Underwater Wildlife Filmakers, continued...
THE OCEAN'S STORY
Once we are "on location" the real job of production begins. Howard's premise is to capture the seldom-seen animal behaviors on film. To let the ocean tell its own story. To do this we have to spend hours on the bottom, uninterrupted. Early on, Howard and Bob Cranston decided traditional scuba diving was far too limiting. Having to come back to the boat for a new tank of air every 45 minutes to an hour disrupted the natural flow. So, in true Clancy fashion they decided to track down a couple of high-tech, navy SEAL team rebreathers and modify them for underwater filmmaking. The first to work with these units, Howard and Bob were true pioneers. Long before there were any books to guide them, Howard and Bob made and learned from their own mistakes.
These early days were not without incident, as many dives were abruptly terminated when the units had complete "melt-downs." We have since worked out the bugs, and rebreathers are our most valuable tool. These "closed-circuit" units allow the divers to stay down for up to 12 hours at one time without producing any noisy bubbles. A little stealth never hurt. When you are fighting so many variables, you stack the cards in your favor whenever the chance arises.
Another tool in the war against staying dry are wireless, underwater communications. Our units, by Ocean Technology Systems, allow all the dive team members to communicate easily. I can call up to the boat and have a topside support person lower equipment down to me on a tag line. This sure beats long days of ascents and descents, which are hard on the ears.
Before the days of underwater communications, poor Howard was on his own to choose shots. Now, we all can help. "Hey Howard, pan right just a bit," and "Hey Howard, why did you miss the shark? It swam right by you." To tell you the truth, I think Howard yearns for the old days of peace and quiet. A lot of our work in this series was done in cold water. We wear Diving Unlimited International dry suits with thick underwear. It is a lot like getting ready to go skiing without the schussing part. You are completely sealed off and no water touches your body. And, yes in case you were wondering, you can't pee in a dry suit. This takes a large part of the fun out of diving. Once we are on location, we are consumed with three things. Long days and nights of diving, intermittent eating and less sleeping.
Sea Dwellers
On The Air |
Screen Saver |
Secrets Products