Though HBO‘s award-winning hit documentary 100 Foot Wave is about idealistic, daredevil surfers risking their lives to ride the biggest sets in the world, series director Chris Smith has defiantly noted that “it’s not a sports documentary. It’s a human drama. It’s a story of the human spirit.” This, of course, is what makes it such great television.

“Big-wave surfing is life-and-death,” says producer Joe Lewis. “Those who do it are so aware of their fears and how it makes them think about their goals. It attracts incredibly interesting people.”

Among them is an unseen hero of the production — one of sports’ singular cinematographers, Frenchman Laurent Pujol, who has won two Emmys for his seaborne lensing of the first two seasons and is up for a third. The veteran former pro surfer — he had a 20-year career — now captures footage of perfectly slotted barrels, total wipeouts and the verité moments in between, all from the rear of a modified 260-horsepower Jet Ski. It features special foot straps and a custom backrest to stabilize him.

“I become a human gimbal,” Pujol explains of his rig, which he has employed as his subjects tackle monsters from Portugal to Hawaii. Fellow crewmembers shoot from the beach or clifftop positions, but he’s the one wielding a RED V-RAPTOR for the key 4K close-ups of big-wave icons Garrett McNamara, Justine Dupont and Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca as they drop across skyscraping walls.

On the often-existential show, the surfers reflect about how their endeavor exists at the intersection of honed skill and Zen patience. The same is true for Pujol. “This is about being in the right place at the right time,” he says. “It’s about provoking luck.”

This story appeared in the Aug. 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.