marine life » Simon Deane

Swimming With A Leopard Shark – Show Reel

This is a show reel that does not feature people in the water.

That is in itself is unusual as this clip is more than 4.5 minutes and we cover a good distance around a popular dive site in Thailand.

This clip was filmed at Koh Bida Nai in the Andaman Sea very close to Thailand’s Phi-Phi Islands.
Here it is quite common to see leopard sharks {Stegastoma fasciatum}.
Most often these sharks are seen resting on a sandy patch of the sea bed but occassionally you see them swimming.
Sometimes they’re shy and will swim away, other times they really don’t appear to care about the presence of divers.
This was one such occassion – this clip is more than 4.5 minutes long and our shark just keeps coming back…
This is one clip, one continuous clip as it was recorded, no editing involved.
Filmed in February 2008.
I hope you enjoy it, they’re beautiful sharks, graceful swimmers.


    
    
    Runtime
4:54
    View count
173

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Diving Coral Reef Show Reel – Background

October 2010 Branching coral and black + white damsel fish

The SCUBA Diving Coral Reef Show Reel was filmed while diving with Big Fish Diving at Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia.

Nusa Lembnogan is situated off the South East corner of the island of Bali. It is one of three islands which sit closely grouped in the middle of the channel formed by Bali and Lombok.

This channel is a major connection between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the channel is deep but the bottom is irregular and this causes un-predictable water movements and currents but also provides an abundance of food to the resident and visiting marine life.

Filming on a healthy coral reef is a delight; particularly when the coral colonies are intact in the shallow water. You can benefit from direct sunlight showing off the colours of the corals and the fish and over deep water channels the water provides a solid back drop of shades of blue.

The group of divers in this show reel were simply ‘fun-diving’ to enjoy this environment and see what-they-can-see during a relaxing hour. Unlike a walk in a forest, a dive over a healthy reef brings you close to, sometimes face-to-face with the marine fauna.

Some species are wary of humans exhaling bubbles yet others appear genuinely intrigued and inquisitive. Undoubtedly there are typical species specific behaviours. Parrotfish often seem not to notice divers, some wrasse and damsel fish will swim up to your mask for a look, while some snapper species will invariably turn-tail and swim quickly away.

SCUBA Diving over a tropical reef should always be conducted slowly, look carefully, you never know what you will see next.

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Filming Nusa Penida reef Filming Nusa Penida coral reef

Turtle Show Reel – Background

April 2010
Dive Of The Turtle Show Reel – Behind The Scenes
Hawksbill Turtle Maldives This show reel is taken from Lisa Film’s ‘Traum Hotel Maldives’ (transl. Dream Hotel Maldives) footage.
The scene follows a turtle researcher, who is an experienced diver, taking a new friend to dive for the first time over a coral reef.

The participants in this footage include principal actors from the drama and experienced divers as doubles.
In reality the dive experience of the two actors was the reverse of their roles in the production. One a newly qualified diver and the other a diver of a few years but no recent dive experiences.
To their credit both were very enthusiastic to continue their roles underwater – in SCUBA gear – a first time experience for both of them.
The scene is part of a romantic adventure so is required to capture the beauty of the reefs, the feelings of exploration and discovery and the romance of the couple, while including turtles to continue the theme of the turtle researcher.
Using local divers as guides Simon Deane scouted and identified appropriate diving sites and searched for turtles in an area where these creatures are very wary of humans.
Fitting into a tight schedule and the nervousness of being new divers the principal actors performed wonderfully in this new acting environment. Coupled with the patient and expert assistant of local dive staff we completed the scene with a turtle who arrived un-announced but really wanted to be a star in this production.
Turtle with Divers in Maldives
The turtle you see is a genuinely ‘wild’ animal. We were looking for turtles and were on a dive site that was known for turtle encounters. Luckily we found two and this one in particular was happy to take part in our production.

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Coral Reef Show Reel – Background

Snorkellers over coral reef The footage in this show reel was shot entirely around the Phi Phi Islands part of Krabi province in Southern Thailand. This area of Thailand is a very popular holiday destination and this part of the Andaman Sea supports some beautiful coral reefs and a very high number of diverse fish species.

Many people visiting this region swim on tropical reefs for the first time and are amazed by what they see and experience.

Filming in this environment presents many beautiful subjects and interesting behaviour by the marine life, and sometimes the visitors.

Weather and water conditions are very variable. In the shallow water around the reefs, wind creates waves which stirs-up sand and reduces visibility. Waves and currents also create surge in the water which means I have to take great care with buoyancy and swimming technique to remain stable in the water.

While bright direct sun light shows the colourful coral colonies it presents back-lighting issues when filming up to the snorkelers at the surface.

When it all comes together, the aim is to show the breadth and beauty of what lives with us below the water and the enjoyment that comes from swimming here and discovering this side of nature.

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Coral Reef Discovery – Show Reel

The Coral Reef Discovery show reel portrays snorkelers, breath-hold or apnea skin divers and first-time SCUBA divers exploring tropical coral reefs.
Coral reefs have a universal appeal for so many reasons and when you have the opportunity to explore these environments for the first-time the experience is unforgettable.

The weather and the water is warm; the colours and the shapes of the reefs created by the corals and the fish and other marine fauna are all new and so close to you.

It really is a ‘whole other world’.
In this show reel see people enjoying the discovery and exploring this new world.
Filmed on the reefs of Krabi and the Phi-Phi Islands on the Andaman coast of Thailand.


    
    
    Runtime
3:21
    View count
61

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What’s your genre?

Simon Deane understands that different productions require different styles of cinematography.

Your documentary on sea-dragons may require super-steady, solid framing and detailed images of these graceful and intriguing creatures but your action-drama underwater fight scenes need a dynamic and fluid filming style to follow the action and build the tension.

Documentary or drama, Simon Deane will liaise closely with your Director and on-land D.O.P. to get the footage and capture the scenes required for your production.