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

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

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

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

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

 

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

Sound good? It will be...

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Behind Blue Glass - Finished!

Great news about Behind Blue Glass, after a total of approximately one thousand man hours work, the film is now finished! A master DVD is ready and the full HD 1080p version is exporting as we speak, twenty hours in, only fourteen more hours to go!

From day one, this was a big task, not only was it my first ever attempt at making a film having no experience of doing so before, the opportunity also happened to arise at the sharp end of the major preparations for my first feature film in Fiji, production of which begins in only one week and six days. Behind Blue Glass was also made on what can be described as a "micro budget," a four man crew, three of whom had pretty much zero experience and has been edited solely by myself on a £500 laptop which has made some of the post production process a very slow, laborious experience.



With all that in mind however, I am more than confident in saying that the quality of the end result, far belies the limitations in regards to resources, it looks great!

As for the content, I am more than happy, the film features interviews with Xisco Perez and Sr. M Ferrer, two men with first hand experience of Mallorca's Great White Sharks, Gabriel Morey, Marine Biologist, Fisheries and Conservation Minister and member of the IUCN and Brad Robertson of Ondine Escape. Behind Blue Glass also stars some brilliant members of the pubic, from the ages of 16-62 who get confronted with the opportunity of a lifetime but how do they react? Of course, the film also features underwater footage of the other stars of the show, the sharks themselves!

 

The film clocks in at just over thirty eight minutes and in keeping with the highly independent "DIY" approach, the film's original music comes entirely from unsigned, underground artists and bands, including Lifescreen, Ten, Back Page First and the one and only Rock behemoth that is Nerve Engine.

The film was shot entirely on Canon 7D and 5Dmkii with a little help from a small palmcorder and the quality of footage is outstanding. The premiere will be held in Mallorca at Palma Aqauarium, most likely at the end of August and looks set to be a pretty fancy affair. After the premiere, you will of course, be able to see the film itself. I am looking into the best ways to do this and it looks like the most likely scenario would be to make it available on two formats, a DVD with additional extras like behind the scenes stuff, the trailer and production stills and also as a HD digital download. 

Keep your eyes peeled for updates, the best way to do that is of course, to go here, scroll to below the trailer and join the mailing list. In the event I can make special offers and discounts on this and future films, they will be for the mailing list members only, maybe something worth looking into?

Spread the word, it's a great little film if I do say so myself and some very dedicated people put a hell of a lot of effort into helping me make this, with no gain for themselves, purely because they believe in the message. Because I went over to Mallorca to shoot this film and because of the press coverage I got whilst there, the issue of shark conservation is now being discussed in the national media and in the coming weeks Palma Aquarium will be rolling out an anti-shark finning campaign across Mallorca and hopefully Spain as well. This wasn't achieved by an NGO or expensive marketing campaign, it was achieved by a small handful of people who believed enough that we could make it happen which just goes to show, it is possible for ordinary people to change things for the better.

Coming soon: News on what to expect whilst I am in Fiji!

www.officetoocean.com

Sarah Shark and Great White Life

 

As a film-maker making films about sharks myself, I am always interested to see what others are doing in this medium. For the last twenty-seven years or so, I have greedily digested pretty much every shark doc or film ever made so I know my subject. I'm always excited when new things come along and this week I saw two very different films about sharks and their effect on the individuals making them, one seems to be getting a bit of exposure, the other I had never even heard of and stumbled across by mistake so thought I would give my thoughts on both, if only to serve as a way to let other people who love shark films as much as I do, know that they are out there.

 

The first film is the first in a five part series about Australian sharks by Sarah Richmond or Sarah Shark as she prefers to be known, called "Wobbegong - The Forgotten Shark."

I quite enjoyed this actually, it was well made and the enthusiasm and passion for the subject was apparent from the start. Coming in at just under twenty-four minutes, I'm not sure if it was made specifically with television broadcast in mind as this is the actual time length for "thirty minute" television slots to allow for advertising, or if that was a coincidence.

It reminded me very much of the old Australian series "Shark Gordon" but in this instance, Ian Gordon has been replaced by a young Australian woman. What they both share however, is an obvious love of the subject matter and an ability to take a soft approach and condense some interesting information into an easily watched, sub-half hour, fun "television" show. The footage is pretty good, very nice at times and Sarah articulates her points well and is obviously well researched, it was nice to see footage of the Hales Wobbegong as well as it doesn't get much time in the limelight. Sarah makes an engaging host and the structure is uncomplicated and fluid.

The content is light and upbeat and to my mind would have particular appeal to kids and also girls as well as Sarah seems approachable and very non-threatening, it's also worth pointing out that her graphics guy is very good, that was the real stand out for me, the creative and slick usage of computer graphics to illustrate certain points.

It won't be winning any awards for originality and although connecting with the camera is hugely important (and from experience it really isn't easy) at times, Sarah connects possibly a little too much, veering towards the kind of camera connection more generally found in the kind of films made for, how shall  put it, a more predominantly adult male audience *ahem*. The music also, as is pretty much always the case in nature films not made by the BBC, is pretty cheesy but these slight imperfections aside, I was impressed and most importantly, I will be watching part two when it comes out. Kudos to Sarah and her team for making an enjoyable, well thought out short film and actually making the effort and taking the time to get out there and do something creative and worthwhile.

 

The second film I stumbled across whilst searching for something else, "Great White Life" is the story of Kevin Mcrath, a man battling obesity and depression who has a real passion for sharks, in particular, the Great White.

The premise is simple, Kevin needs to lose weight and overcome bouts of depression in a bid to fulfill his lifelong dream of doing a cage dive with Great White Sharks in Guadalupe. That's pretty much it really.

I'll be totally honest, from the outset, it's blatantly clear that Kevin is no Scorcese, it's clearly done on the cheap, by a man who isn't a seasoned film-maker, it's very much a "get your mate to hold the camera when you need to be in shot" production and the music, although actually not bad, doesn't always work. The real shame is that the film doesn't pick up at all on the battle to lose the weight and the previous, unsuccessful attempt to see White Sharks at the Farrallons, so the real, wide appeal drama and jeopardy is completely missing. "Great White Life" is essentially a collection of home videos edited together to make an amateur film, I can relate to that, I have done that myself!

At this stage it seems like I wasn't overly taken with this film but hang on a second, that wouldn't be accurate. I actually, really enjoyed it. It has a charm of its own, an open honesty and warmth which drew me in. I enjoy watching low budget films by complete unknowns, a lot of the time I find them far more interesting because the "star" is more engaging and what they lack in production values, they can make up for in reality and honesty and to Kevin's credit, he put it all out there and I could relate to him. He's obviously a nice guy, his wife is a nice lady and his friends, who provide regular soundbites, all clearly hold him in high regard. It's like watching a mate's home videos of a special holiday and actually enjoying doing so as opposed to just saying you are. Yes there are deficiencies if you look at it as an exercise in film-making but you'd be doing Mcgrath a disservice if you were to do so, he wants to tell a positive story and reflect sharks in a positive light and he just about manages to do it. I enjoyed it, well done big fella.

If you have some time to kill, you could do worse than checking both these films out and another I watched that wasn't about sharks, "Famous in 31 days" which was very enjoyable, another low budget and pretty funny, "ordinary guy on a crusade" handicam odyssey.

Barry Norman eat your heart out.

The New Mailing List

 

Just a quick note to say that there is now an official From the Office to the Ocean mailing list.

This won't be used to constantly fill your already bulging inbox with pointless nonsense so don't panic, instead, you'll get all the latest news and on location updates from all the films in the series and all other relevant news. Obviously by now, judging by the content of this blog and everything else, you can be assured it will only be highly exciting and informative  literature, video and photography of the highest standard! ;)

Whilst in Fiji I will be making sure you all feel like you're there with me with blogs from not just me, but Hugh and Hamish, along with videos and photographs and unlike everybody else who gets to go gallivanting around the world on sharky adventures, I'm actually going to open the door and tell you how I did it, what I'm using and give you an insight into all the goings on involved in making this year's most awesome shark film.

Aside from all the Fiji news you'll be kept up to date with absolutely everything "From the Office..." related and signing up couldn't be easier, just go to www.officetoocean.com scroll down to the bottom of the front page below the trailer screen and fill in your details, easy peasy.

Hope to hear from you all soon!

David

Der der, der der, der der, der der...Silly season is upon us again!

Every year without fail here in the UK we have the "Jaws off the Cornish coast" story but it's started a little late this year.

These stories always seem to materialise when the weather forecast for the next week looks good, that is, when summer looks like it might actually make its annual two week stopover in the UK because that is precisely the time us limeys don the string vests and tight shorts, inflicting our pasty (later burned to a crisp) skin on the world and head to the British riviera.

For those who can't be arsed to click the link, the long and short of it is that apparently two separate fishermen have been "attacked" by an Oceanic Whitetip Shark off the beaches of the beautiful St Ives in Cornwall. Funny thing is, it's usually a Great White but the Oceanic Whitetip seems to be the shark of the moment after its month in the spotlight in Egypt last year.

 

It's the same every year, fisherman says he's seen big shark, press splash it all over front pages after contacting Richard Peirce of the Shark Trust who quite rightly doesn't dismiss it outright, saying nothing can be confirmed until a picture is taken, a few days later a picture appears of a Basking Shark which is claimed to be the offending "man eater" and that picture is then debuffed as a Basking Shark by someone at a university or aquarium and the whole thing is over and done with.

That's not to say there haven't been some viable eyewitness accounts and evidence to back up the claim that large predatory sharks do visit the UK's coastline. I have been saying for twenty years that Great White Sharks do visit our shores but the Oceanic Whitetip? It's a stretch too far for me I'm afraid so I'm calling shenanigans on this one.

Call me cynical but you would struggle to find anybody in the country these days without a mobile phone and on top of that, a mobile phone without a camera on it. Is anybody seriously trying to say that not one but two fishermen saw an Oceanic Whitetip and didn't think to get a quick snap on their phones to back up their story? Not a chance as far as I'm concerned.

On the upside however, at least it looks like the weather is looking good for the next week or so!

Edit:

15/6/2011

As if to completely prove my point above, British tabloid newspaper, The Daily Express, are running this abomination of an article today and not only is it nothing more than a load of non-facts thrown together, the grammar is appalling, "a oceanic whitetip" I mean, seriously, come on!

My point above was these fabricated stories serve only one purpose and that can be proven with these passages in the article, "...Fishermen have booked out hotels in St Ives..." and "Hotel owners yesterday told of a “last-minute flurry” of customers desperate to hunt down the shark."

Crappy weather means less people booking UK breaks so in order to get the punters down there they make up a story of a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a "killer shark."

Yep, they really do think we're that stupid.

"Behind Blue Glass" Post Production Update

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trailer - Youtube
Trailer - Vimeo

On Facebook? Why not join the group for regular updates? :)

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

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

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

Not long to wait now ;)

Beyond Limits Interview...

 

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

Enjoy!

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