on finding the shots that bring that vision to life. 

One of the episode’s nonprofit features is the Intracoastal Realty Teacher’s Fund, which awards grants to teachers across New Hanover County. We filmed at Winter Park Elementary and interviewed one of the grant recipients. I always enjoy these segments because you get to see exactly how the money is being put to work. 

We also filmed a meet-and-greet at Refine Tile + Design, a beautiful showroom featuring high-end tile, carpet and flooring. I used a Sony FX3 on a gimbal (a type of steadi-cam) to move through the space and capture the colors, textures and overall scale of the showroom. While we were there, Rainey treated guests to unique coffee offerings from Wilmington’s Maven Coffee. Later, we visited a Wrightsville Beach home where Refine Tile + Design had completed bathroom and flooring work, giving us a chance to show their craftsmanship in an actual home. 

The episode also takes us to the Holiday Inn Resort Lumina for a women’s surfing and yoga retreat. RC Surf Instruction, the Lumina’s preferred surf school, led the surfing portion, while Emotion Fitness led the yoga session. Surfing footage almost always creates compelling content, while the yoga scenes called for beautiful slow-motion footage. Watching the women move through their practice almost looked like ballet. 

The retreat also included the Live Fearlessly Foundation, a local nonprofit serving people living with cystic fibrosis. Its founder, Jacob Venditti, passed away last year, and his sister Katie continues his mission. The organization gives back through surfing and is deeply involved in the local surf community. 

Rainey also spotlighted mortgage loan officer Dan Pedroni of North State Bank, who talked about living and working at the beach and helping people achieve their dream of coastal life. Another local business featured in the episode is Coastal Carrier Moving. 

Throughout production, I rely heavily on two tools: the drone and the gimbal. The gimbal allows me to walk, backpedal or move through a space while keeping the camera level and steady. That movement is important because we try to keep scenes visually active. Rather than having Rainey simply stand in one place and talk, she’ll often walk while delivering her lines, and I’ll move with her. 

For the opening, I got up early to capture a sunrise over the coast with the drone. I also filmed a picturesque sunset over Banks Channel for the closing. Other aerial shots included the Wrightsville Beach home, the enormous Refine Tile + Design building and a high, wide shot of the Lumina that shows both sides of the island. 

I’ve done a lot of reality-style television, including travel and HGTV-type programming, so I understand the importance of giving editors plenty of strong footage to work with. American Dream TV handles the post-production for Coastal Connection and distributes the show nationally, while it airs locally on WWAY and has also appeared on Discovery+ and Travel Channel. 

Although I’m not responsible for the final edit, I meticulously organize all of the footage before sending it to the editors. My goal is to make their job as easy as possible — so they can focus on telling the story rather than trying to figure out what footage goes where. 

Ultimately, that’s what I enjoy most about working with Rainey on Coastal Connection: getting to see Wilmington through the people who live, work, and build their businesses here — and having the opportunity to showcase the incredible local businesses, organizations and coastal lifestyle that make this area such a special place. 

If you have an idea for a show or a video project, please contact me. I can help you budget, plan, and bring it to fruition.

To learn more about Coastal Connection and to view previous episodes, please visit https://raineywallace.com/coastal-connection