A Ray of Light II - Online And Available Now!

The wait is finally over!

You can now watch A Ray of Light II in its entirety, free of charge, HERE (Click this link)

If you have any feedback, comments or anything at all, please leave a comment in the comments section of this blog or if you're registered on Vimeo, in the comments section of the film itself.

If you want to help us continue to make these films, the Tip Jar feature is enabled on the Vimeo page, it's non-obligatory of course but any donations, big or small, really do help and they are hugely appreciated!

If you want to embed the film on your websites or blogs, please feel free to do so and if possible, let me know so I can point people towards your site!

So, what are you waiting for!? Watch it and if you like it, please share with friends on Social Media!

Please support Asociacion Ondine as well because without funding, they cannot continue the vital work they are doing! Link here - http://www.gofundme.com/asociacionondine

Edit: - Thank you Mike!

Mexico Pelagico - Brilliant!

THIS is how you do it!

Yesterday was really weird, really, really weird. Thank you to the 200 or so people for your very kind messages regarding the blog which, when I woke up in the morning, had exploded everywhere which I hadn't really expected at all as I was only chipping in my bit on a "hot" topic. Thank you also to the very small handful of people for the not so nice messages, whether you were in support of the overall message (as 99% were) or not, you engaged directly and I enjoy that so cheers, but I do ask of everyone, please, stop posting under the cloak of anonymity if at all possible. I put ownership on everything I say, I think it's fair to ask others to do the same although that does raise the issue that many of the people who contacted me who are active conservationists and advocates stated they were afraid of the backlash they may face from others if they dared speak out but that's for another time.

Today, I want to focus on everything right in conservation media.

I had a lovely chat yesterday with Jorge Cervera Hauser who is part of Pelagic Life, an organisation I have admired from afar for a while now and it appears we have a mutual admiration and he is someone who shares many of the same opinions and ambitions I have. In amongst the fallout from all the other stuff that's been going on this week, it was great to have an intelligent, articulate and inspiring conversation with someone representing a group who completely "get"what conservation and media messaging is about in 2014.

Pelagic Life was formed off the back of work they were doing in the Baja Peninsuala, paying fishermen to allow them to free the sharks they had hooked. It was a small gesture in the overall grand scheme of things but it is such a great message, to see passionate watermen and women giving something back to the ocean and the sharks who have given them so much pleasure and it also raised awareness of the issues facing sharks in Mexican waters. You can see several short videos of there work here and I strongly suggest you do because they are great!

These are not noisy, privileged, white people stomping into a developing nation screaming at people to "stop shark finning," these are intelligent, articulate, informed and pragmatic people who understand that shark conservation is a far more complex issue than mindless sloganeering and catchphrases, it's a socio-economic issue that is as much about social disparity and capitalist exploitation of the poor as it is about environmentalism. These guys get it and I respect them enormously.

I was lucky enough that Jorge gave me the chance to see their film, "Mexico Pelagico" and I have to say, I was mightily impressed. It's well made, with a great message and as a group, they all come across incredibly well, as articulate, well informed people with warmth and a genuine desire to do something good. This really is brilliant conservation media that has a soul and spirit you only really find in films that are truly independent productions. This is the kind of film we, as people passionate about shark conservation, need to get behind and push out there to a wider audience.

Check out the trailer, join their Facebook page and give them your support. These are people out there, boots on the ground, doing it off their own back with a sustainable and innovative long term goal.

Great stuff!

PS - More from Jorge here!



Mexico Pelagico | Trailer (2) English from Pelagic Life on Vimeo.

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! ;)

Falmouth Beaneath The Waves Film Festival - A Roaring Success!

A great turnout for the first ever UK Beneath The Waves Film Festival

Last Thursday (the 6th) saw me making an appearance at the Falmouth stop of Beneath The Waves Film Festival, the first time the UK has hosted one of these events and it was a really, really great night!

Six films were shown, "Bertha's Blues," "Mikono Ya Wivuvi," "People of the Coral Triangle" and "A Reef's Tale" along with, of course, A Ray of Light, there was also a competition for local film-makers and photographers, along with three guest speakers, Fergus Kennedy, Jeff Goodman and yours truly, all packed into a hugely enjoyable two and a half hours.

Photo by Nicky Crawford

The turnout was superb, almost a full house, the response to the films was very positive and there was a real sense of people genuinely wanting to learn more about the issues raised in the films. The organisation of the event was absolutely top notch as well so full credit for the success of the evening must go to Phil Doherty, Lucie Buckland and Sarah Paul, all of whom dedicated a great deal of time and effort into the evening and they did a phenomenal job, I would love to see them involved in a similar event next year, it was an absolute pleasure to spend the evening with them and also Fergus, Jeff and Jeff's partner.

A word also about the venue, a fantastic independent cinema in the beautiful town of Falmouth, called The Poly, a traditional, art house cinema staffed almost entirely by volunteers. Places like this need, nay deserve the support of anyone with an interest in film and are a far more enjoyable place to watch a movie than a faceless multiplex costing an arm and a leg to get into. I very much hope that Thursday isn't the only time I get to watch one of my films in this awesome place, in fact, I will be making an effort to ensure that happens again...



Beneath the Waves Film Festival - Summer and Fall 2013 World Tour Movie from Triakis Films on Vimeo.

The festival is currently on its world tour and details of venues can be found here along with regular updates and I strongly advise you make the effort to go if it comes within reasonable travelling distance from you!

In other A Ray of Light news, yet another film festival has requested its inclusion in their event, this time, in Australia as part of the Cairns Underwater Film Festival taking place on Saturday, August 24th at The Cairns Civic Theatre. The event's organiser is the very cool Mike Ball so it is guaranteed to be a great event. More news on that to come!

Once again, huge thanks to all at Beneath The Waves, The Poly, Lucie, Phil and Sarah and last but certainly not least, all who came on Thursday!

Phil, Sarah, Me, Lucie, Fergus and Jeff

Success At CITES

Going against my initial fears and belief that CITES will always be a largely impotent body in the fight to save sharks and other precious marine wildlife, last night saw Appendix II listing for Smooth, Scalloped and Great Hammerhead Sharks, Oceanic Whitetip and Porbeagle Sharks along with Manta Rays!

It's as surprising to me as it is brilliant and enormous waves of gratitude and unending respect must go to those people at the forefront of the campaign to get this as far as they have, it's an incredible achievement, maybe even a watershed moment, for sharks.

But...There's always a but...This could still be overturned when the assembled nations reconvene for the Plenary hearing on Thursday. This gives delegates from China, Japan and Singapore, three full days to continue spreading their bullshit and lies amongst the developing third world countries to encourage them to change their voting to allow them to keep exploiting the people and marine life within these nations. It ain't quite a done deal yet...

This is also regulation, it's not a ban, so people can still harvest these animals, it just means the trade will be regulated using scientific guidelines to assess the sustainability of a fishery in which these animals are regularly caught.

It's a good start but there is still much to be done.

In the meantime, watch this by Shawn Heinrichs who did an amazing job on a challenging project. Mantas really are beautiful animals and huge kudos to Hannah who did a great job in what were by all accounts, very challenging conditions!

Mallorca Stingray Survey Update

 

From the Office to the Ocean has gone a bit Stingray mad in the last few weeks but fear not, I'll be back onto the sharks soon! However, you do need to know that Brad has now launched an Indiegogo campaign (click me!) and as you will see, there is one suggested donation of only $5, if you want to donate more, you can and that would be massively appreciated but times are tough for everyone, this is a community project and every cent is vital so we didn't want anybody to feel as though their contribution was any less gratefully received than those who make larger donations.

So where does the money go? As I have and will continue to repeat ad nauseum, conservation costs money, running costs, transport, equipment hire, electricity, support materials, all that stuff and more needs to be paid for and unfortunately, neither Brad nor myself is a millionaire and if this project can't operate, there will be nothing in place to go towards gaining a greater understanding and protection of something which is unusual in the Mediterranean, a healthy population of something living in the sea! We can either act now to keep it that way, or set up pointless Facebook groups in a few years saying "Stop killing Stingrays in Mallorca!!!" or as it's otherwise known, locking the gate after the horse has bolted.

 

A spearfisherman makes his way into a Marine Reserve to shoot Stingrays 

The Facebook group has 101 members now so that should really be a minimum of $505 in the campaign, then there's all the marine conservation groups throughout the social media world as well so this campaign should be really successful, as a very dear friend said to me once "if everyone who clicks 'like' on a Facebook group donated a bit of money to the cause as well, then things would start to change" and he was of course, correct. Although I probably don't need to, I will still point out that I am not part of the financial team behind this project, I don't see any money for my involvement and I paid for the production of the film entirely myself, I just believe in the project and help Brad with running it when I can.

If you like the project and think Stingrays in Mallorca are worth protecting, then please feel free to donate if you can afford to, if people donate to keep the project running, that then means you can even take part yourself, if nobody donates and the project cannot be maintained then nobody will be around to protect these stingrays with the passion and vigour that Brad does so it's $5 very well spent!

Donate here! 

Thank you. 

An amazing response and it's already making a difference!

 

It's been three days since A Ray of Light was launched and the feedback and interest in the project has been overwhelmingly positive!

The film has been viewed in 49 different countries and it appears that not only do people love the project and the concept of a small group of friends trying to do something because we think it's the right thing to do, people also seem to love Brad and so you should!

The purpose of this film is twofold, for me as a film-maker, it was to make an engaging short which showed the reality behind grassroots conservation, the lack of support, funding and commitment, the long hours, the personal strain and million and one thankless tasks, all to try and make your community a better place but which also showed why we do it and to draw attention to a brilliant and very simple, project currently being built in the Mediterranean. It wasn't intended to be, and nor is it, a "woe is me" piece, merely an honest reflection of the good guys you haven't heard of, because they're too busy outside trying to make things a little better for everybody.

 

What has been so satisfying for me is that people have really "got" what the film is about and have related to Brad in the way I hoped they would. The day after the film was launched, Brad got a call from a young couple in Spain who were so touched by the film they pledged to donate €1000 to the funding of the project...That's one thousand euros!

We have also been contacted by some very influential people, an NGO and an internet television channel who want to show the film but once again, the primary source of support for this project has been the "everyman," the ordinary man on the street, not involved in conservation or really nature at all, but who have been touched by the film and who want to learn more, to share it with their friends and to maybe even help fund the project with small donations.

From a professional standpoint it's a great feeling to have people comment on the quality of the film, the production, editing, filming, post-production etc, as it reinforces in me the feeling that hopefully, I am doing something right. It also goes to prove what I have been saying all along, that it is possible to make high end media with no money (and in this instance, no crew!) and gear that is easily accessible to the average consumer. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to say to anyone out there who may be in a fortunate position to help projects like this in the future, that I did this with no financial backing whatsoever, nada, imagine what can be achieved with your financial backing. Just saying...

I would like to thank everyone for their kind messages and support and huge thanks to those who have shared the film with friends and on social media, please keep doing so, we need all the exposure we can get. 

I would also love to enter this film in any suitable film festivals or competitions so if you know of any or have any suggestions, please get in touch!!

Before I share the film again, I am going to make a flagrant appeal to the wonderful people at Adobe. I have always edited on Windows and with your brilliant CS4 Master Collection, I love it, I happen to think Color Finesse III is quite possibly one of my favourite things on the planet. However, in order for me to continue with "Of Shark and Man," I need to upgrade to CS5.5 or CS6 but there is no way I can afford to at this present time, any chance you fancy joining the likes of Canon, Novatech and  Fourth Element and supporting what is probably the best shark based film project around at the moment? Get in touch... david@officetoocean.com

If you don't shoot, you don't score I guess...

So here it is again, this time on Youtube if that's your thing, if not, watch on Vimeo  

Your feedback is important to me so please leave a comment and please, please, please support the Mallorca Stingray Survey 

Thank you to DaShark and RTSea Productions for such kind words and support!

My profiles:

"A Ray of Light" - New Short Film

Here it is, as promised, my new short, a film about the human aspect behind grassroots conservation, in particular, Brad Robertson and his project in Mallorca to help protect the visiting, breeding Stingray population.

Watch on Vimeo

Read more about the production here, there will be some more info in the coming days relating to how this film was shot on pretty much zero money with only one camera and some additional footage provided by Brad and his trusty Canon G9, if anyone is interested enough to get some behind the scenes info.

This is also the first project to be launched by my brand new production company Scarlet View Media through which everything I do will be released meaning I can ensure it is of the quality each project deserves and also that I can have complete control of the output which, to a control freak like me, is nothing short of essential. Website and more details coming soon.

As I say in the linked article, if you enjoy this, share it and don't be shy with it. The more people aware of Brad's brilliant project the better and it also might serve to open the eyes of people who think merely clicking "like" on a Facebook page is conservation. If more people start taking steps to protect what is on their own doorsteps, the world will be a better place, find out what projects are local to you or even start your own!

The Mallorca Stingray Survey Facebook group is here
The From the Office to the Ocean page is here
The Ondine Escape page is here

The film has been downscaled to 720p for faster loading and for you Windows folk, if you have the option to watch in HTML5 (Chrome, Safari) do so for a higher quality viewing experience.

I want to hear your feedback, if you enjoy the film, please tell me and tell me why, ditto if you don't like it, I'm a big boy, I can take it :)

Anyway, less talk more watch...Enjoy.