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.

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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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Follow a group of divers as they explore the diversity of life on a healthy coral reef.

These environments present amazing shapes and colours when seen from a distance and support so much life. Unlike a walk in a forest where the wildlife is hard to encounter, on a tropical reef it is possible to meet and examine the marine creatures at very close quarters.

There is growing awareness of the part that the reefs and oceans play in the health of our planet and at a personal level many people find SCUBA diving almost addictive because of the experiences and sensations this activity can bring.

This show reel was filmed with Big Fish Diving on the reefs of Nusa Penida, Indonesia.

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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…

The wreck diving show reel was filmed entirely on the wreck of the ex-cruise liner SS President Coolidge. The ship sunk on a fringing reef on the island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu in 1942.

This show reel focus’ on three divers as they explore the interior of this giant vessel. One diver, Alfred, is an experienced guide to this wreck and he identifies many places and objects of interest.

Wrecks provide unique backdrops to underwater scenes. These ‘man-made reefs’ have straight lines and large blocks of ‘black’ which do not occur naturally. They also give many ‘frames’ when viewed through hatches and portholes.

Ship wrecks of all sizes are claimed by the sea and slowly form part of the landscape as fish and other animals take up residence in the shadows and corals grow new colonies over the dissolving superstructures.

Inside there is very little light and additional diving skills are required to ensure a safe return to the surface. Divers must have impeccable buoyancy and control in the water to slip through openings without snagging and to avoid kicking-up the silt accumulated inside which would make filming im-practical for a few valuable minutes.

Yet inside a large wreck you get a feeling of new exploration and discovery and the thrills of attempting a challenge to your skills.
This show reel was shot deliberately with minimal lighting to enhance these sensations of exploration in a mysterious environment.

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Wreck Diving on the ex-SS President Coolidge
This show reel show the interior tour of a large ship wreck.
Wreck interiors are always dark and can be dangerous places due to sharp edges from the corrosion of the super structure, entanglements from wiring, cables and old fishing nets and also dis-orientation in the seeming maze of doors, windows, floors and ceilings.

With expert guidance from Alfred of Allan Power Diver Tours a small group of divers embark upon the mystery tour to penetrate the darkness, discover the treasures of this sunken vessel and see the interior of a grand ship from new angles.
Minimal lighting was used to enhance the sense of mystery and perhaps some suspense of lurking danger.

Take a look inside with us…

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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.

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…

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.

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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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.
For this romantic adventure the scene is 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.

Review other show reels by Simon Deane click here…

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.

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.

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.”