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It took you two years to shoot the film. Why?
If I had done this film in only one season, we might not have seen certain things. There are some sights that don't change much from year to year, but some do. You might not be able to get out to the ice edge to see orcas, for instance, or find a grounded iceberg. If we'd had only one year, we wouldn't have gotten any penguin diving sequences. Also, because of limitations down there you can only spend 45 minutes under water before you get out. So you can't spend hours in the water to film animal behavior. Then, there's the weather. You have to be prepared to change your plans at a moment's notice. So you need time and a backup plan.
HD cameras allowed Wu and his team to shoot 40 minutes of footage per dive. |
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What made you choose the HDTV format?
Natural history filmmakers like myself are excited about HDTV technology because it has a lot of advantages over film. My biggest problem as an underwater filmmaker has always been the size of the film loads. A typical film load generally lasts for only 12 minutes, which means that I often have to cut short my dives to reload film. But I'm able to shoot 40 minutes per dive with HD cameras. There are other advantages, too. I was able to use zoom lenses, despite the low light levels under the ice. The HD cameras pick up this very dark environment well. "Under Antarctic Ice" represents, to my knowledge, the first time that HDTV technology has been used underwater in Antarctica.
Does the technology have any downsides?
Well, one problem with HD is that your equipment has to be super clean. Any speck of dust or snow has a major effect on the image. We had penguins jumping up in front of us splashing water on the lens, and even the tiniest particles would appear in the picture. With film, particles on the lenses are far less of a problem.
Are you ready to return to Antarctica?
It's an amazing place, and there are always new places to see. It really is the world's last wilderness. Everyone who has been down there never forgets the experience. But it's always nice to leave too.
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