The Author, onboard the Divers Lodge ship off of Hurghada, Egypt while filming in the Red Sea
One of the main questions I'm ever asked is "what is it like to make films underwater?"
Well, to tell the truth, it's the same as making any other kind of documentary, except a fair amount of your time is spent underwater. Most everything else that goes into producing a documentary is the same, from the time you conceive the idea, to pitching it to the committee at the channel you want to fund your program, and then once the underwater work is done, sitting down and editing the film into its final product.
The underwater part is what most intrigues the public. Most everyone over 30 or so remembers the Cousteau programs, which still stand out as some of the best underwater documentaries ever made. In them, Jacques Cousteau revealed a bit about what goes into capturing the images of marine life so that the folks at home can see this magnificent world for themselves. There's a lot he left out, however, which I'll try to cover in this brief description of a year in the underwater filmmakers life.
GETTING THE PROJECT
The first step in producing a film on the marine environment is basically convincing someone at one of the distributors of these kinds of films that your film idea is worthy of their investment. This is not as easy as it sounds, even after you have developed a relationship over the years.
I have produced about 25 films that have aired on The Discovery Networks, which includes The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and Animal Planet. Yet every year, I've got to do my best to convince them that the films I'm proposing for the following year will be both interesting and profitable.
Usually, this involves coming up with about 10-15 ideas for individual shows, writing each of them up on no more than one page, and submitting them for review by the Development Committee.
Now, I only write up film ideas that interest me personally - if you don't have a personal interest in the subject matter, or an intense desire to learn about it, you will not do the film justice. That is one of my basic laws of filmmaking. You see, each documentary you produce is a lot like a term paper when you were in high school: You start out knowing very little about the subject, but it is something that catches your interest. Once you have finished the film, however, through all the research, interviews, and actually being there, you almost become an expert in the subject. Thus, documentary production is a learning process for me. Since you're going to be living with the subject of your film for a year or more, it better be something you are very interested in, or your boredom with the film will be evident in the final product.
So - the folks on the committe at Discovery review your 10 to 15 ideas. Maybe they like 3 or 4 of 'em. You then go into "the negotiation" where you tell them how much money you need to produce each film, and they cut it in half and tell you that's all they can afford. This goes on for a while (I won't bore you with the rest, such as "Rights" "Terms" "Residuals" etc...) until everyone is satisfied, and you are ready to get to work.
Off a Remote Reef in Fiji, after a deep dive to investigate whale skeletons found in a cave system
THE LOCATION
By now, since the negotiation over the budgets takes a few months, you have already been researching the locations you'll need to go to to film the kinds of animals that you need to make your shows as good as possible. You will have about 5 lists - 1 list will be your "dream list" which would only come true if the folks you negotiated your budget with went insane and gave you the keys to their money vault. The second list will be more practical, and so on, until you manage to cover as many bases as you can with as much traveling as you can afford.
Not to say that your travels are limited. Last year, my partner, John McKenney and I traveled nearly 200 days filming for 4 programs for Discovery.
So finally, your first trip comes. You have already begged, pleaded, and cajoled the air carrier to allow you some kind of break on your excess baggage - since you are literally brining over a ton of gear with you. First are the cameras: In their housings, underwater film cameras weigh around 60-80 pounds each. You bring at least 4 of them, since having a camera break while in the middle of the ocean is a very bad thing, unless you've got backup. You also have 2 or 3 complete sets of underwater lighting, which itself is very heavy, especially when you also bring about 300 feet of cable to power the lights. Then comes the film (we shoot 16mm film on our productions for a variety of reasons) - each 400 foot roll of 16mm film is 11 minutes long at 24 frames per second. This means that we've got to bring around 60-80 rolls with us, each weighing around 2 pounds.
Then all the support systems for the cameras - repair kits, tools, etc. Enough to build a camera on location if you had to - which we've nearly done a few times while on location.
The Author holding an Alligator after filming a scene from "Jurassic Reef" in Florida
Now we're ready to talk about diving equipment. Each member of the crew must be a diver. Many time we need all hands down below for difficult filming and diving support. Since we usually travel with a crew of 7 to 9 people, that means 7 to 9 complete sets of dive gear. Since we use machines called "Closed Circuit Rebreathers" we have to haul them with us. Each one of those weighs 70-85 pounds, and requires another 50 pounds of support gear.
Once all that is packed, we can then think about personal stuff. Most times, we're filming in some pretty warm parts of the world, so a bunch of shorts and t-shirts is usually enough in the way of clothing. Each member of the crew has his or her own personal requirements. Mine is Kit-Kat bars, and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Believe me - when you are in some godforsaken part of the planet, eating some local dish that is still moving, grabbing a good ol' Kit-Kat can help you keep your sanity. They also work great as bargaining tools with the locals - and with fellow crew members who forgot to bring their own candy stash...
THE TRIP
So - we get everything on the plane, it takes off, lands in some strange airport, and our journey has begun. But first, you gotta get through Customs. This can be easy or hard, depending upon who you run into, and where you are. My partner, John, believes that being completely prepared with Carnet's is the best way to deal with international customs - but I have found that looking stupid and misunderstanding everything the customs official asks you works equally well...
Once through customs, and on the boat, is when the real fun begins. This is the part that everyone believes makes up 100% of our job. It's closer to 10% in reality, but makes up for a lot, I must say.
Depending upon what you are trying to film, you will travel for days, or for weeks, diving each day in pursuit of the animals you came to document.
Filming Giant Tortoises in the Galapagos Islands
And let me say this about animals: They do not cooperate with filmmakers. If you are looking for Killer Whales, then the sea will be full of Dolphins. You're waiting for the sharks to eat the bait? They'll swim away uninterested. You need that shot of the Mola-Mola eating Jellyfish? The Mola-Mola will be there, but won't touch any of the 1 million jellyfish swimming right by it.
So you stay, and dive, and keep hoping to get the shots you need. Meanwhile, you are often in some of the most beautiful places ever imagined on earth. Watching the sun set off a remote Fijian island. Staring at the Southern Cross in a moonless sky in Southern Africa. Seeing dolphins glow at night as they swim through phosphorescent algae off the Galapagos Islands. Yes, this is what makes all the sweat worth it.
You also will have to travel to some of the most awful places you could imagine - but that's another story entirely...
A Giant Moray Eel - over 6 feet long!
DANGEROUS TIMES
The work that you do during the day is also very dangerous. Not to puff myself up here, but some of the things we do to get the shots we need to show the folks at home are extremely dangerous. Try dumping about 200 gallons of blood into the water to attract Tiger Sharks, then jump over the side (with NO cage), carrying about 50 pounds of raw meat on a rope to bring them in closer. Or diving down to over 300 feet off some remote island in Indonesia thousands of miles away from any kind of medical facility able to deal with decompression injuries, just to search for some species of fish that has never been filmed before.
These are things which we do, each and every trip we take. I once turned to John, after a particularly harrowing dive, where I was attacked by 3 Gray Reef Sharks, and said to him "you know - this is some grown-up stuff we're doing..." Kinda gives you a picture.
After you're done with one trip, it's usually off to another. You try to keep your trips linked so that you save yourself the trouble of packing and unpacking too much - but you try to balance your travel schedule so that you're not away from home for too long. In 1997, John and I started traveling in January. We didn't get home until March, after going from South Africa, to West Africa, and then on to the Canary Islands. Once we got home, we were there for about 3 weeks before we left for Fiji and Australia. After that, it was Hawaii, the Arctic, then Indonesia. A lot of miles...
The Author getting face-to-face with the beast...
NOW FOR THE REAL WORK
So. The traveling is over. You've got the film in the can, and its time to start making a film. First, you've got to have all the film processed, then transfered to videotape so you can review all of it. And there's a lot to review. You begin making an outline of what the film is going to be about - usually, this starts with the original proposal, which gets heavily modified to fit what you actually got on the trips. Sometimes, you don't get footage of the animals you originally wanted to - other times, you get more or different things that are better. Only the best stuff makes it into the final film.
You then begin the editing process. Each shot of film is carefully pieced together to make something that looks like a story - only a lot rougher. As you go through the process, you refine the shot selections, adding, deleting, or moving en masse until it begins to have some kind of form, and thread.
You then begin to write the script. I write all the scripts for my films. No one can tell my story like me, so I don't job that out. However, having a partner who is good at editing is crucial, since most writers I know tend to fall in love with their own writing. I scream and yell at John, as we go back and forth on the script, but in the end, the final product shines. Of course, it then goes to the Executive In Charge of Production at Discovery, and he and I scream some more....
Once all the elements have come together, and you've tweaked the film as much as possible, it's time to hand it over to the Musicians, and the Foley guys. Music, believe it or not, can make or break a film - even a documentary. I've seen some beautiful photography done by some wildlife filmmakers coupled with horrible music that just ruins the show. Therefore, I spend as much time directing the efforts of the musicians as I do writing the script. Everything must match, and help to convey the mood you are trying to attain with words and pictures. When its done right, its great.
At the same time, the Foley artists are working on your film. What is Foley? It is sound effects. One of the great secrets of most films you will ever see, including most movies, is that the sound you hear, be in footsteps, boat engines, crowd noises, or the sound of water lapping on the shores is not the sound that was going on when the picture was shot. In some cases, the sound isn't real at all, it's created inside a synthesizer. When you see one of my films, and you hear the sound of a shark chomping on a fish - ask yourself "how did they record that underwater?" - The truth is, we don't. Yes, WE can often hear the sounds of a shark chomping on a fish, but to record that would be almost impossible, so we re-create it in the Foley studio.
Once the Musicians and the Foley artists are done with your film, you then get to record the Narration. This is also crucial. Who you choose to narrate your film is critical to how well the audience will react to it. It is a subtle thing, but a narrator with a poor voice can ruin everything else that was done right. Personally, I love working with Joseph Campanella. Not only does he possess one of the best narrative voices in the world, but he is also one of the most remarkably good people I have ever had the priviledge of knowing. Tom Selleck is also a very natural narrator, and an all around good guy too. I have enjoyed working with both these men on a variety of projects.
With all the elements in place, it's time to finish your film. You then sit down with the "Mixer" - someone who will combine all the sound elements of your film into one seamless package. This is really the first time when you get to see your completed work, and really one of the most exciting parts of the whole process. After the mix is over, you are ready for delivery.
PREMIER
The next big moment comes when your show is finally scheduled for air. The first time it runs is usually a call for a mini-party, where you invite all your friends and family over to watch the show. Usually, I've already had a private showing for my family and friends, but as my Dad used to say "this is real because it has the commercials in it". Meaning, that because they are seeing it with the commercial breaks and station identification, it was REALLY on t.v... My Dad used to also give his friends copies of my films that were taped off of the broadcast so it would have all the commercials in it, I guess to prove that his son really was on t.v...
By this time, however, you are most likely working on the next film, which has its own unique set of difficulties and triumphs. By the time you have finished all of them, be it two, three, or four (as was the case this last year for us), you're pretty sick of working 18 hour days, and looking forward to a nice long break.
THE AFTERMATH
Your contentment in the completion of a series of films generally runs about 2 weeks. It is then when the nerves start getting antsy. You realize that you have no projects, no deadlines, no emergencies to deal with. THIS WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY. So you go back into your office, and begin the process all over again. You can't wait until your next contract, which when it comes will start your creative engine anew. Making films gets into your blood, and once there, it hooks you for life...
When all else fails, use the speargun...
Kevin W. Juergensen
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