Locations » Simon Deane

Big Fish Diving, Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia

September 2010
A short boat ride from the South East coast of Bali is a group of three small islands; Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan. These islands are in the middle of the channel of water separating Bali and Lombok .

Secret Gardens Bungalows and Big Fish Diving on Nusa Lembongan hosted Simon Deane for a week of diving and filming. This was the third visit to Reece and Tim Birkett, for their un-rivalled hospitality and exceptionally relaxed diving ‘on-the-doorstep’.

This location generates very health hard coral reefs and amazing assortment of visiting marine life thriving and feeding on the food continually flowing through these deep channels.

This channel of water is a significant connection between the Pacific and Indian Oceans so the currents in this region are strong, moving vast quantities of food for larger fish and proving sometimes unpredictable and hard-work for SCUBA divers.

Though for divers it’s worth the effort; the reefs are thriving, both the coral colonies and the attendant reef fish. Also turtles, larger trevallies and manta rays call this area home and there are annual visits by one of the ocean’s most unusual fish, the Mola Mola or Ocean Sun Fish. These fish congregate around these islands annually between July and October, it is thought for cleaning but little is known about this species as they are pelagic for most of their lives. See a short movie of Mola Mola here.

Big Fish Diving on Nusa Lembongan provide diving tuition and highly knowledgeable dive guides for this spectacular diving location.

See a show reel filmed on these reefs click here…

Filming the wreck of the SS President Coolidge

June 2010

The wreck of the SS President Coolidge

Assisted by Allan Power Dive Tours in Vanuatu; Simon Deane films a tour of this amazing Second World War shipwreck on the Pacific island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.

The SS President Coolidge was once a premiere luxury cruise liner built in 1932.

Later she was converted to a troop carrier and used to transport US troops across the Pacific in the Second World War.

Due to an unfortunate mis-communication she ran aground and sank in Vanuatu.

The orders to abandon ship required a quick evacuation but since the ship was aground the Officers expected to organise a return to collect most personal items and supplies. However the sea had other intentions and the ship slid deeper into the channel soon after the personnel had evacuated. Two lives were lost.

Now it’s an amazing dive site.

Most dives to this wreck start from the shore, the ship rests on her starboard side with the bow the shallowest point, 23 metres deep; the starboard propeller is the deepest point at almost 70 metres.

Since very little was removed from the ship during the evacuation so much remained to be discovered by divers. The ship was also carrying a compete cargo of military supplies, field guns, trucks, jeeps, shells, aircraft parts, rifles, ammunition etc.

Since the 1970′s a number of expeditions were conducted to salvage as much value as possible from the ship. Nonetheless there’s still plenty to discover on this enormous wreck. Not much of the heavy machinery was removed and small items like ships cutlery and crockery, bottles of cola and medical supplies remain. Within the ship is The Lady and the Unicorn now the un-official figurehead and emblem of this ship wreck.

Here you can see the interior of the ship in this wreck diving showreel. Filming Million $ Point

Also see the exterior of the ship in another video tour of this enormous ex-cruise liner and the nearby dive site; ‘Million Dollar Point’, an amazing underwater wrecker’s yard.

See other videos…

Lisa Films – Dream Hotel Maldives

April 2010
D.O.P. Underwater Filming for Lisa Film

Following the successful shoot in Thailand last year, Lisa Film asks Simon Deane to film another underwater scene for their TV drama Das Traum Hotel Maldives. transl. Dream Hotel.

Following the successful shoot in Thailand last year, Lisa Film asks Simon Deane to film another underwater scene for their TV drama ‘Das Traum Hotel’ transl. Dream Hotel.

For this production Simon Deane provided two complete sets of underwater filming equipment and organised freight with no additional costs to Lisa Films.

The location for this production is The Beach House Waldorf Astoria Resort on Manafaru Island in the Northen-most atoll in the Maldives; Haa Alifu.
SCUBA Diver Maldives

The underwater scene for this romantic adventure follows a turtle researcher as she introduces her new friend to the underwater world she shares with the turtles. The scene captures the beautiful tropical reefs and fish that the Maldives are famous for and follows the pair of divers as they discover this environment in the company of a friendly turtle.

The underwater shooting was to fit into the main ‘top-side’ shooting schedule and was to include both principal actors and doubles.

In reality the dive experience of the two actors was the reverse of their roles in the production. To their credit both were very enthusiastic to continue their roles underwater – in SCUBA gear – a first time experience for both of them.

Simon Deane provided full dive briefings for safety and communication to the new actor divers and the doubles; with the assistance of the crew, The Film Team (Sri Lanka) and Manafaru Diving School, the scenes were captured as required.
Atoll Maldive

Feedback from Lisa Film Producer, David Spiehs: “The footage from the Maldives was all good and we used a lot for the movie – great job.”

Lisa Films – Dream Hotel Chiang Mai

April 2009

Director Of Photography Underwater Filming for Lisa Film
Simon Deane fulfils an urgent requirement to complete the underwater filming for Lisa Film’s Das Traum Hotel Chiang Mai(transl. Dream Hotel Chiang Mai).
Lisa Film’s Dream Hotel series are straight-to-TV feature length romantic adventures, broadcast in Germany in HD format.
Traum Hotel Chiang Mai is set in Thailand, the dramatic underwater scene involved a group of friends searching for their missing buddy who was last seen leaving to go SCUBA diving.
The trio of friends descend to the reef to locate an old shipwreck; on the way they encounter manta rays; at the wreck of the ship they make a disturbing discovery… Manta Ray at Similan Islands Thailand
The land based filming had been ‘wrapped’ for this production but the underwater scenes were still to be shot and the weather was beginning to change as the wet-season approached Thailand’s West coast.
Thanks to the hard work and perserverance of a small team and some good luck with a break in the weather this shoot got the material needed to complete the production.
Thanks to Similan Diving Safaris and Orange House Divers Phuket for dive support and logistics. cast and crew on RIB

Peking Express

November 2008

Longtail boat Thailand Simon Deane and Stewart Whitfield take the cameras underwater to film a game episode of ‘Peking Express’ for TV5 from France with Kanakna Productions. Peking Express is a television game show where the pairs of contestants compete as they travel to destinations in various countries.

Providing high quality, cost effective underwater camera services for a morning of shooting in one of Southern Thailand’s beautiful locations.

This game episode was filmed at Koh Muuk in Thailand’s Trang province.