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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Really, really, really isolated project, what would you take / suggest.

Update:
Have been in discussions with a rather eclectic bunch of characters with regards to this project. It may well be that it will now include some crazy ultralight packin' international man of mystery. An ex special forces medic and tech dive safety dude topped off with the help of an introverted photographer for some BTS stuff, general dogsbody duties etc. If it all goes for a ball of rat shit I think we'd have a great reality situation show on our mitts. 4 nutters in loin cloths living on an island, facing nature and dealing with the isolation!

The logistics are also taking shape, morphing a rough idea into a feasible project with enough jagged story lines to keep the hardiest of natural history fans on the edges of their seats.

S'all good.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Hey Joshua,
Firstly, great name, and one I'll be saying many times over starting November 17th, or thereabouts. Our son is due to enter stage center around that time, looking forward to that.

The decision has been to opt for the silent Honda Generators mentioned previously in this thread. Whilst I'd prefer to work with the solar option we're only gonna get one crack at some of these places. If damaged in transit, in the open Ocean sailing canoes, on a microlight or other puts the solar panel out of the game then we'd be screwed. Sometimes better to go with the second preference in order to almost ensure the job gets done with the least amount of hassle.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Cheers Gavin,
I can only discuss the very fragmented outline of the project so as to not give any ideas to other who may be lurking. The same goes for the potential crew who include some pretty accomplished folk in the industry. The main thing is now sourcing the funding, have started a 120 day duration crowd funding project on Indiegogo. I would have gone Kickstarter but that is restricted to US based entities / personnel and I'm based in Bali.

Indeed this project will be a cracker. A race against the insidious reality of rising sea levels to tell a story of a place, a people and a wildlife forgotten for the most part, swallowed by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.

Fingers crossed.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Aerial filming is also now being discussed with certain entities. It will mean adding the transport, care and maintenance into the mix for this potential platform:

Drifter.jpg


A modified nose cone with gyroscope stabilized EPIC-M operated by the forward sitting camera op. Looking good thus far....

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Update: The Sharks of the Forgotten Islands

It's all about getting the word out there. Happy to announce a project background / interview that has now been placed on Underwater Cinema's website.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Crew Update:

As the planning continues, we have the location, as isolated as it may be so this needs a mentally solid team of people. To deal with the isolation, the 'fix it or flunk it' reality of the situation, to have skills that transform integral team members into a veritable Swiss Army Knife of abilities requires time and careful evaluation.

Happy to announce here that fellow underwater shooter and REDUser Tom Hamilton will now be our Expedition Pilot and Second Underwater Cameraman. Tom brings a unique skill set which is displayed at the link to his Bio page on my website. I am also discussing involvement with another highly respected industry professional and will announce that when secured.

My role is as Executive Director and Principle Cinematographer. As this is my first large scale project I'm learning the ropes and protocol as I go. Unafraid to make mistakes and share them I'm used to working isolated, alone and to a deadline. My first ever accolade for self productions was for a short film concentrating on a seldom encountered small fish species. The Mandarin fish is crepuscular in it's activities, active at twilight for about one hour each day. It took me seven months of solo evening dives to accumulate enough footage of it's behavioral aspects to produce a 14 minute film about them. Rewarded with the Jury's Special prize from the Belgrade Film Festival in 2003 spurred me to head onwards towards more ambitious projects. This project is a certain step in that direction and with Tom's unique skills I believe we are at the start of creating a winning team that will in turn allow us to make something special here.

Cheers, more crew updates will be forthcoming as and when realized. We are still looking for the score option and other post services.

Have a great weekend,
Mark.
 
Hi Mark,

A friend of mine is developing electric saildrives for sailboats. Like traditional towed or boat mounted hydro generators, they can regenerate a substantial amount of electricity while sailing. A modern 40 kg li-ion battery pack can store 5.4 kWh. Have a look at http://www.oceanvolt.com/

If you don't want to modify an existing engine, you could use a cruising hydrogenerator. This particular model can generate 500W at 8 knots: http://www.wattandsea.com/en/cruising-hydrogenerator

Nicolas Favresse and three other climbers did 3 months of autonomous filming based on a sailboat when they were shooting Vertical Sailing. This was on prosumer HD cameras though. Maybe you could ask him what they used as a power source. http://nicolasfavresse.com/spip.php?rubrique=2&id_article=99

Godspeed!

EDIT: Oops, didn't see your entry about the already choosing Honda generators. Well, I wish you good luck nevertheless... remember to bring a spare or two of all critical expedition components :)
 
That is very cool, I'm wondering of we can outfit a traditional sailing Canoe in the second year of filming as we will at that time be attacking the most isolated elements of this project. Will be carefully looking into that product.


Thanks for sharing the info Antti, much appreciated.

Mark.
 
Certainly take a couple of Bolex cameras. No need for electricity, just wind up the crank and you have HD from 1fps to 64fps with a variety of interchangeable 'sensors' that you can swap every 3 minutes of footage.
 
It's been a while but we're slowly moving forward. Have commissioned our logo for the merchandise, happy to say it was created by Bjorn Benckert who contacted me after I called for graphic designers in the Off Topic section of the forum.

The logo incorporates one of the more prominent species of shark I hope to document in the region, the Tiger Shark. Am also in discussions with Shark Shield who may sponsor the camera team with their electronic deterrent product, these are unsure waters, isolated with no local hospitals. One decent nibble and it could be curtains.

SOTFI-Logo.jpg


Soldiering on, will update as time and events permit. Have also relinked my signature to the project FB Page that I finished this morning. With over 100k followers on Twitter now the following went hectic, hope the funding does too.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Update:

Happy to announce that this project is now, in part, officially sponsored by Shark Shield. We will be given four units of the electronic shark repellant device to safeguard the crew during the shoot. With unknown waters, little to zero medical coverage and the sheer isolation we have to reduce as much as possible any potential for personal injury. Whilst we will also gauge whether we dive full time with these units or not it's a godsend to know that we will have the security on site that these units provide as and when needed.

I am also in discussion with a large US based entity who approached me with the suggestion that they are willing to supply all cameras and associated filming gear / lenses for the shoot. Fingers crossed we land that big fish as discussions on the shopping list continue.

Watch this space for updates.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
Update: 17/01/13

These past couple of months have been pretty hectic but the advances towards this project becoming a reality are moving on. With that I am super stoked to welcome yet another product supporter for the project in the heavyweight form of Gates Underwater Housings. I've used these housings extensively in my career to date and have always had a great rapport with CEO John Ellerbrock. This was borne due to their incredible customer care, he called my cell phone during a remote shoot in Palau to arrange the replacement of a light head back in 2008, an action that always stuck with me as going above and beyond the call of duty to drive home that solid reputation the company now enjoys.

Gates will be supporting me with two Deep Epic housings, dome ports and housing accessories for the project. Given the isolation, as outlined in this thread, I can think of no risk management aspect that puts my mind to better rest knowing that I will be using the tried and tested mechanically operated, tough as nails product from this market leader in one of the most isolated regions of the Pacific Ocean.

Ongoing discussions are underway with regards to the involvement of a prominent and battle tested executive director as well as an entity looking to provide full cinematic lens support for the project. Watch this space for updates.

If anyone is also happy to offer moral support and follow this along I have also created an FB Page linked via the signature below.

Regards,
Mark.

DEEPEpic_zps9da6fec0.jpg

The Gates DEEP Epic Housing
 
Mark_Thorpe said:
Update: 17/01/13

These past couple of months have been pretty hectic but the advances towards this project becoming a reality are moving on. With that I am super stoked to welcome yet another product supporter for the project in the heavyweight form of Gates Underwater Housings. I've used these housings extensively in my career to date and have always had a great rapport with CEO John Ellerbrock. This was borne due to their incredible customer care, he called my cell phone during a remote shoot in Palau to arrange the replacement of a light head back in 2008, an action that always stuck with me as going above and beyond the call of duty to drive home that solid reputation the company now enjoys.

Gates will be supporting me with two Deep Epic housings, dome ports and housing accessories for the project. Given the isolation, as outlined in this thread, I can think of no risk management aspect that puts my mind to better rest knowing that I will be using the tried and tested mechanically operated, tough as nails product from this market leader in one of the most isolated regions of the Pacific Ocean.

Ongoing discussions are underway with regards to the involvement of a prominent and battle tested executive director as well as an entity looking to provide full cinematic lens support for the project. Watch this space for updates.

If anyone is also happy to offer moral support and follow this along I have also created an FB Page linked via the signature below.

Regards,
Mark.

DEEPEpic_zps9da6fec0.jpg

The Gates DEEP Epic Housing
Click to expand...


Congratulations on the project sponsorship. I've followed the twitter, I look forward to seeing your project progress.
 
RE-POSTED FROM THE JOBS / EQUIPMENT FROM HIRE FORUM

I may have an opening for a DIT / Gopher on a planned natural history shoot. This all depends on the securing of the budget but with talks ongoing with a few entities and a soon to start crowd funding project I'm looking to get ducks in a row so to speak. Not to be taken lightly this project entails 2 x 5 month stints in some of the most isolated regions of the western Pacific Ocean.

If isolation on deserted tropical islands in Micronesia appeals to you, sailing between deserted islands in Open Ocean canoes without the aid of modern navigational aids, long expanses of time without a fresh water shower, no soap and a staple diet of rice, fish and coconuts sound right up your street then feel free to send in a CV. Further details have been posted on the projects facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-s...41304585979991

An outline of the project is also posted here on RedUser: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...u-take-suggest

Any interested parties please see the guidelines as noted on the FB page link above. I'll welcome CV's from any interested parties.

Timeframe: 2 x 5 month filming seasons due to weather from May to October in 2014 / 15

Cheers,
Mark.
PS: I'm not joking about the loin cloths! Some island chiefs demand adherence to local attire by visiting westerners!
 
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