I could fly that cliff line for years and still discover different ways to capture it. I must go there some day. A lot of my flying is over water as well.
A lot of my earliest flights were high. Don't be afraid to fly lower altitudes. Get some foreground elements in the video clip for a nice parallax effect. It's magic. Over time, the moves become intuitive. When I look at my clips later, I anticipate the right drone/gimbal moves and see if I followed what I see. The gimbal tilt with elevation change is the most important thing to master.
You can see the gentle curve of the coastline to the left of frame. Practice flying a gentle curve along that coastline, maybe 30-50' above the top edge, ever so slightly in, then out (orange line). It's only the lightest touch on the left stick. It should be a consistent light touch, barely noticeable. Once you commit to the turn, stay with it even if it's a bit too much. Get as long a clip out of it as possible. Stop the move before you crash into the cliff face of course, but stay with the turn and don't try to correct. When you stop short of the cliff, just reorient and try the same thing. You'll cut out the corrections in post. Try the same cliff route at different elevations below the cliff edge and close to the water's edge (which may yield the most dramatic clips). When you have a sharp point (far left of frame at end of orange line), increase elevation as you approach and gimbal down simultaneously. The higher elevation makes for a better looking turn. Gradually descend and gimbal up after the turn. Ascending elevation should always accompany gimbal down and vice versa. It takes some coordination to get it just right.
The high point of the peninsula (red circle) would be great for a backwards flight. Just remember to gimbal down to keep the elevation point in the center of frame. If you can hike out there, just use the dronie flight mode to accomplish the same. A POI mode would also be stunning.
The ND filters are primarily for reducing the light to the sensor so you can shoot video at 1/50 or 1/60 shutter speed (24p or 30p), otherwise you get a stuttery look to your video clips, especially noticeable when passing foreground objects. I always keep my ISO at 100 until I run out of light with no filter. Often times ISO/exposure adjustments need to be made in-flight when you change directions to the shadow side of your subject. It's always better when your subject is getting full sun exposure, so time your flying to capture the best light.
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