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!

Panic Stations - A plea for help!!

 

Things are going incredibly well at the moment, in less than two months we will be in Fiji, filming part one of "From the Office to the Ocean" which has a working (and most likely final) title of "Of Shark and Man." The edit for "Behind Blue Glass" is coming along very, very nicely, tomorrow I will be featured in Beyond Limits magazine and there is even talk of maybe, just maybe doing some promotion on national television before we head out!

However, there is one, well two, issues which I need to sort out ASAP. 

First of all, we are still short of the two housing systems (with dome ports, lights and arms) for the cameras we will be using, my Canon 7D and Hamish's Canon 550D.

Secondly, I need to source an edit ready laptop for use in the field whilst on production, the 15" Macbook Pro with upgraded 8GB of RAM being the one which could do the job we need.

Unfortunately, what looked a likely partnership in regards to the housings has thus far failed to materialise and time is quickly running out. My partnership with Cameras Underwater means that I can get what we need at a vastly reduced cost and at the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, it is imperative we get our cameras in the water to film!

This is not a plea to the people who so generously donated to the Indiegogo campaign and who's kindness has already helped immeasurably, this is instead, a plea to anybody who may represent Aquatica, Subal, Sea & Sea or Apple or indeed anyone who would see the benefit of corporate sponsorship moving forward with "From the Office to the Ocean." The situation is getting pretty desperate at the moment so if you would be interested in helping, please contact me where I will be happy to give further details and discuss what benefits you will get from association with this project.

I am already hugely fortunate to have serious involvement from Tourism Fiji, Canon, Cameras Underwater, Fourth Element and of course, Beqa Adventure Divers alongside Ondine Escape, Palma Aquarium and Diver Magazine. This is a project which is guaranteed to gain serious recognition and you can be a part of that. If requested, I can provide documentation confirming association with a major Film Agent and Distribution House who's last factual feature was the OSCAR nominated Restrepo

Interested to help? Email me at david@officetoocean.com and I'll tell you exactly what we need.

I'd rather not be asking in this manner but desperate times call for desperate measures! I hope to hear from you soon!

David

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!

9 months and 27 days exactly!....

 

It was Journey who said it best (not the cast of "Glee"), "Don't Stop Believing," the beauty in the message is its simplicity, never give up, hold on to the things which give you the faith to carry on, you never know, you may just get there in the end...

A hell of a lot of people said it wouldn't happen, more hoped it would, but felt it a step too far, it was practically impossible after all, some however, jumped on board and shared the belief that it may just work, they offered their time, support, encouragement and even money, they believed in it that much!

On July the 1st, I awoke at 8am, the reality dawning in me that this dream I had obsessed about for over twenty years was now what I wanted it to be, my entire life, the driving force behind why I get up in the morning and the reason I would barely sleep for almost a year. It's now a story well told, no money, no savings, no job, no support, no famous surname and soon enough, nowhere to live...It was a seemingly insurmountable task which would require a herculean effort just to get people to take me seriously enough to respond to an email, answer the phone or if I was lucky, meet with me face to face.

Well, nine months and twenty-seven days later, that dream, that ridiculously far fetched dream, is no longer a dream because I am delighted, over the moon in fact, to announce that in July, I fly out to Fiji for a month with Underwater Cameraman extraordinaire Hugh Fairs and photographer, sound man, expert Diver and raconteur in extremis, Hamish Harper to commence filming for my first, full length feature film! Here's a little something to give you an idea of what awaits us...

With no professional experience to add to the aforementioned, complete lack of anything which would normally open doors for things like this, this is a monumental display of faith from the numerous organisations and individuals who have helped me get this far and without whom, I would still be just a dreamer so to them, my friends, I give my unending gratitude, respect and thanks. They were the ones with the courage to take a punt on a total unknown and a good idea, the kind of people who actually make things happen in the world and I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say they are amazing beyond belief.

There have been downs on this journey, television execs claiming they would steal my ideas and there would be nothing I could do about it, a sneering contempt from a handful of people who simply couldn't be bothered to even offer a bit of helpful advice and the realisation that perhaps, the shark conservation community isn't as inclusive or ethically motivated as I once thought it was. However, I must stress these are in the minuscule minority. One thing this process has taught me is that people are actually pretty damn cool and the lack of any financial stability and the pressure that brings has been completely obliterated by the attitudes of a great many old and new friends who, without any thought for what they may get in return, stepped up to the mark and reinvigorated my faith in people. In short, this most difficult and highly pressurised period of my life has also been my happiest.

 

The final, much needed push, well more of a full on body slam, which got me here came from the incredible people at Tourism Fiji, in particular, Jane and Martin who have been brilliant since I first made contact and without whom, I would simply not be making this announcement.

However, anyone who thinks I've "made it" or will be going over there for a holiday is seriously mistaken. This was undoubtedly my biggest obstacle however, the real hard work starts now. Making a film isn't an easy process, making the film I will be with a crew of three will be insanely difficult, however, that's what I wanted from the start, to prove it can be done and with the people behind me, I have no doubt it will be everything if not more than I envisage.

Over the coming months, you will be party to everything that happens, the filming process, post production, publicity, everything. I have said since day one, this is not "my" film, it's for everyone who wants their voice heard, who loves sharks or just has their own dream, a film by the people, for the people. If you have any questions or anything you want to know, please ask and I may just do a blog about it or at the least answer your questions for you.

At this stage, I can't divulge details of what will be in the film itself (I learned that lesson last year) but I can tell you it will not look or sound like any other shark film you have seen, I've done it my way this far, I do not intend to stop now. With that in mind, my first short film, "Behind Blue Glass" is now in the stages of editing the first cut and it looks pretty damn good. It's different to my film in Fiji but will give an indication of what to expect on a smaller scale.

Check out my website which is being updated in the coming days and also join the Facebook group to keep up to speed with the coming news. My workload has now exploded and sleep is pretty much a luxury from now until the end of the year so if you want to contact me, please forgive me if it takes a bit of time to respond.

If there is one thing that I want to leave you with on this blog, it's to say that I hope you have a stronger feeling of belief in your own dreams and ambitions, I'm no different to you, I am doing it, you should too. Go for it!

Full speed ahead Fiji!

A huge thank you!

Shooting of my first film, "Behind Blue Glass" is almost totally complete, with only one shot left which we will be doing tomorrow.

The last two weeks have been gruelling to say the least, sleep has been at a premium, there have been no wild parties or nights out, okay, well one night out but it wasn´t really wild, incidentally, the night in question culminated in us meeting the famous Spanish actor Jorge Sanz during which (whilst a bit pissed, like the rest if us) he told us, on camera, how much he likes sharks and that he wants to see more sharks in Mallorca, and also, the rather amusing sight of the Mallorquin police driving around shouting "Tiburones! Tiburones!" ("Sharks! Sharks!") from the loudspeaker of their car!

That aside, it has been a punishing work schedule with early mornings and late nights and I am not ashamed to admit that the crew behind me have been pushed to their limits in the same way I have pushed myself and a lot of what we have is looking pretty damn awesome because of that.

At this stage, instead of giving more detail about the film itself (fear not, that will come in the next few days) I will focus on the people who have helped make this what it is.

I have said from the beginning that all my films will be as much about people as they are sharks and two people who embody everything in which I believe and without whom, none of this would have been possible, will forever be at the top of my list of vital participants in the making of this film and as I move forward. 

Brad Robertson and Bea Esparza have been nothing short of monumentally amazing since I first had this idea. I have lived with them, they have been my sound department, camera operators, local fixers, translators, chauffeurs, chefs and general dog´s bodies at times and without them both, I could never have made this film. Brad and Bea are in the early stages of running their own business, Ondine Escape an environmentally aware wellness and adventure company which has a heavy focus on conservation and environmental sustainability, in particular, that which relates to the ocean and their diving services. They love people and they love nature and their approach to their clients in these tough times is astonishing in its dedication, often to the detriment of their own livelihood. People like Brad and Bea are the reason I am so passionate about everything I do with "From the Office to the Ocean," they believe we, the people, can make things better for future generations and as I write tis, they are fast asleep, exhausted due to the gargantuan effort and energy they have put into this film. If you are coming to Mallorca, do yourself a favor and get in touch with them, you won´t regret it!

Palma Aquarium feature heavily in this film and working alongside them has been a pleasure. Whether you agree with aquaria or not, the simple fact is that they provide an outlet for education of various marine animals and a chance for people to see animals, sharks in particular, they may not normally see. The animals in the aquarium are in tip top health and it is the cleanest I have ever visited.

The main reason for this has to be the staff who have been a joy throughout, giving me unlimited access whenever I want it and in particular Deborah Morrison, the head of education and conservation (who is also tirelessly leading a "Save the Tuna" campaign) and Roman Gradel, the Curator. They have been instrumental throughout the making of this film and again, without the support of Deborah and Roman, I would not be here. They are not only a credit to Palma Aquarium, but a credit to Mallorca.

Liam Wright, a talented film-maker who owns and runs Banter Media has been an enormous help in getting the shots from inside my mind, on to the camera and they look superb! His help and guidance for me, a film-maker starting out in the profession, has been inspirational and enormously useful as I move forward with my career. He also took twelve days out of a busy schedule running his own Production Media House, to help me make this. Top man!

I also want to mention Gabriel Morey, a fisheries minister for the Balearics and, like me, complete shark nut! He has been awesome and on my birthday, took Brad, Bea and I diving at El Toro, a great way to celebrate turning thirt...twenty two ;)

Our twelve participants, Palmi, Johnny, Jaime, Alistair... the list goes on, I just could´t find time to thank them all enough however, the full list of people who have made this grueling and punishing schedule, thoroughly enjoyable will appear on the film of course!

I also want to thank Cameras Underwater for the loan of the underwater housing, Canon, Fourth Element for keeping me warm and making me look good and everyone else who has supported me thus far.

I return on the 28th where work on the edit and sound will begin immediately. It´s been a hell of a ride and I can´t wait to see the finished product, I hope you can´t either!

I´d like to go int more detail but I just don´t have the time, all that will be coming soon though so keep your eyes peeled!

Tiburones!!

www.officetoocean.com

P.S. Please forgive any spelling mistakes, spell check is in Spanish here and my eyes just can´t hack endlessly reading, looking for spelling mistakes!

First Film - In Production!

First of all, please forgive the short post! Internet access and time here are both at a minimum but I am delighted to tell you that I am nearing the end of production for my first film, "Behind Blue Glass."

The film is a short piece about sharks in the Mediterranean, in particular around the coast of Mallorca and in which, I take unsuspecting, non-divers to meet sharks for the first time to see how they react! The film also features the incidences of large Great White Sharks off the coast of the Balearics and features interviews with fishermen, government officials, museum curators and ordinary people.

It is my intention to stream this film for free, online for everybody to see however, it is also a possibility that it may also air on Spanish TV. The people here from Brad and Bea with whom I am making the film, to the guys at Palma Aquarium, Gabriel Morey, Juan Andreas Ruiz and pretty much everybody have been overwhelmingly supportive, enthusiastic and helpful in making this as easy, interesting and exciting as possible.

Filming Wraps on Tuesday 26th and I return to the UK on the 28th to start editing.

Keep your eyes peeled for further details as this could be something pretty awesome!

Things are looking good!

 

I've been a busy boy of late, hence the lack of a blog for a month, which is of course, unacceptable, please accept my humblest apologies!

The frustrating thing is that I'd love to tell you all what I'm doing however at this stage I am unable to do so for a couple of reasons but fear not, you will hear all about it in the next week or so! Things are really starting to go in the right direction and my decision to quit the rat race and go for my lifelong ambition is looking more and more like the best and bizarrely, most sensible thing I have ever done.

Life is pretty good right now, yes it's still tough, I'm still skint, my stuff is spread out in different houses around the country and there is still a lot of uncertainty as to what the future holds but believe me, I have never been as happy and satisfied with my day to day life as I am right now. It's all relative I guess, different people measure success using different parameters, if financial gain is the yardstick of success then I still have a hell of a way to go but I don't see financial gain as a measure of "success," to me the ultimate definition of success is setting ones' self goals and achieving those goals whilst enjoying the process of doing so and in that regard I'm flying at the moment!

 

Rewind ten months to July 1st 2010, waking up that Thursday morning in the knowledge that I was at square one with nothing but an absurd belief that I could actually make the things I had dreamed about for over twenty years actually happen was both exciting and terrifying. When I say to people that I had nothing, despite the fact as time goes by people may cast an accusatory glance in my direction, claiming slight exaggeration, I can guarantee I had nothing, no family ties to the industry, no confirmation of any help, financial or otherwise, no plan of action and barely enough money to get me through the next six weeks. The only thing I had was an idea I believed in, and my friend Hamish giving me the encouragement when I needed it.

Now, in mid April 2011 I am on the brink of some amazing things which I have achieved pretty much single-handedly with nothing to rely upon other than the stubborn belief that if you want it enough and work hard enough at it, you can achieve. I say "single-handedly," i have had the support of some amazing people but I'll come to that in a minute. Somebody said an interesting thing to me last year, I was at the Dive Show in Birmingham discussing "From the Office to the Ocean" with one of the people who has shown support from the very beginning when they said "the reason you're gonna make this happen is because you have this naive belief that anything is possible and you won't let people tell you otherwise." The use of the word "naive" wasn't derogatory by any means, it was merely a statement that backs up everything I have said from the beginning. We are told by society that we must fit a certain mould, get a job with a regular income, pay your taxes, don't complain too much, raise some kids in the right way and when you retire (if you live that long) hope that they will look after you before putting you in a home to die. Well that's not the way I intend to live my life.

It's considered "naive" to believe that you or I, ordinary people, can step outside of that and say "no, I'm going to do things my way, it's my life and I'll make my own rules." Because of that I am now on the brink of something which is pretty much unheard of or at least extremely rare, breaking in to an industry without the benefit of a famous surname and doing it on my own terms, they have come to me, not the other way around.

I am in regular contact with a major production and distribution company with a serious pedigree, an OSCAR nominated pedigree no less, who are both enthusiastic and extremely interested in helping me move forward. Their approach is outstanding, supportive and creative and because of that I look forward to working with them moving forward. There is a long way to go yet but it's all going in the right direction, people almost always say the same thing to me, "if it doesn't work, at least you can say you tried." They are almost always surprised when I reply that that would almost be as bad, if not worse than not trying at all. To go for it and fail is to say that everything you have believed in for years is fake and that you are destined for the life that society thrusts upon you. Failure is not an option, obstacles are there to be overcome so you can then view what once was an obstacle as a success, you pick up and carry on making all the other obstacles into successes along the way, it sounds simple but every problem has a solution, find the solution and it's not a problem anymore, predict the obstacles and arm yourself with the weapons to defeat each and every one.

 

Which brings me on to my next point. I said above that I have done this alone, relying solely on myself to make it happen which to a major extent is true however, through the effort and work I have put in I have been fortunate enough to become involved with so seriously amazing and supportive people. Hamish started this by opening the door for me with the guys at Cameras Underwater who have been amazing to me. Shortly after and with the help of Dave Glanfield I managed to speak with the guys at Canon and became incredibly fortunate to be associated with them and both Alan and Dave have been superb throughout.

There are a number of people and organisations who have supported me on this journey and who continue to do so, one of those, Fourth Element, one of the first companies I approached in 2008, have been brilliant in providing help when I needed it, some excellent advice and now, a box full of awesome Fourth Element gear which I received on Saturday. Fourth Element not only make some of the best and easily the coolest looking dive gear and apparel out there, they are also big supporters of shark conservation who donate money from T-Shirt sales to the Shark Trust. Their ethos is outstanding and not only will I be toasty and warm in whatever ocean I am in, I will also look good in and out of the water which, let's face it, is pretty important in my line of work!

The list of organisations and people backing me is now pretty huge and throughout this whole process I've learned an important and humbling lesson. People are actually pretty bloody decent. It's easy to view large organisations as faceless entities trying to extract every last penny out of you but in many of these organisations are enthusiastic, energetic, creative and cool people who are only too happy to help something they too believe in. Without the help of these companies and individuals I would not be where I am now so to them I extend my humblest and sincerest thanks and guarantee that your support will not go unrewarded, nor will it ever be taken for granted. I am exceptionally proud to be associated with all of you.

I could do a blog thanking everyone who has helped so far but it would be huge and for you, the reader, a bit boring so the thank yous will be made in context over the course of various blogs so with that in mind, keep an eye out over the coming weeks, there are some major announcements and also some creative content of interest which I hope, you find almost as exciting as I do! In the next week or so, my inactivity in here will be explained in full and it's something I can't wait to clarify and publicise so thanks for your patience and strap yourselves in because things are about to get interesting ;)

Stay safe.

David

www.officetoocean.com

First day of filming done!!!

On Tuesday, I was exceptionally lucky to be able to film some underwater segments of a dream type sequence for the film, at an underwater stage with the brilliant Hugh Fairs.

An early, 8am start meant that I was up and about at 5am which hasn't happened for a very long time! When I'm away on diving trips in wonderful, exciting foreign lands, these types of pre-dawn starts are pretty much the norm but when the cold, wind and rain is what awaits you, it's a lot harder to muster the enthusiasm to alight from a comfy, warm bed! In this instance, the prospect of actually getting some film "in the can" was all the encouragement I needed and from the second Megadeth startled me out of my slumber, I was buzzing with excitement about the day ahead.

My good friend and talented film-maker, Liam from Banter Media was helping me document the day on both film and photos so when he arrived at 6am, I was more than a little relieved that he too had managed the early morning start. The drive itself was a doddle and we arrived pretty much dead on time to find Hugh already starting the arduous task of setting up the camera he was using for the day, "The Phantom."

Hugh was there to do some aerodynamic testing on the housing he designed for use with this camera for a filming job he has coming up. The biggest benefit of this camera is the enormous frame rate at which it shoots, meaning slow motion looks phenomenal, think of the BBC footage of the Great White's breaching at Dyer Island that was featured in the Blue Planet, that sort of stuff. It doesn't come cheap though, £100,000 at last valuation! As he was there doing a testing session, I was able to help him out and also get some footage filmed so the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone was too good to pass up.

 

The concept behind the segment I was shooting is really, pretty simple, an underwater sequence but dressed in your typical office wear, it might not make a huge amount of sense now but you'll have to wait and see the finished result when it definitely will! This meant jumping into the tank several times, with weighted ankles and getting various angles of these jumps, plus a couple of longer, underwater swimming shots. 

 

One of the most exciting parts of the whole process was watching the footage back, it really did look absolutely stunning and actually being able to direct the action and get the images in my head onto a screen was a hugely fulfilling experience and what was actually a long day flew by in no time. If this is what the film-making process is really like, sign me up right now! I have to give a huge amount of thanks to Hugh, Neil, Lawrence and Liam for their help and I am delighted with how it all went.

The rather crudely edited video at the top of the page is a bit of behind the scenes footage from the day, shot on my Canon 7D as my outdoor, maneuverable filming rig is now almost complete. There's a bit of work to be done on it yet but it's all looking good. The footage was captured using a Canon 15-85mm lens with a UV filter and the camera settings set to completely flat, as per the recommendations of none other than the incredible Phillip Bloom.

With regards to progress, things are going very well, I met with Canon again on Monday at the Focus on Imaging show at the NEC in Birmingham, to discuss a number of exciting propositions moving forward. I have also been in discussions with a Salford based company called Future Artists, who specialise in the production, distribution and marketing of film and television across a wide section of media platforms. Their last documentary was the Oscar nominated "Restrepo" and feedback so far about "From the Office to the Ocean" has been nothing short of exceptional. Keep an eye out for progress on that front!

For all you facebook fiends out there, I have made a new, more manageable group which allows me to keep in contact with you all on there in a much more efficient manner so if you haven't already, join up here, simply click "like" and hey presto, you're sorted!

There are some incredibly exciting things in the pipeline at the moment which I'm working on that could have a hugely positive effect on localised shark conservation efforts, at this stage, I have to keep them under my hat for various reasons but rest assured, you will know about them as soon as I am able.

Finally, well done to Guam for passing it's legislation regarding shark conservation, it seems as the weeks go by, more and more nations are making efforts to help the world's declining shark populations. Of course, we are still a million miles away from where we need to be but every step is a step in the right direction.

I hope you are all well, as always, please feel free to get in touch with any comments, questions and suggestions, I love hearing from you all.

Thanks for all your continuing support!

www.officetoocean.com

The lack of Video Diaries lately...

 

I just thought I'd point out that the lack of video diaries of late is not down to anything other than me having to change my set up to go HD and I have been physically unable to do them and transfer them to a laptop with my old set up.

However, I will be looking at doing some more in the not too distant future which will hopefully feature some exciting updates and even cover various things I'll be doing, including the filming of something exciting, somewhere exciting...More on that nearer the time.

I'm currently in the process of assembling my shooting rig and of course as I build that, I'll blog on here for the people who are interesting in this kind of thing because it is of course, an integral part of what I am doing. As always, I am keeping the cost of things down as much as possible for obvious reasons but also to help out those of you who wouldn't know where to look, to help you with cheap options to assemble your own DSLR shooting rig, also, any questions regarding shooting or post-production, fire away!

As far as progress, I'm still waiting on emails from various quarters, I have had some encouraging news though this week and although things are looking very, very good, it's not easy waiting, however, as they quite rightly say, patience is a virtue!

If you're wondering what the picture is, it's yet another daft photoshop of no relevance whatsoever, and portrays a school of Scalloped Hammerheads flying over Old Trafford, I'm not entirely sure why...

By the way, I have a made a new, more manageable page on Facebook so please "like" the page here

Have a top weekend one and all!

www.officetoocean.com

A bit of progress in Leeds!

 

Firstly, I'd like to point out that the above picture has no relevance to anything whatsoever, it is merely my first attempt at messing around with Photoshop, I took neither picture, the shark is a Lemon Shark and the background is Manchester and I am trying to get better on Photoshop so as to be able to start crafting some promo material for "From the Office to the Ocean."

OK so now that's cleared up, I wanted to bring this to your attention. I have been on Red Chilli's case about their inclusion of shark fin soup for a couple of years now and it's good to see the local newspaper finally covering the story. Leeds as a city has a large Chinese community and a high number of Chinese restaurants and supermarkets and although there has been success in regards to Maxi's removing it from their menu, thanks to the efforts of Hamish's fiancee, Dani and the group of kids she taught at school, the other restaurants have somewhat dug their heels in and refused to discuss the matter in any detail.

Throughout the last two years I have tried to get the local press to pay attention, even building it into my website but unfortunately, this side of things has been neglected since focusing all my efforts on the first film, so it is with great admiration that I say a richly deserved "well done" to Duncan Carson and Stop Shark Finning for focusing a great deal of time and effort building a list of offending outlets in towns up and down Great Britain and making as much noise about it as possible. I have spoken with Duncan numerous times in the past about the best course of action for encouraging restaurants to remove shark fin from the menu and it is nice to see a bit of progress.

I am a firm believer that the best approach is to educate and inspire, let people know the facts, show some passion and allow them to decide for themselves that they want to care. A quick note to those who use various social media tools to make demands of people to get them to become involved in conservation, telling people not to do something doesn't work, patronising people doesn't work, distorting the facts doesn't work, constant nagging doesn't work and accusatory condescending to people certainly doesn't work. 

A good example, my best mate Andy took his lovely girlfriend Elena out on Sunday to celebrate her birthday (happy birthday Elena) and had planned to eat at the Red Chilli restaurant in Leeds. They ordered drinks and whilst waiting to be seated, noticed shark fin on the menu. Through their own choice they informed the manager they wouldn't be eating there because of it, finished their drinks and left to get an Italian instead. I was waiting at his house when they returned and they told me what they'd done and the important thing is that they felt good about it, that's the important thing, they hadn't changed the world over night but they made their own stand and knew it was the right thing to do. I never nag my friends and acquaintances about it but they know how I feel, I allow them to make up their own minds and invariably, this means they too make the same stand made by Andy and Elena. From small acorns, great oak trees grow...

 

Wow! Check this out, as posted by Mike and taken by a photographer called Vitaly Sokol, what an amazing photo! The composition is amazing and I love how the sea bird is incorporated, I'm hoping it's not too long when I'm out there myself trying my absolute best to try and get photos half as good as this!

As for the film, I'm still waiting on some progress reports, sleep is at a premium due to my brain constantly firing off new ideas and various ifs and buts but hopefully I'll have more info for you soon, everyday is a day closer to going into production and last week I had a brilliant meeting with Liam at Banter Media in regards to various post production things and music. Keep watching this space!

www.officetoocean.com

Starting 2011!

 

So it's finally come to it and I have now left my lovely City Centre apartment.

Back in July I knew that it was extremely likely that I would have to sacrifice the place where I had really enjoyed living since moving in the previous December, but there comes a time when big decisions need to be made in order to get to where you want to be and after leaving my job, this was the second biggest decision I have had to make in the last seven months.

As always, moving home is never a pleasurable experience and the stress that goes with it is certainly magnified when taking into account I have no idea what the future holds for me. There wasn't a new permanent address, a new job, the excitement of living in a different city or country or any of the other stuff which often comes as a result from moving home, instead, there is more uncertainty, more pressure and less a feeling of security and independence. However, more uncertainty and pressure can often mean more excitement, it is also testament to how seriously I am taking all this and instead of just talking the talk, I am indeed, walking the walk.

 

I was in London last week for a meeting with someone with whom I have been speaking for the last few months about "From the Office to the Ocean" and who's organisation has shown a great deal of enthusiasm and support since I first met with her colleague in October. This meeting was originally scheduled in for December last year but upon confirmation, within two days of the date being agreed, Britain was under the worst snow at that time of the year for something like a hundred years...Typical!

Anyway, we met at Bentley's in London which I have to say, was fantastic and a lot posher than I was expecting, so posh in fact that Samantha Cameron, wife of David Cameron, as in Prime Minister and scourge of the ordinary working man, David Cameron, was stuffing her face with the magnificent food on offer downstairs. I felt dreadfully under dressed as I was in jeans and a T-Shirt ("From the Office to the Ocean" branded naturally) and it was clear to all I was indeed under dressed as I stuck out like a sore thumb, however, the staff treated me no differently and were nothing other than thoroughly pleasant. The meeting itself was excellent and incredibly encouraging, I am not, at this stage, about to tell you with whom this meeting was so as not to jinx anything but the feedback was nothing short of amazing and I really feel I have taken huge steps towards getting confirmation of when we can start full production of this film so watch this space!

 

 

I finally got my hands on my Canon 7D at the weekend as well and have spent a fair bit of this last week getting to grips with it and what an amazing piece of kit it is! I haven't even started on film tests with it yet but will be assembling my movie shooting rig as soon as possible and absolutely cannot wait to start shooting some film with it and will hopefully have it in the water sooner rather than later. If you're a photographer/film-maker or like me, film-maker/photographer, I cannot recommend Canon's range of DSLRs enough.

The last couple of weeks has also included some very positive Skype chats with two wonderful people, Lesley Rochat in South Africa and my new Aussie mate, Brad Robertson in Majorca who, along with his partner Bea, runs a company called Ondine. What is so fulfilling about speaking to both Lesely and Brad is their enthusiasm and energy when it comes to sharks and innovative, exciting ways to aid shark conservation. I have a huge amount of pretty cool ideas and speaking with Lesley and Brad about them is a revelation, there is no negativity, no defeatist giving up before we have even started, instead it is positive, supportive and a wholly enjoyable experience and I can't wait to get stuck into working with both of them sooner rather than later.

The Indiegogo campaign has now finished and raised a fantastic $1000 towards helping with post-production of "Shark. My God." I want to give my wholehearted thanks and gratitude to everyone who was kind enough to contribute, that money will do a huge amount of good in the making of this film. 

At this current stage, I am essentially waiting for news on a couple of things which will hopefully give this film the full green light. A plan is in place for promotion both before and after production alongside some pretty cool ideas of how to get this film out to a wider audience. I am also storyboarding elements of the film and have had some great ideas regarding the music and artists I would like to approach to contribute their considerable talents to helping me realise my vision for the film's soundtrack so in regards to where we are in pre-production, I can say with confidence we are pretty much ready to go barring a couple of things which require the funding being in place first.

As always, thanks for the support, I am hoping we have some encouraging news coming through this month so cross everything for me! I have never been so confident that this film will be made and available in the short-term future...Let's hope so!

David

www.officetoocean.com

Edit: Thank you to my very good friend Kris Allen for pointing out that I had officially made the two headed beast that is the UK's coalition government, officially a singular element of corporate greed and oppressor of the great unwashed, by naming it "Nick Cameron." Ooops!

Only 3 more days to go!

Just a quick pointer that the Indiegogo campaign now has only 3 days left to run. We haven't hit target but I didn't particularly expect we would, very few projects on there do, however, the money raised will go a long way towards the post production costs and getting this film out there to you and to distributors to get this film the audience it deserves!

If you feel so inclined, all donations regardless of size, are enormously appreciated!

On the street, on the telly and another almighty Discovery Channel cock up!

 

I knew it was gonna come sooner or later, I had kinda hoped it wouldn't but it's fast approaching, that's right, come January 31st, I will be "of no fixed abode." This may come as a surprise to people who might have thought I was just saying it for dramatic effect and to add a bit of weight to the story but no, I will in a couple of weeks time, be leaving my own little haven and become solely reliant on the kindness of others.

Think for a moment of what this would mean to you, it's pretty much keeping me awake at night lately because the people who know me best will tell you that I like things "just so," in their own place with my own little ways of doing things. I have my own spot on the sofa, I must have the remote control at all times and woe betide you if you try to get in the way of me watching Manchester United. I like eating what I want when I want, I want to lounge around in nothing but board shorts and I want to stay up 'til all hours messing around on After Effects and listening to old school Metal. I can pretty much kiss those days goodbye for at least twelve months...

At my age, losing your own place is a bit like regressing back to childhood and living with mum and dad again, like it or not and perhaps contrary to what your gracious temporary host tells you, you will always be a guest. My independence is one of the most important things I have, this whole story is, in a way, a testament to that independence and it is somewhat ironic that part of achieving full, independent fulfillment requires giving that independence up for the best part of a year. Anyone who has doubted how serious I am about all this would be well advised to come see me on January 31st when I leave pretty much all my belongings in various places for safe storage and wave goodbye to a flat that I really, really like...The hardest thing of all though will be leaving my closest friends who really are family to me, that, I am not looking forward to!

I met two great lads from a PR company called Multitude Media last weekend, Will and Rory met with me to see if they could help me in any way and I was impressed at their approach and most of all impressed with the fact they were genuinely enthusiastic about "From the Office..." As I said to Will, if I step back from all this and look at it objectively, it sounds absurd, quit a secure job that pays enough to have a decent enough standard of living, make yourself homeless and risk absolutely everything to travel to the other side of the world to make a film about sharks which you then intend to get on the television for as many people in the world to see and then start work on parts two and three... Is it absurd though? If I didn't have 100% confidence that this film will be as good (or even better) than I expect it will be do you really think I would go through all this? It would be a lot easier to just accept a life of mediocrity and the safety net of a guaranteed monthly wage but that ain't living, it's existing so as the saying goes, "go hard or go home" and in a couple of weeks I won't have a home to go to so I better go hard!

 

Let me tell you, having a reason and motivation to get up every morning is brilliant but in this situation life isn't easy, in fact it's very tough, get ready for rejection, prepare for people to completely and utterly miss the point of what you're doing and be prepared to say goodbye to the little luxuries you may have taken for granted previously and get yourself in the right frame of mind to do the biggest thing of all, accept that you're on your own.

Doing something like this is incredibly lonely, given how fortunate I am to be surrounded by the people I am lucky enough to call friends and to have the support of all the people around the world who have helped me get this far, that might seem an odd thing to say but it really is you and you only when it comes to the crunch. It is you who makes the life changing sacrifices, it is you who puts your neck on the line, who opens yourself up to ridicule, negativity and in some cases maybe even jealousy. It is you who deals with the failures and disappointments, you who spends every second of every day focused on one thing only and ultimately you bares the brunt of any mistakes. The simple fact is that if I don't do what needs to be done, it won't get done and all this is for nothing, thousands of emails and the constant wait for replies, telephone calls, spending money you don't have travelling to meetings, promoting yourself and your project, writing and then re-writing proposals and business plans and endlessly wondering how the hell you're gonna get in touch with person X who you think might just give you the time of day to have a quick chat. Unless you've got a load of cash behind you, don't even think about going into something like this and it being an easy ride!

So I must have some regrets right?

Hell no! Sure it's tough but anything worth doing usually is and the sense of spiritual and emotional wellbeing you get from doing something truly worthwhile, whilst also fulfilling long held ambitions, is worth the hardships. To wake up everyday with a purpose other than doing something you may feel forced to do, is a liberating feeling and something which motivates me to keep going, working harder and putting everything into making this a roaring success!

I've also stated on here before that whereas much of this project is lonely in the extreme, the other aspects prove that there are some amazing, kind, supportive, creative and generous people out there who want to see people achieve their goals, without those people I wouldn't be where I am today and the connections I have with these people are ones I sincerely hope will only strengthen in time.

So where am I at the moment? There is a lot of very exciting stuff on the horizon, unfortunately I can't go into too much detail yet but two particular things stand out as having a huge impact on this and future projects and I expect some exciting announcements in due course. Will I be filming in February? Unlikely but I am hopeful, dare I say quite confident, filming will start in the next couple of months and what is particularly exciting are  the ways in which I can get this film to you, the viewer, some of which are quite different to the norm, others perhaps more commonplace but all will mean that widespread, global distribution is on the cards. Keep watching this space for updates!

 

Some good stuff this week!

Channel 4 are running a week of programmes focusing on the problems facing the world's oceans through certain fishing practices and started with three programmes over three days with the wonderful Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall looking at the issue of discard and certain EU regulations. I love Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, I think he's brilliant, he's a genuine bloke who attaches himself to causes he cares about and actually gets out there to do something about it, he's done it with chickens and now he's doing it with fish and you know what, the whole country has been talking about the issue, well done Hugh and Channel 4!

Gordon Ramsay, or "Chef Ramsay" as you Americans insist on calling him, is doing his bit on Sunday with a programme all about shark finning and about time too. It's a subject the UK media seem to have a complete blackout on and the fact the world's most famous chef is fronting it guarantees good viewing figures so fingers crossed it's done properly with the focus on the sharks not the chef. Gordon Ramsay gets a bit of a hard time off a lot of people but I actually really like him, (never met him in person so basing that entirely on his television shows) he's a passionate fella, he's not afraid of getting stuck in and he speaks his mind so I have high hopes for "Shark Bait" (awful yet predictable name by the way) and Gordon, if you read this as I hope you might because I've been mithering you on Twitter, get in touch!

 

Some bad stuff...

I've seen this doing the rounds recently and it still amazes me the lengths the Discovery Channel and Shark Week go to to shoot themselves in the foot. You may already have realised but I love sharks and my career is now focused on working with sharks, in particular on television so this should be right up my street yes? Well, no actually. Part of my old job in recruitment was attracting candidates through online advertising so I know a fair bit about this lark so for all of you out there thinking of applying, let's have a look at this epic fail of a job advert...

Job Requirements: Must enjoy exotic, waterfront locations, buff bodies in bathing suits and having the bejesus scared out of you. Looking delicious in a wet suit is a plus. Sense of humor required.

Salary: Chump Change (we spent an hour coming up with that!)

Benefits: Lots and lots of insurance and some great dentistry, naturally.

Job Description: Discovery Channel is looking for a fun‐loving, fast‐swimming personality to be the first ever Chief Shark Officer for this year's Shark Week. As we circle in on our 24th year, Shark Week has captured the zeitgeist that began with Jaws and is synonymous with summer. As the CSO, you will be required to swim with sharks (accompanied by professionals, of course), attend Shark premiere parties in NY, LA and Miami (accompanied by celebrities, of course) and help spread the word about the world's most misunderstood predator.

Please forward resumes, audition tapes and blood type to Discovery Channel c/o Elizabeth Hillman.

In the interests of clarity in the event you don't get why this has wound me up so much I'll pick out the highlights.

Since when did it become acceptable to judge a candidate's suitability for a presenting role on "looking delicious in a wet suit?" Take that as "no fatties, over 35s or ugly people please" then...

"Salary: Chump Change" Excuse me but are they for real? Who in their right mind thinks that is the way to describe a salary? It is also another example of a large organisation taking the piss out of people with passion and enthusiasm for a vocational career which sadly, is the norm when it comes to working with animals and/or in television. These industries are so tough because they're so incestuous and the people within these industries, often the few who can make a good living, know people will accept poorly paid jobs because of their desire to get a chance to shine so offer "chump change" in a way that says "and you should be grateful for getting that!" It stinks.

They certainly have "captured the zeitgeist that began with JAWS" and they've been doing what they can for twenty four years to ensure the misconceptions and stereotyping of sharks continues and then have the nerve to use the old "world's most misunderstood predator" sound byte...I wonder why that might be eh?

Nowhere does this job advert mention sharks or at least a passion or even passing interest in sharks, sure the majority of people applying will want to work with sharks but will it go to one of them? Unlikely I imagine, nobody enjoys sprightly young women bouncing around and bursting out of their bikinis more than me but I prefer my shark stuff with a bit more substance thanks...

With all this in mind, I imagine the above has ensured Discovery might not be so keen to speak to me about my film when it's finished, however, I can look beyond it if you can, let's work together and see about sorting this dreadful mess out with the kind of stuff I, and many others, want to see during Shark Week. If you're reading, get in touch.

That's it for now, if you have approached Discovery for the job, let me know how you get on, I'd love to know!! Also let me know your thoughts on everything shark related in the media at the moment, I love your input.

Sharks rule.

www.officetoocean.com

Edit: I have just watched "Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait" and I have to say a thoroughly well deserved "well done" to Gordon Ramsay who delivered this message in the perfect way. Well done to channel 4 for giving this vital message a platform and to all involved in its production. Not keen on the overly provocative title but that's small criticism of something which really deserves nothing but praise. If you missed it, check for streams online, it's well worth it...

2010 - What a year!

 

Firstly I'd like to wish each an every one of you a very happy Christmas! I know it's a little late but still, the sentiment remains and with the onset of 2011, I thought it would be a good idea to cast my eye over what has been a pretty amazing, humbling, challenging and sometimes bizarre 2010!

2010 has probably been the biggest year of my life so far, certainly the most important in terms of my long term future, with some major decisions and changes taking place. To establish whether this year has been my most successful would depend upon how you define "success," if you define it merely in financial terms then 2010 has been my most difficult year since I first left university and was a penniless out of work musician in a brand new city, struggling to juggle the responsibilities and expectations I put upon myself. If you define success through emotional and spiritual fulfilment and achieving goals you set yourself, no matter how big or small, then 2010 has been a roaring triumph I would say!

There have however been a few downs, I lost a good friend at the age of only 21, someone who shared my adventurous spirit and lived every day to it's fullest, there have been frustrations and difficulties, disappointments and worry but all of these contributed to me making the decision to make changes which, for many years, I had dreamed of making, the first six months of this year unquestionably shaped the last.

I'm gonna list the moments which shaped the year for me and in turn, thank some incredible people for their support, generosity, kindness and encouragement, people without whom, I would not be going into 2011 with a sense of excitement, belief and expectation.

1. "Googling" myself!

Seriously, this was possibly the most important moment for me in 2010! Everybody does it, I think I'm just one of the few who is sad enough to admit it! I was browsing the internet on a Sunday afternoon before having to catch a train back to Leeds and as I occasionally do, popped my name into Google. The results were pretty surprising, the first page was made up of a number of blogs discussing both myself and more importantly, this article (the second down).

Coincidentally, one of the blogs belonged to a dive operation in an area that upon further inspection, was instrumental in a story with which I have been fascinated for years. With the help of Patric Douglas, another man who had responded warmly to my article, I tracked down the author of the blog in question and from then on struck up a friendship, the man in question, Mike Neumann, also responded with support and encouragement for a project upon which I had been working for eighteen months, "From the Office to the Ocean." In the following days I came up with an idea for a film, pitched it to Mike and I was on my way.

 

2. Leaving my job

Without doubt, the most important big decision I have ever made. At this point, I think it only fair that I offer my sincerest thanks to Dean, Lisa and Joe at Nixon Allen where I worked as a recruitment consultant for professionals within the insurance industry. I was pretty good at my job, always wanted to do my best and was extremely lucky to work with some brilliant people and for a boss who was supportive, trusting and always keen to reward hard work. I enjoyed working with my colleagues and friends and enjoyed some great relationships with some brilliant clients and candidates but the major issue, as with probably 95% of people, I wasn't passionate in the truest sense of the word about my job, it didn't get my blood pumping and  never saw myself doing it until I retired. The last few years have been very difficult for the industry and the problems and difficulties started to outweigh the rewards, I woke up one morning, fed up of not fulfilling my potential or stretching myself creatively so one Monday morning, filled with dread at another week of wishing my life away, made a huge decision and resigned. My boss was brilliant about it and very supportive and by the Wednesday, that was it, I was on my own with a seemingly impossible task but feeling absolutely brilliant, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

 

3. The idea 

I left work on the Wednesday and was up at 8am on Thursday to start the very long process of learning how to get what was in my brain, onto a definitive document which clearly laid out every facet of what, why, where, when, who and of course, how much. I am not going to lie to you, when you haven't done this before, this is really, really difficult but spending time, hours and days, on sometimes the smallest detail is absolutely vital. I had the benefit of ten years in the music industry with four other brilliantly creative and passionate people who's talents and strengths were always underpinned by abject poverty and lack of resources. So, what do you do in this situation? You work with what you've got and you work ten times harder than everybody else. Throughout those years I learned the skill of promotion and how to make as many people know as much as possible about what you do whilst spending little, if anything and in my current situation, this is possibly the most important skill I have.

Richard Theiss and Jim Standing of Fourth Element, all the while, my ever-present, erstwhile friend and companion Hamish Harper was there to provide his endless enthusiasm and support, for which I will be forever grateful.

 

4. Going it alone

The first plan was to pitch my idea to people within the television and film industry, get one on board, work with them and make this film with their professional and financial backing, easy! Well, no, quite the opposite in fact. Production companies get people like me contacting them all the time with ideas and to say they're a little weary of entertaining dreamers with grand ideas is putting it lightly! After one such conversation during which one television exec made no secret that "if they wanted to take your idea they would and there was nothing you can do about it..." I decided instead to go down the route of doing it all myself and then approaching the relevant organisations with a finished product. This type of undertaking is extremely difficult but in this situation, is most definitely the best route to take, it is also incredibly daunting but I've done this all before with huge success so I'm no stranger to doing things the hard way!

5. Support and endorsements

"Hi, my name is David Diley, I really love sharks and although you have never heard of me, I'm making a brilliant film but I have no money, can you help me please?" Although this isn't quite the approach I have been taking, it is in essence, what I am saying. It still amazes me when looking back to when I started this journey, how truly isolated and alone I was whilst trying to make this all become reality, I had the goodwill and support of friends, acquaintances and strangers but that can only get you so far. 

Within a couple of weeks, Britain's premier supplier of underwater photography equipment and advice, Cameras Underwater, were on board and backing me. The support and generosity shown me by Dave, Mario, Duxy and also Mario's partner, Caroline, made me feel on top of the world because they too believe in what I am doing. Mike Neumann at Beqa Adventure Divers has been invaluable to me, because of him I have full access to everything I want to cover and huge support in many other areas. Fourth Element have been around the longest, going all the way back to the very first, embryonic stages of this project in 2008 and only recently I became fortunate enough to be endorsed by Camera giant, Canon. There are also exciting things in the pipeline for early 2011 so to think it was only six months ago that I was at the bottom of what seemed an almost insurmountable mountain to climb, it's pretty amazing what I have achieved at the turn of the year!

6. Getting out there

Since returning from the Bahamas in 2008 and formulating the basic ideas behind "From the Office to the Ocean," I have focused on getting out there and meeting people face to face, nothing can beat discussing ideas about which you are passionate with people face to face, it is the moment these people can see what you're all about and how genuine you and your ideas are. In 2008 I bought a ticket for the Dive Show at the Birmingham NEC and sent out about one hundred emails to exhibitors, explaining my idea and that I would be coming to talk to them about it at the show. Most emails went unanswered, most conversations on the day were brief and rushed due to the nature of these shows but it was at that show in 2008 that I met Steve Weinman from DIVER Magazine and Paul Strike from Fourth Element. My meeting with Steve led to the publishing of my shark feeding article, the article which opened the door for me to make this happen and meeting Paul in turn, led to me forging a friendship with Jim Standing, both have been key in me getting thus this far at this stage of the project.

This year has been no different, I continue to attend the shows to promote "From the Office..." and this year  achieved my goal of being an exhibitor, albeit a small one, and am on target to hopefully achieve my next, that I will be a guest speaker within two years. This year I had numerous meetings with some great people, many of whom had already heard of me prior to my introduction, proof that doing your research and meeting the right people, alongside tenaciously chasing personal goals, does work!

 

7. Publicity and promotion

"From the Office to the Ocean" has been featured online, on the radio and in print in the last six months, the BBC, Rock Radio 106.1, The Yorkshire Evening Post and numerous online blogs and websites have carried positive and enthusiastic coverage of what I am doing, in fact, every piece has looked upon this with enthusiasm and actively supported the inspirational and conservation value of this film, it started with me contacting them, now, they're contacting me. It's also worth noting that in less than six months, this blog now attracts an average of 5000 unique visitors every month and that number is increasing every month!

8. The generosity of strangers

We hear a lot about how awful the world is and how horrible people are to each other, if this project proves anything, it is that that claim is nonsense. I was contacted via the Facebook group by a couple of the members asking how they could contribute financially. I had thought about the use of fundraising from the public to raise the amount needed to make this film but was unsure how to go about it, we are after all, in the grip of financial meltdown and how much interest will total strangers have in a guy who loves sharks trying to make his dream come true (and do his bit to save sharks along the way) anyway? Well, the answer is quite a lot actually! People want to see this film made, people like me, like you, who can often feel helpless when trying to make a difference and who see somebody doing what they can to change their life for the better and inject some positivity into the world as a good thing and something worthy of support. I have been overwhelmed by the generous donations and every penny will have been instrumental when this film is completed, these people can also watch it and say, "I helped make that," this isn't a film for me, it's for everybody.

If you like the sound of that, feel free to click this Indiegogo link.

9. Self belief

Believing in yourself is not a bad thing, in fact it is a pre-requisite of success and something which should be admired. Not arrogance or conceit, the belief that anything is possible and that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve what at first might seem impossible. If you don't believe something is possible then it isn't but if you do, then it is, I truly believe that. In fact, I will go so far as to say this film could be one of the best shark based films ever made, it's different, innovative and inspirational, whether it is or not depends solely on me and I can assure you I and the team making it, will do absolutely everything possible to make it as good as it could and should be, I owe it to myself, to my supporters and perhaps even more importantly, the sharks to make this fulfil its potential.

10. The Trailer

It took a long time to film and edit but I am really happy with it, it was also my first foray into HD and the creative aspect of being responsible for everything, from the direction, filming and writing to the music was something I thoroughly enjoyed. It also opened doors for me with regards to promotion and publicity and has proved an invaluable tool in the last couple of months.

This year, at least the second half of this year, has been a positive and fulfilling experience and has set me up nicely for 2011 which will be the most important year of my entire life, I couldn't have got this far without the support of my friends, both old and new, from those in my personal life to those who work in the industry so to all of you and especially those below, I offer my heartfelt thanks, admiration and humble gratitude to everything you have helped me achieve this year.
 

Mike Neumann 

Cameras Underwater 

Patric Douglas 

Richard Theiss 

Lesley Rochat 

Canon 

DIVER Magazine 

Fourth Element 

Richard Peirce 

Hugh Fairs 

Howard Sawyer 

Mark Thorpe & iDive Sharks 

Duncan Carson & Stop Shark Finning 

Banter Media 

Hamish Harper, Kris Allen, Mark Burrows, Nicky Crawford, Andy Richards, Steve Hayward-Jones, Rock Radio 106.1FM, The Yorkshire Evening Press, Amanda Robinson, Susana Navajas, Colour Copy Express, Brian Barnes, Red Issue, Jan Bailey, anyone who has ever read this blog and all of you who have contributed, no matter how big or small, it means the world to me.

Fingers crossed, I will have some more great news in the early stages of 2011, I feel closer than ever to making this all become a reality and not only that, even have parts 2 and 3 being formulated, you never know, if all goes well I may even be starting filming on those in the coming year as well!

Have an amazing New Year, be safe and be good to each other and because of you all, I'm on the verge of something pretty special in the coming months.

All the best and lots of positivity to you all.

David

www.officetoocean.com