People often ask what's it like to shoot underwater? That's an easy question to answer; up to a point, at least, it is very similar to taking motion pictures in space.
Moon-walking Underwater and the Director
Operating underwater, the cameraman is as weightless as he would be in space. So is the camera and other accessories. This is not a hindrance but actually assists him to fully formulate his aesthetic and innovative capabilities, both in the way of composition and subject matter.
This, however, is not to say there is total absence of problems underwater for the cameraman. the technical problems are often seemingly absurd. Water magnifies your subject by about 25%, light conditions are seldom the same due to the weather, angle of sun, suspended algae and plankton, type and colour of seabed, and water depth. The cinematographer is working in a medium that absorbs, scatters and refracts light. The medium itself is in motion. The cameraman is seldom stationary and the subject is often moving. This is just a small example of the problems encountered by the underwater cameraman.
Underwater production involves considerably more than just camera work. It entails many 
elements, such as creatures that bite or sting, pollution, strong currents, tidal movement, unforeseen boat encroachment and sometimes up to 8 or 10 hours in the water, making it hard work at times.
Then there is the agency head or the director who wants to know why you need an assistant - yet a surface crew can have four to six people hanging around the camera-person! Or there is the occasional director who wants to dive and supervise the shots. He is usually in the way, has no idea of what is really required underwater, tries to chase the fish into the shot, stirs up the bottom, gets in the way of the model and then on topside informs me that the lengths of the takes were too long. How he can tell, I have no idea!
The Right Man and the Right Location
Shooting usually begins with a scouting dive by the cameraman and the divemaster. A location is picked and the dive boat moored nearby. Quite often, if I am using a location such as Heron Island up on the Reef, we can forego this as having lived and worked there, on and off for 35 years, as I know the area well. With the shooting sequence developed earlier and underwater storyboard and/or slates issued, equipment checked, the cameraman and the divers involved swim down the anchor line to the location. Normally, I will follow the storyboard to the letter whenever possible. Sometimes I will take shots from different angles which I believe might strengthen the sequence.
The less people in the water, the better for all concerned. Safety is something I do think about before starting the shoot. I am usually the Director of Photography (DOP) as well as the cameraman and quite often the underwater director. On Time Trax up the Great Barrier Reef, I had up to 12 stunt people and actors in the water - the open ocean. This has to be coordinated topside, where each person has to go, what they have to do, control the light scenes and try not to have endless retakes or people heading to the surface to discuss what occurs next. Underwater storyboards help greatly in this matter if underwater communications can’t be used.
Safety is very important on underwater locations. A complete checkout of both the diving and camera equipment is carried out by the divemaster and the cameraman. Underwater, the divemaster makes sure everyone follows the dive plan and provides back-up assistance to the cameraman or any other person, should an emergency situation develop. If there is a large underwater crew, more than one safety diver would be required.
I can usually tell what can and cannot be done. As far as filming and diving is concerned, people who are not expert divers should not be filming. The same applies to the crew and models. Diving should come so natural that filming is 98% of the job. Unfortunately, there are cinematographers out there who accept underwater jobs, and do not have the expertise. They end up concentrating more on survival than filming. Everybody who works underwater should be qualified divers and not just have two or three holiday dives per year.
A good diver-cameraman is comfortable and familiar with the alien environment and not forever worrying about the sound of the regulator, pre-occupied with getting back to the surface, fretting about the rest of the underwater crew or afraid of what might be behind him.
The Shooting Essentials
The most dynamic aspect of underwater filming is the dimension and mobility available to the cameraman. Normal camera movements, like tilt, pan, swim-in and swim-out are performed easily since the camera is more or less weightless. New camera techniques can be added when the cameraman shoots while hovering up seven meters and then swoops down on the talent into a low angle shot. The film movement becomes three-dimensional.
Artificial lighting underwater can be a great asset; indeed, at times a necessity. Since the warm end of the spectrum is rapidly filtered out as one descends, it is often 
necessary to take down an artificial light source if the true colours of underwater subjects are to be recorded. These can vary from small self-contained lighting systems to surface-powered banks of lights.
About the author...
Walt Deas is the Managing director of Seawest Productions, a leading Australia-based film and video company specializing in nature, travel, environmental, documentaries, etc. Walt is one of the pioneers in underwater photography and has over 40 years of underwater production behind him.
© Walter Deas.
