"ONE STEP" - Part I
"What's your greatest fear? How does it affect your life? Does it affect your work, your relationships, your spiritual life?
What if all you need is just one step?"
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions one could experience. Although natural, it tends to have an enormous influence on our decision-making process. It could help us be cautious, as well as paralyze us and hold us back.
During 2017 I was directing a liveaboard diving operation in Baja California, Mexico. One day, I get a call by the CEO of the fleet. He's asking me if we could put together a #VirtualReality production for one of the most exciting destinations - Guadalupe. A remote island which is known for some of the best #GreatWhiteShark diving worldwide.
One of the things I loved about it was getting to know so many avid-divers, ocean-passionate individuals from all over the world. They made all the way to the Mexican Pacific coasts for one reason - experiencing the presence of one of the most ancient #ApexPredator and look it in the eye.
What really struck me were the conversations with our guests after their trips. Quite a few told me they were so scared to get into the water, shaking of watching of those huge dorsal fins cutting the surface. Nevertheless, they faced their fear, which brought them a sense of relief. They told me that dealing with the fear of sharks actually helped them to overcome other fears in their lives.
I was thrilled by the opportunity and the challenge but also confused. I had some experience of testing and operating different underwater 360-systems, But never wrote, produced or directed a VR film myself. As a filmmaker, the approach is entirely new and different of anything I knew before.
The first aspect I was thinking of was composition.
Unlike traditional filmmaking, where the director can decide what to show the viewer, in Virtual Reality, you can see to all directions.
Setting up each shot on a boat with over 20 guests + 10 crew was a challenge by itself, we had to think of the camera system as a person, joining us to the adventure.
What's really exciting, though, is the fact that the viewers could actually watch the film various times, and each time pay attention to different details. They can look at different things and discover the same film from different perspectives.
In two days, #SHARKWEEK will be on #DiscoveryChannel. Let's hope these misunderstood predators will get proper advocacy this year. Media have done enough damage to sharks, but we can turn it around.
Next episode coming up next week,
Stay tuned!
- CREDITS -
"ONE STEP": Behind the Scenes of "The Great" VR
Produced by Regi Domingo, Erick Higuera, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Terry Virts, and Roy Kimhi
- THE GREAT VR CREDITS -
A VR film by Roy Kimhi
Executive Producer: Jorge Cervera Hauser
Producers: Jannicke Mikkelsen, Roy Kimhi, Jorge Cervera Hauser
Associate Producers: Regi Domingo, Erick Higuera
Music - Rising Storm by Cody Martin
Director of Photography: Jannicke Mikkelsen, Roy Kimhi
Drone Pilot: Terry Virts
Self-propelled cage: Erick Higuera
Post production by VRTUL INC:
1. Executive Producer of Post Production: Casey Sapp
2. VP of Post Production: Matthew DeJohn
3. Post Production Supervisor: Keith Kolod
4. Compositor: Eric Heaton
Graphic Design - Ana Sofía Morales del Río
Solmar V Crew:
1. COO - Rodolfo Rodríguez Díaz
2. Captain - Gerardo Pazos Hernández
3. Chief Engineer - Aurelio Haro Serrano
4. Second Engineer - Álvaro Arturo Vázquez Bovio
5. Chef - Antonio Hernández Ballesteros
6. Sailors - Luis Godínez Castro, Andrés Montes Rodríguez
7. Steward - Bernardo Manolo Metaca
8. Dive masters - Daniel Zapata López, Ignacio Hernán Leyro and Guillermo Pablo Franco.
Operations - Enrique Amézquita and André Ortega
Transportation: JB Charters
Hospitality: Carlos Spilker, Matthew Meier
Pelagic Fleet Board: Jorge Cervera Hauser, Carlos Cornejo Jurgensen, Salvador Cababie Moro, Patricio Rodríguez Díaz
Special Thanks: Mauricio Hoyos, Jorge De Haro.
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