Poles D'images

What Poles D'images does

Pôles d'Images is a privately held, family-run French media production firm founded in 1994, specializing in filming, consulting, and content production in polar and extreme environments. The company operates through three integrated service divisions: Consulting (filming consultation, voyage organization, and communication services for polar-related projects), Média (museum exhibitions, institutional films, and stock footage licensing), and Aéro (drone-based aerial cinematography for broadcast television and cinema). Its proprietary technology stack includes custom-built drone platforms, most notably the Cinemascope system featuring a MOVI M15 gimbal and 100% autonomous Cineflex-style console, along with a rapid-deployment configuration enabling 30-minute setup after site reconnaissance and airline-transportable packaging for extreme-environment operations. The firm additionally maintains a proprietary content library of several hundred hours of HD and 4K video plus thousands of polar region photographs built over three decades of Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.

The business model is project-based professional services with multiple revenue streams: consulting fees for documentary productions (notably Yann Arthus-Bertrand's 'Home' and Ushuaia Nature for TF1), drone aerial cinematography for cinema and television, voyage organization and expedition accompaniment for travel operators, museum exhibition design and content production, and licensing of stock footage and photography. Go-to-market is sales-led through direct engagement, supplemented by industry event participation (Festival international de Nature de Montier en Der, maritime festivals) and a referral network. Clients are predominantly European enterprise and institutional buyers: major French broadcasters (TF1, France 2, France 3, Arte, Thalassa), international broadcasters (TV Japon, German Television), production companies (Wild Touch, Les Films en Vrac, Disney Nature), museums and science centers (Palais de la Découverte, Muséum de Toulouse, Océanopolis), and polar travel operators (Quark Expedition, Compagnie des Îles du Ponant). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, operated by the Marion family with a team of 1-10 employees.

Name

Poles D'images

Legal name

Pôles d'Images

Website

https://polesdimages.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pôles d'Images is a French, family-run media production firm specializing in polar-region filming, drone cinematography, museum exhibitions, and consulting for broadcasters, documentary producers, museums, and polar travel operators. It operates through three divisions (Consulting, Média, Aéro) with a 30-year content library.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (512110)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel & Adventure Documentaries (MPADADAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Polar & Remote-Destination Expedition Tour Operators (THAKADAM)

Keywords

• Polar documentary production
• Aerial cinematography services
• Stock footage licensing
• Museum exhibition design
• Drone filming services

Headquarters

HQ city

Perpignan

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting for film production, travel organization, and communication projects related to polar regions. Includes filming consulting for productions like 'Home' and 'Ushuaia Nature'.
2. Drone Aerial Filming Services: Aerial cinematography services for TV, cinema, and creative projects using custom-built drone platforms. Services include TV production support and cinema-grade filming with specialized equipment.
3. Media Production: Muséographie (museum exhibitions), institutional films, and stock footage licensing for polar region content.
4. Stock Footage and Image Licensing: Sales and licensing of stock footage and photography from polar regions, sub-polar regions, Japan, and Botswana.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pôles d'Images is a polar-specialist media production company structured around three service divisions. The Consulting division advises documentary productions, travel operators, and communication clients on polar logistics and storytelling. The Média division produces museum exhibitions, institutional films, and licenses a deep library of polar stock footage. The Aéro division provides drone aerial cinematography using proprietary cold-weather drone platforms, including a rapid-deployment "Cinemascope" system and 4K television-grade rigs, for clients such as international broadcasters and production houses.

Product overview

Pôles d'Images is a specialized media production company operating three interconnected divisions serving the polar regions and beyond. The core offering consists of Pôles d'Images Aéro (drone filming services with custom-built drones including the proprietary 'Cinemascope' platform), Pôles d'Images Média (museum exhibitions, institutional films, and stock footage), and Pôles d'Images Consulting (documentary filming, travel organization, and communication services). The three divisions share expertise in extreme environment production and collectively offer end-to-end capabilities from consultation and planning through aerial filming and post-production. Equipment partners include Canon, Panavision, and Lowepro, while distribution channels include Vimeo and YouTube channels alongside broadcast clients such as Thalassa, Arte, France 2, and France 3.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pôles d'Images Aéro: Drone cinematography services for TV, cinema, and creative projects, featuring custom-built drones and professional operators.
• Pôles d'Images Média
• Pôles d'Images Consulting

Products and services

• Pôles d'Images Consulting Consulting service advising documentary productions, travel operators, and communication clients on polar logistics, storytelling, and field strategy. Clients include broadcasters and independent production houses preparing Arctic and Antarctic shoots.
• Pôles d'Images Média
• Pôles d'Images Aéro
• Polar Stock Footage Library
• Polar Travel Organization

Named customers23 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wild TouchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey strategic production partner for cinema-grade documentary and film productions, working together on major cinema projects.
• Grand Nord Grand LargeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel partner for organizing polar voyages and expeditions.
• Objectif NatureminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel partner for organizing polar voyages and expeditions.
• Quark ExpeditionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExpedition travel partner for polar region voyages.
• Compagnie des Îles du PonantminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCruise operator partner for organizing polar voyages.
• Etendues SauvagesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTravel partner referenced for polar region expeditions.
• Jules & JosephminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative project partner referenced in drone creative project context.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Plimsoll Productions: UK production company specializing in premium natural history and factual content for global streamers and broadcasters. Comparable as a similarly-positioned small-to-mid specialist wildlife production house competing for the same broadcaster budgets.
• Silverback Films: UK natural history documentary producer known for Our Planet and David Attenborough series. Comparable as a specialist nature/wildlife production company serving major broadcasters with remote-location cinematography.
• Wildstar Films: Independent UK-based nature and wildlife documentary production company producing premium content for global broadcasters and streamers. Comparable as a small specialist production house focused on wildlife/remote-environment storytelling for enterprise media clients.
• Off the Fence: Dutch independent documentary and factual production company with strong natural history slate sold to global broadcasters and streamers. Comparable as a similarly-sized specialist factual producer competing for the same blue-chip broadcaster commissions.

Regional players

• Compagnie du Ponant: French-flag luxury expedition cruise operator with strong polar fleet presence. A confirmed customer of Pôles d'Images; comparable as a polar-region cruise operator with overlapping content and expedition needs.
• Quark Expeditions: Leading polar expedition cruise operator running Antarctic and Arctic voyages. Already a confirmed customer/channel partner of Pôles d'Images; comparable as a polar-destination operator that often co-produces or commissions polar content.

Broad incumbents

• National Geographic Partners: Global documentary and exploration media brand producing premium nature, science, and polar content. Comparable as a high-budget incumbent commissioning the type of remote-environment production Pôles d'Images specializes in.
• Cineflix Media: Global independent production and distribution company producing and distributing factual, documentary, and unscripted content including nature programming. Comparable as a larger incumbent in the documentary production and distribution space.
• Getty Images (Footage): Global stock footage and imagery marketplace with a sizeable nature and wildlife archive. Comparable as a competing channel for licensing polar stock footage and photography, against which Pôles d'Images' library is sold.
• BBC Studios Natural History Unit: BBC's in-house natural history production division responsible for Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, and other landmark polar wildlife series. Comparable as the dominant incumbent in the polar/wildlife documentary space whose productions Pôles d'Images supports.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Poles D'images