Roni Essex
Freediver, Spearo, Creator
Share this on
Roni Essex
Freediver, Spearo, Creator
Alchemy partner Andy Brandy Casagrande IV (aka ABC), an avid user of V330 Pro, is a Shark Week videographer, 2 x Emmy Award-winning cinematographer, producer & television presenter, specializing in wildlife & adventure films. In a recent interview with Oceans Research, he was asked if he thought it's harder to film an animal underwater, compared to filming one on land. Here's what he replied.
I guess it really all started when I was a kid. I have been fascinated with sharks since I can remember, and the first time I saw a shark was on television I remember thinking “oh my God, this is the most incredible thing in the world”. And then I thought “wait a second, my parents always tell me not to believe what I see on TV or don't believe everything you see on TV”, so I thought it had to be fake! But the more of these sharks I would see on TV and these documentaries I would come across and the books and things I would read, I started to realize that sharks are actually real living like dinosaurs in our oceans, and they were like these incredible predators. So, it just all stemmed from being fascinated with sharks. I wanted to be a marine biologist, so I went through college, started studying marine biology, but then I got quickly put off of that, because I saw the scientists like on the 5th 6th 7th years studying and writing papers, and I'm thinking “I don't want to write any paper, be stuck in the lab and be a poor scientist kind of guy” so I decided to become a filmmaker.
The fact that I don't have to hear the director talking to me all day and telling me what to do! No, I mean, again, it all stems from sharks. So, you know, being a diver and learning how to shoot underwater, I was able to film all types of seals and elephant seals and saltwater crocodiles, different American crocodiles, Cuban crocodiles, all types of predators… And underwater it's just like a whole different world. And it's not exactly how you see it on TV. If you see a great white shark on TV, there’s scary music and sound effects and an explosion or a sound of a dinosaur roaring, but underwater it's relatively quiet. Sharks don't make really any noise, so it's just a cool aspect of filmmaking. But it takes a special skill set to do that. You have to be a good diver, I mean, it's one thing to be a good diver, but also a good diver and be able to film at the same time. So you can adjust your buoyancy while you're still getting the shot, or, you know, not run out of air in the middle of a mating event between white sharks!
Definitely underwater. You’re dealing with visibility, sea conditions… Perfect example, we've been here to film this documentary with Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer on earth, and of course, the day we arrived, that was planned months in advance so they couldn’t really change his schedule, the day we arrived they announced like “oh, there’s the biggest storm in like100 years”! I was like “are you kidding me”? So, topside filming, there are all types of challenges there too, but I think underwater is a whole different skill set, a whole different ballgame.
Probably the most challenging filmmaking job I've done is a polar bear film for National Geographic. I hadn't really worked in an environment that was that cold, that remote, and that challenging. Everything was extremely hard, from just basically trying to charge the camera batteries that have about half the charge life in the cold environment, to adjusting the camera (you take your glove off for a second to adjust the camera setting and your hands start to freeze). Humans aren't really meant to be living up there either, so I found that very challenging.
There's no like set formula, at least that I have found. I think the most important thing is to be passionate. If you're passionate about sharks, lions, about rhinos, you really have to find something that you really love and just get out the field, and try to meet scientists that are working with the rhinos, for example, try to volunteer for research organizations or conservation organizations that are helping that species and then you can bump into the right people. So, I guess just working hard, being passionate, and trying to meet and surround yourself with people that already do it.