Here It Is - Teaser Trailer 2

"Of Shark and Man" Teaser Trailer 2 from Scarlet View Media on Vimeo.

So then friends, it's been a long ride but here it is, Teaser Trailer 2!

If you remember when I released the rather ambiguous and slightly "arty" first teaser earlier this year, with a flashback to the very first promo video included, I did say that there would be three teasers and I haven't hidden from the notion that part II would be "a lot more sharky" and it's fair to say it is.

This teaser focuses on the aspects of the film which centre around the sharks, their importance to the reef, to the people, to me and of course, addresses my own personal journey to shark nirvana with a hint of the absolutely epic shark feeding controversy debate thrown in for good measure.

As I mentioned when I released the first one, the point of a teaser is to tease so don't expect any questions to be answered by this, however, it does do a couple of very important things:

• Proves the shark footage has what it takes
• Gives a first look at a first draft of the film's look. Cinematic, stylised and tailored specifically to the story, this isn't a standard colour balance job, it's about taking you into another world and using a variety of palettes to tell that story
• It gives another example of the film's musical content which is a big aspect of the design of the film
• It also, importantly, introduces you to some of the many people featured in the film
• It offers and insight to the depth of content in the film

From the outset, I said I was going to make something very different, something with vigour, style and its own identity and I hope that comes across in the two trailers I have released so far.

Of course, that couldn't be achieved without the help and input from the people who not only believe in the project, but who actually give a damn, not only about sharks, but their portrayal in the media. Please read the description that accompanies the trailer on Vimeo because it highlights these individuals and also, the people who donated to the first crowd funding campaign.

In case you haven't seen it yet (where have you been you maniac?!) below is Teaser Trailer 1


"Of Shark and Man" - Teaser Trailer 1 from Scarlet View Media on Vimeo.

I can't emphasise enough the importance of sharing this amongst your various social media sites, mailing lists, websites etc so I will repeat what I said last time:

"If you like the look of the teaser, you are into the concept of the film or you just want to help support independent film, please share this stuff. This is about representing an incredible story and an incredible animal properly and accurately, treating the audience with respect and as people who can look beyond what they're used to and who might just enjoy something a little different."

It costs nothing to watch, nothing to share and the work that is going into this film is monumental, seriously, not just me either. There are people donating time, creativity and energy into helping me finish this thing and the amount of work and passion that has gone in this far is gargantuan, that deserves 60 seconds of time to post on Facebook/Twitter etc right?

With talent and the donation of time and energy in mind, a huge thank you goes to Mark Burrows for producing the soundtrack with me (yes, we even did that from scratch ourselves too) who continuously and generously gives me his time and talent and has done for the last 16 years. He's a super talented dude, part of Scarlet View Media and has his own seriously badass Rock band, here they are with a cover of The Osmond's "Crazy Horses" with Dug Pinnock of King's X and it's absolutely brilliant!




If you like the sound of the track in the trailer and want a proper listen to it in isolation, here it is...

So, what now?

Back to the edit, a little more filming which I want to add then Teaser Trailer 3 which will cover the conservation element addressed in the movie.

There will also be another crowd-funding campaign to help raise funds for the film's release. That all costs money, money I don't have, and to give this film a proper release it needs a proper campaign behind it, I have big ideas and some unbelievably cool things to put out there to help the film gather momentum and hopefully get distribution but I can't do it without the help of the people, the people for whom this film is ultimately made. Keep an eye out for that.

The trailer also has "Tip Jar" enabled on the Vimeo page, please feel free to make a little donation, it all helps!

Please as well, feedback is always welcomed here, don't be shy, knowing you enjoy these helps me get through the bad days, knowing the things you think could be improved makes me better at what I do and suggestions for what you want to see help me understand exactly what you all think makes a great shark film!

Finally, "Behind Blue Glass," is still available and still selling! Why not treat yourself this weekend and see where all this madness began?!

That's enough from me, now, get yourself off and start sharing the trailer! ;)

Behind Blue Glass and Monetizing Video

 Xisco Perez and I on his boat, "Katy"

I was having a chat with a very good friend of mine on Saturday in Manchester, who I had gone to visit as, due to my life being consumed solely by work, I had not seen for two years. He was telling me about how glad he was I was following my dreams and how he has always struggled to find that one thing which he knows he could achieve and which would give him the life fulfilment he and everyone else craves.

Of course, the issue got on to finances and how everything we do is dictated by money, or rather, the lack of it and it reminded me of my own experiences but also something I read a couple of years ago that issued a stark warning that as soon as you set out on the journey to build a career out of something you would do for fun anyway, people automatically expect that you should punish yourself by not being paid properly and living a life overshadowed by constant financial stress, which is, of course, complete and utter nonsense. I work harder than most people I know, I work longer hours then most people I know and now that I have finally launched Scarlet View Media, putting a value on my time, expertise, energy and effort is not just an act of principle, it's also an exercise in analytics and maths. I understand that a part of making a promise to myself to maintain my own standards through everything I do, means not doing things on the cheap, sacrificing quality and therefore, that also means there will be times when I turn down opportunities because a potential client simply isn't willing to pay what the job is worth.

This all took me back to the production of Behind Blue Glass and A Ray of Light which took place either side of "Of Shark and Man" and both of which represent stark differences in how ready I was to run productions with such lofty artistic and creative ideas. Behind Blue Glass was shot with a four man crew, three of whom, myself included, had never made a film before and A Ray of Light was just me with Brad helping on a couple of the organisational things.

Behind Blue Glass cost around €3200 to make or at least that was the budget we had, that had to cover four people, all food, transport, salary, board and diving for almost three weeks, the pre-production phase and also the post-production phase and what I actually earned myself by way of being paid for the enormous amount of time and energy I put in, over a period of four months, is roughly the same as what I would charge now, for a day's work and works out on the BBG time sheet, at less than £1 an hour...

Before you start feeling too sorry for me, I should point put that it was entirely my fault because that's what I asked for, making the biggest and most common mistake first time film-makers are guilty of, assuming people won't pay you properly so pitching at way, way less than you should so you can convince the people funding your film to let you do it.

Despite grossly undervaluing myself, my time, my energy and my expertise, the production of Behind Blue Glass was an invaluable learning process for me, it is far from perfect, mistakes were made but what I really love about it is it has a heart and soul, a group of friends setting out to do something really, really difficult and succeeding, not only that but the content is actually, really, really good, an in-depth look at the story of Great White Sharks in the Mediterranean and the human interest aspect of positive shark/human interactions. In May Brad and I held a screening of the film in Mallorca and the room was packed, there weren't enough seats in fact and the feedback was really, really positive, a few people picked up on things like parts where the sound could have been better (wind...I HATE wind) but given that we had a bare minimum of resources available the end result is still pretty impressive. Behind Blue Glass is a film made by passion, endurance, good will and positive energy and it shows.

A Ray of Light was an infinitely simpler, more streamlined and artistically successful production, aided by the fact I had come off the super intense, non-stop crash course in film-making that was making "Of Shark and Man." I went into it knowing how I wanted it to look, what I wanted the message to be and how I wanted to express myself as an auteur and it also introduced my natural style of film-making. A Ray of Light is different to Behind Blue Glass in that a lot of BBG was scripted, a constructed narrative delivered into camera in a very pure documentary style and that was originally what I had intended for "Of Shark and Man." It was only two days into production in Fiji that it became clear that I was more natural just being me, no script, just genuine emotion, feeling and honesty, captured in a conversational style, as though there is no barrier between you and the viewer.

This stylistic imprint now defines how I make films, they must be honest and they must be aesthetically appealing, to me, film is not just putting an image on screen, each shot counts and each shot should tell the story in itself, its composition, framing, focus points and colours, anyone can point a camera at something, not everyone can engage you in a story. A Ray of Light was shot primarily when the people involved weren't aware they were being filmed, a window into that point in time in which one man's story is told, a story we ultimately found out cut a little too close to the bone for some of the glossier yet more impotent NGOs out there. It is popular though, the feedback has been quite incredible and at the time of writing, it is closing in on 13,000 views and it is that number which encouraged me to write this blog...

A Ray of Light helped raise almost €40,000 for the Mallorca Stingray Survey and cost about £700 to make, not including payment to me as the Director, Producer, Cameraman, DoP and Editor, had that been included, it would have cost around £5000-6000 to produce. The reason I don't include that is because it didn't exist, I didn't get paid because I paid for the production out of my own pocket, that £700 came out of money I had earned for an order of Behind Blue Glass DVDs.

We live in a world where, like music, people all of a sudden feel entitled to films for free, why should you have to pay for music and films when everyone who makes them is a millionaire right! It's also easier to put a film out now than ever, more people are doing it than ever which is great but does that mean there are loads of great films out there now? No, there are still the same amount of great films, there's just more really, really bad ones making it harder for the good ones to get seen.

I was chastised by a scientist a while back for suggesting that the worlds of art and science should work closer together to make use of each others expertise, science is about analysis, statistics, solid facts, years of research, art is about expression, emotion and story telling but this particular individual felt that no, the scientific community should be responsible for its own film-making and media output, presumably on the assumption that, because they know the results of their research on the subject matter, they also know the best way to present that in an engaging and thought provoking way to the lay man which is, of course, complete nonsense. That is why I suggested the two worlds should work closer in the first place.

Making films can be pretty easy, making good ones though, isn't, making good films which appeal to an audience who may otherwise not be interested in the subject matter, is really, really difficult and that is challenge with conservation related media. Conservation isn't about scientists and how they spent years in a lab researching something, it's about how law makers, game changers and the man on the street take the information provided by the scientific community and put it to use to make the world a better place. The scientist in question didn't seem to grasp that dry statistics, white coats and laboratories doesn't really stir the emotional loins of the average person.

The one thing that makes good films happen, good films which can help make the world a better place, is money. Films cost money, the people who work on these films deserve to be paid properly and they need to be marketed properly, its hardly rocket science. That brings me back to the 13,000 number...

Introducing Vimeo Tip Jar and more Creator Services from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.

If every person who had viewed A Ray of Light had made a voluntary donation of £1 then the film would have raised an extra £13,000 which would go towards recouping my costs, marketing and promoting "Of Shark and Man" and making more films to highlight important environmental issues. It would also show that people accept and appreciate that there is value in work like this and it deserves to be rewarded by helping the film-maker have the luxury of perhaps a few less sleepless nights worrying about the next bill to come through the letterbox, food, stuff like that...

People have complained for years, myself included, at the quality, or rather the complete lack of it, in media representation of sharks and the ocean environment, through expensive, yet completely soulless, cynical and contrived shows and series like "Shark Men," "Whale Wars" and most of the stuff we see on Shark Week and the simple way to get better, is to support the people who make better quality media. Shows like the aforementioned ones are merely pretty wrapping around the commercials, they're not there to save the world, they're there to make you watch the adverts and buy shit you don't need, that's all.

How do you do support the film-makers who want to make the stuff you want to see? Financially, that's how, if the money isn't there to make proper shark related films, then they won't get made, simple, so if you watch the video above, I have decided to add Tip Jar to A Ray of Light, Love Sharks Love Fiji and The Sanctuary so if you like it, you think it's well made, you like the message or the way it's filmed, please make an affordable donation which will help me keep making these types of films and giving a voice to all of us who want a better world for our marine creatures.

To go back to Behind Blue Glass as well, in 2013 Vimeo are launching a Pay to View service meaning that finally, regardless of where you are in the world, for a very fair one off payment, you can stream the film whenever you like for the rest of your life. As soon as Vimeo implement it, I will be adding BBG to it and will of course be announcing it here, the mailing list and on the Facebook Page.

I make these films for the message and I make these films for you, I appreciate your support, it is one of the main things that keeps me going and I hope you also see the value in financially supporting independent film. Nobody is owed a living, but I do believe that effort, hard work, get up and go and artistic creativity do deserve to be rewarded.

I would love to read comments from you all about this, particularly from other film-makers and also all the people who make an effort to watch low budget productions as well.

Over to you...

Behind Blue Glass Gets Its Official Premiere! (Finally...)

 

It's official, a little film made by four friends, three of whom didn't actually know what we were doing, just to see if we could actually do something, has become front page news (honestly, it was on the front page!) in the two biggest English speaking newspapers in Spain and Mallorca.

Finally, thirteen months to the day after production finished, after months of complications, logistical nightmares, the subtitled master being lost by the Spanish post office, technical disasters and hours and hours and hours upon hours of work, Behind Blue Glass was screened in public for the first time on Monday May 28th at Mood Beach Club in Portals, Mallorca, to a packed room of about seventy or so locals and ex-pats.

I'm not gonna lie, I spent the whole day convinced nobody would turn up and the whole night would be a total disaster, the fact that the night proved the total opposite, was not just a huge relief but also a pretty overwhelming experience. It was an amazing reaction not just to the film itself, but to the short presentations Brad and I made before and after the film. The room was made up of people from all backgrounds and of all ages, some of whom were experienced divers, people who had encountered sharks, and many more whose ocean going experience stretched no further than dipping a toe into the Med every Summer and the feedback from all was consistent in that everyone enjoyed it, at least they said they did anyway!

 

It was heartening to have so many people come up to both Brad and myself after the screening to say they were touched by the message in the film, that sharks really aren't evil killing machines, and that also, they were surprised to hear that Mallorca has something of a tradition with the Great White Shark. It's always a pleasure to meet new people and hear that you have influenced a positive opinion of sharks amongst people who may normally not be exposed to media which gives a more accurate representation of shark/human interaction. Although being overcome by embarrassment at the immediate reaction post-screening, I must also admit to being proud of what we achieved.

 

 

It was as much an achievement for Brad and Bea as it was for me though of course and it was great to see them getting the plaudits they deserve, even more so that the screening came in the midst of a project we are working on which is gaining real momentum, helped along even more by the screening.

What is this project? A short film about real conservationists doing real conservation and again, as is the way I like to do things, it focuses on the people behind the thankless, arduous and all too often self financed projects designed to help protect the marine environment. This is once again based in Mallorca and is again Elasmobranch based with plenty of underwater footage including some startling stuff of animals as big as cars, living close to shore in the Mediterranean.

It should be done in the next three weeks and will be free to view in the usual places. The first to see it will be a small selected group, followed by the people on my mailing list (join here) and then all of you lucky people. There will of course be a blog to give more details but the footage looks brilliant and the message will be delivered in our own inimitable style, anyone wanting to move away from techno-conservation to dirty hands, hard work conservation would be well advised to take heed of this film when it's out.

Finally, if you want to get your own copy of Behind Blue Glass, you can pick one up for €9.95 from Palma Aquarium and being totally aware that not all of you live in Mallorca, I am told they will be adding a "buy online" option shortly. Remember though, this is Mallorca, things don't get done quickly so if you, like I, think this would be a goo idea, feel free to tell them at info@palmaaquarium.com

I am also still looking in to the best host for an online digi-download, ideally one that doesn't expect me to empty my bank account to them for the privilege of them not actually doing anything so I will be doing that as soon as possible and you will of course be the first to know. I also can't recommend highly enough, emailing Palma Aquarium to tell them you don't live in Mallorca but that you want a copy of the DVD, the more they see the demand, the quicker the buy online option will materialise!

Thanks to Gonzo for the photos from a brilliant night and thanks to Vicki Mcleod, Brad, Bea, Nicky and everyone who cared enough to come to the screening, you gave us more strength to keep doing what we're doing.

My profiles:

Behind Blue Glass, Ongoing projects and some cool stuff!

 

Hello!!

It's been far too long since I last did a blog to let you know what's going on in my world so here is a long overdue update...

Behind Blue Glass

Remember the film I shot in Mallorca about Great White Sharks and the flip side to shark/human interaction you normally see in the media? Things have been dragging a bit due to the "Of Shark and Man" shoot, post-production on that and some other projects that have come my way so as a way to refresh your memories, watch this ninety second trailer:

 

Full size version here

I know it says on the trailer it was due to be released in the summer but sometimes, things don't always go as quickly as you'd like. The good news however, is that this is almost ready for release, meaning you can buy a copy on DVD for yourself. I have pretty much confirmed a distributor and agreement, the film is being subtitled into Spanish and the behind the scenes bonus stuff, DVD packaging and authoring of menus is now being done. I am hoping it will be made available by the retailer online and when it is available, you will be the first to know!

Of Shark and Man

The editing of a film like "Of Shark and Man" is a pretty epic task, more so when you're doing it on your own, even more so when you're negotiating your way around various technical problems that are a product of putting something like this together in the way I have! However, if you saw the private teaser trailer then you will have a fair idea of how good this film is going to look and hopefully you will have also notice a refreshing change from the usual modern approach of treating an audience like idiots and titillating them with shark porn or boring them half to death, I'm trying to capture the excitement and adventure of the 70's and 80's heyday of shark film-making and to also tell a story that you don't already know. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, why? The only excuse you could have is that you don't have internet and if that's the case, you won't be reading this anyway. If you do want to see it and if you like sharks, you should, all you have to do is sign up to the mailing list here (scroll down), it takes about ten seconds and your details are secure and you will not be spammed. Because I'm nice, I'll be sending out the link and password in the next bit of news I send to subscribers and not just that, you might even be getting some more cool stuff to see before anyone else (more on that in "other projects"...)

If you don't already know, you don't just come back from a shoot and start putting everything in a timeline and voila, you have a film. What I have been doing since August is the very unglamourous but essential part of being a film-maker. Almost 3TB of footage needs to be painstakingly separated, catalogued, pre-edited, encoded/converted and logged so when it comes to the edit I have specific content and shots ready and easy to find so the best of the best is going into the film. To put it into perspective, there are folders like "Bull Sharks closeup swimming left to right," that means going through hours of footage to find scenes where Bull Sharks are closeup swimming left to right and for every left to right, there has to be a right to left, non-closeup, good viz, bad viz...You get the idea. In one five minute clip there could be shots that fit every criteria I need so that clip needs to be edited and catalogued over and over and over again. This takes a hell of a lot of time and effort but means when the edit starts it will be a much easier task.

I have also started shooting the UK scenes in my beloved Manchester in all its grey and overcrowded glory, the only things left now are storyboarded shots for the film's intro and a specific shot I want to open the film but I need to find somewhere which has what I need to film and will allow me access in private to do so.

I am really, really excited about this film and I hope you are too, I am confident it's going to be something pretty special!

 

Ongoing Projects

As well as everything to do with Behind Blue Glass and Of Shark and Man, I have been working on two other short videos in support of something I can't say anything about yet, but it's something about which I am very passionate. It's also not my story to tell but these two videos will help support the telling of this story and breaking of the news when hopefully, they (the amazing people in the thick of the action) are in a position to do so. The intention is that one will be used as an internet viral type PSA, the other for broadcast on national television.

It's early doors at the moment, nothing is 100% guaranteed but it's all positive so far, as usual, mailing list subscribers will be the first to know as, when and if I am able to break the news so go sign up because you don't want to miss this if it happens.

Cool Stuff

Finally, here's some cool stuff which I rather enjoyed, some shark related, some nothing to do with sharks but brilliant nonetheless, think of them as a bit of an apology for my enforced silence this last couple of weeks!

An epic and thoroughly justified rant

A dead cert for an OSCAR surely? Thanks to Mike for the heads up

(Click this link) - Great band, great tunes and all for free! Check it out

The 21st century prophet yet again, speaking the truth, very funny, very true (warning, some blue language!)

Enjoy the cool stuff and I'll be back soon hopefully with yet more good news and delightful goodness for you!

My profiles:

T-Minus 73 hours! What to expect while I'm in Fiji...

Twelve months and eleven days ago I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock and the sense of dread that another week lay ahead doing something I didn't want to do, purely so I could merely exist and scrape by in the world, that was when I said to myself, "sod this, I've had enough" and decided to go after what I have wanted my entire life. In the doom and gloom, recession laden UK it seemed an absurd thing to do, no experience, no money, no support system, no contacts or links to the film industry and no idea of how to start putting this whole thing together.

Now, I am only three days away from boarding the plane to Fiji, with one film under my belt, to make a film I have wanted to for the last fifteen or so years, if you don't mind me saying, it is a hell of an achievement I have got this far. With that in mind, I hope you take from this that it is possible to change your life for the better, with hard work, dedication, commitment and a never say die attitude, ordinary people like us, from average working class backgrounds, can achieve the things we believe in.

So, what can you expect while I am out there? Firstly, you can be sure you will be with me every step of the way and 'll be updating you with blogs, video blogs, behind the scenes footage and photos, not only from me but also my crew, Hamish Harper and Hugh Fairs. You will get all that here on this blog, my Twitter, the Facebook Group and the Youtube Page and for the extra special, first in the queue updates, scroll to below the trailer on the front page and join the mailing list!

I intend to answer the kind of questions I always wanted the answers for on these types of adventures that people never seem to answer, unlike all the other film shoots that give the fortunate few a chance to chase adventure around the world, this is not a closed house, I'll tell you how we are doing things, what gear we are using, what problems we are facing and give a real insight into what it is like to be doing this, I want to inspire you to follow your dreams, if I can also help by letting you in on the "secrets" behind my adventure, then that will do for me.

 

What about the film itself? "Of Shark and Man" tells two stories, firstly the story of how one man's desperate urge to fulfill his lifelong ambition leads him to take the ultimate risk, gamble everything and actually manage to achieve that dream, secondly, this film will tell the full story of Shark Reef. This will be the most in-depth and detailed film in existence, about this incredible story and will be different to anything else out there that deals with sharky subject matter. You'll meet the people at the core of what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest marine conservation success stories ever, you'll get a totally different insight into why shark conservation and a healthy shark population is a good thing, it will look and sound different to all the other shark films and perhaps most importantly, will give you, the viewer, the credit of being able to think for yourselves. This isn't a pious, chest beating declaration of impending doom or ego driven shark porn, this is for the sharks and for you, the ordinary man on the street who has been, for the most part, neglected as a target audience for intelligent pro-shark media.

Sound good? It will be...

I can't stress enough, this film has been driven by passion, honesty, will and positivity, all of which is geared towards making something artistically creative, cool and informative, not with agenda driven statistics, but with facts, to me, it's all about inspiration, heart and soul.

 

When this is all done, I will be able to look at it and know that I went from nothing to finally having a finished product and I did it my way and I did it on my own, however, there are some things one individual simply cannot do and without a small band of incredible people, this film would not be getting made at all. These are the people and organisations at the core of what I hope to achieve, not just with "Of Shark and Man" but with all my future films, inspirational, enthusiastic, positive people who walk the walk and people who had the courage to get behind someone the vast majority wouldn't even bother responding to emails from. These are people who I admire, respect and for whom I will have enormous gratitude until my dying day.

Martin and Jane at Fiji Me have been nothing less than amazing and they are the reason I am going in the first place as it is they who are the primary sponsor of this film. They haven't just provided sponsorship though, they have worked tirelessly the last six months or so and have given invaluable enthusiasm and support in what has been an exceptionally difficult time. In short, they have been a dream come true.

 

Mike Neumann at Beqa Adventure Divers (here he is stuck on the business end of a local Tiger Shark called Scarface) has been an invaluable source of advice and information, along with positive words and guidance when needed the most. I wanted to tell this story in the best way possible and I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else. Thankfully, he had already heard of me by the time I contacted him when he was passed an article I wrote for DIVER Magazine a couple of years ago and from that and me chancing upon it when googling myself (ahem, yeah...) a beautiful friendship has gone from strength to strength and in a few days we'll be sharing a beer over some nice food and shooting the sharky breeze. I can't wait.

Canon  have been incredibly generous and supportive and both Alan and Dave have been brilliant. I couldn't be happier to be endorsed by these guys for the simple reason that the Canon DSLRs which are revolutionising the film industry are the best things to happen to underwater film-makers for years, they are the dog's dangly bits and I can see myself using them for years. Not only do they look better than many of the six figure price dedicated film cameras, they are also a lot cheaper and give greater artistic flexibility. I am smitten.

Mario Vitalini, Dave Glanfield and Paul Duxfield have been with me since the start of this journey and are an invaluable source of advice, information and support, they're also just about to launch their new venture and their help and the help from their colleagues at Cameras Underwater has been outstanding.

Believe it or not, "From the Office to the Ocean" was originally intended to be a book (and will be one day) but it was during a conversation with Jim Standing of Fourth Element that the concept of making it a series of films came about. I had always wanted it to be that way, however I thought it would be impossible, it seems that thankfully I was wrong and the Fourth Element guys have been with me since day one. They make the best and coolest looking dive gear around and in the Proteus, the most comfortable, warmest and best looking 5mm wetsuit I have ever used.

These companies and people have either provided funding, equipment or advice but all have given encouragement, guidance and support which has got me to where I am today. I would also like to extend the warmest welcome to the newest member of the "from the Office..." family, Alex Tattersall and Underwater Visions, the UK's primary distributor for Nauticam Underwater Housings. My camera is now my livelihood so putting it in water is nerve wracking enough, putting it in water filled with very big sharks is off the scale so confidence in its protection is vital and these housings are pretty much bullet proof. Both myself and Hugh are now proud owners of the NA-7D and not only did Alex get us out of not one, but two potential disasters, he's also a photographic genius, see the pic of the Lionfish above which he actually took whilst I was next to him and remains to this day one of my favourite photos ever.

I contacted hundreds of individuals and companies for support in the making of this film and the guys above were the small handful with the cojones to back me and with the desire to support grassroots, pro-shark media and I couldn't be prouder to be associated with them all.

I just want to point out as well that donations made by a number of generous people, some of whom I have never met in my life have also got me to this position. The Indiegogo campaign raised $1000 alone and that this came from ordinary people who must be going through financially tough times like everyone else, means the world and I cannot wait to start giving you the goodies when I get back. You are all amazing!

In three days my life is going to change for ever and I can't wait. full speed ahead Beqa Lagoon!!

Oh by the way, don't forget, "Behind Blue Glass" is coming soon...

"Behind Blue Glass" Post Production Update

 

The production of a film is hard work, very hard work. It's not just going somewhere, pointing a camera at some scenery then reading a script. A good film looks great, sounds great and has interesting, engaging content that people actually want to watch, but for all the blood, sweat and tears (thankfully we avoided the blood and tears) the real hard work comes in during post production.

Post production is like building a house, the footage, story and sound are your foundations and upon those foundations, you build your film using the tools at your disposal, building layer after layer to hopefully have the kind of end result your efforts and the content deserve.

Using the house building analogy, "Behind Blue Glass" is currently in the stages of having its interior done. The edit is done, voice overs done, primary colour correction done, lapel and external mic sound done and colour grading will be completed tonight. Left to complete is the final audio mix, subtitling, music, intro and and outro credits, the final, brutal axing of any superfluous footage which isn't totally necessary regardless of how good it looks and a lovely, delicious final master of the whole thing.

The trailer gives an idea of the quality of footage. The whole thing was shot in full HD 1080p and it looks great (honestly, I'm actually looking at it now on a 32" LG television...) and I must say I am very happy with it all. The overall "look" of the film is unlike anything you will have likely seen in regards to shark documentaries, far more cinematic and stylistic, also, shooting these films on the Canon 7D, with the inclusion on this film of the Canon 5D MKii, gives them a look of their own, naturally more cinematic than most HD video cameras and with a glorious, full depth of field. In the coming weeks, I will give a full introduction to the shooting rig I will be using for my films, all of which is affordable and easily accessible to the average consumer.

Speaking of the trailer, since being uploaded six days ago, it has been viewed over 3000 times and shared by over three hundred different people on Facebook alone! Not bad considering the only promotional links I have are social networking media.

I would like to think that the film will be completed in full, in the next two weeks, in fact, I would say that is highly likely, the sooner I can subtitle it and settle on the final music, the sooner it will be done.

Please keep sharing the trailer, I want as many people to see this film as possible, it tells a story you don't know and one which has a message to which most people could easily relate, plus it's not too shabby at all in my honest opinion ;)

Trailer - Youtube
Trailer - Vimeo

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Here it is..."Behind Blue Glass" Trailer!

Finally, here's the trailer for "Behind Blue Glass." It's in full HD 1080p and I fully recommend making sure HD is on and "full screening" it for optimum effect. Please share with likeminded souls and as always, your comments are welcome and gratefully received so don't be shy!

As for progress on the film, I am now onto the sound/music/colour correction stage with a bit of work still left to do but we're getting close now and I am really happy with it all so far!

Not long to wait now ;)

Beyond Limits Interview...

 

The other day I did an interview for Beyond Limits Magazine and you can now read it in its glorious entirity here. 

Enjoy!

Behind Blue Glass - More Details!

With all the excitement and ever increasing workload of the upcoming production in Fiji, it might have been forgotten that I am actually doing post-production on my first ever film, "Behind Blue Glass," well you may have forgotten, I certainly haven't!

I've already mentioned what an incredibly enjoyable experience it was shooting this film but now is the time to fill you in on what to expect and hopefully you'll be chomping at the bit to spend approximately twenty minutes of your life, with a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits, actually watching it! "Behind Blue Glass" is a short film, based in Mallorca and for which I came up with the idea in late February and to the credit of Brad and Bea at Ondine Escape and the guys at Palma Aquarium only took three weeks or so to get the required funding to actually go and make it.

The film is centred around two main aspects, telling the story of Mallorca's history with sharks, in particular, the Great White and also showing that sharks can have a life changing, positive effect on ordinary people.

The Mallorquin relationship with sharks and its story is one which is very much untold, particularly for a non-Spanish audience, google it and see how little there is online! Undeterred and with a decades old fascination with sharks in this part of the world, I was determined to go and delve deeper into it and did so with no shortage of success! For example, did you know where the second largest, recorded, Great White Shark ever caught was taken? Yep, Mallorca, less than one hundred metres from shore in a popular tourist resort. Surprising yes? I doubt you will have heard the story about this before so who better to tell it than the man who caught it, Xisco Perez? My thoughts exactly so look no further than this film as he was kind enough to let me talk to him about it on camera.

Xisco is a fantastic bloke and gave up over an hour of his time to spend with me talking about what happened, by the boat upon which the shark was caught and was ably translated by another fantastic Mallorquin and new friend, Jaime Ros.

The last surviving set of Great White jaws in Mallorca? Check, eyewitness reports from the people who were there and saw these huge sharks in the flesh? Check, input from the people who know more about Mallorquin Great Whites than anybody? Check, it's all in there for you!

Passionate, knowledgeable and incredibly helpful people were certainly not in short supply, another of these people, IUCN member and fisheries and conservation minister for the Balearics, Gabriel Morey, was kind enough to not only talk to me on camera about the state of Balearic and Mediterranean shark populations, he also took us diving at the El Toro marine reserve to get some footage of Mallorca under the waves.

Alongside the conservational and educational aspect of the film we have a little bit of inspiration as well in the form of a group of plucky volunteers, young and old and all shapes and sizes who agreed to participate in a "conservation project" but didn't know exactly what I had in store for them, they got a bit of a shock to say the least but their reactions are priceless and illustrate my point about people and sharks better than any words. Every one of them was fantastic and an inspiration to me and to see them now spreading a positive message about sharks is hugely rewarding.

So what was intended to be a ten minute piece about people meeting sharks, shot on a minuscule, shoestring budget has turned into something so much more, Liam aside, this was the first time any of the crew, myself included, had attempted to make a film, staying true to my word of involving talented, enthusiastic people in everything I do, we even got a couple of the volunteers involved in actually making the film itself getting the kind of hands on experience they may not normally get.

So what is the result? Most importantly, a film with heart, no pretension, just enthusiastic people with a love for and deep knowledge of sharks, combined with an everyman approach and an awful lot of smiles! Sound good? Keep an eye out, I am currently editing at the moment and some of the footage looks superb and I am very happy with the way things are going, hopefully it will all be completed by the end of this month with a premiere to come at Palma Aquarium and after which, you lot can get to have a look and make your own minds up.

This film is a celebration of sharks, of people and of Mallorca, one of my favourite places on earth and to who's people I owe huge gratitude. It's not a mini version of the film in Fiji as it differs in several areas, it is less "cinematic" with more of a "documentary" feel but it is no less, very "me." I'll leave it up to you guys to decide what you think of it but I'm confident you'll love it!

"Behind Blue Glass" - Coming soon!