Yes, where possible it makes a big difference to include us as early as possible in pre production.

This will allow us to discuss any technical requirements regarding camera and lens decisions and to make sure by the shoot the kit is ready.

Sometimes there is a requirement for a housing to be designed and built just for a production, for this we would be looking for at least 8 weeks depending on requirements.

Additional to technical discussions we will have feedback on practical elements of water shooting from time of day, choice of location and what sort of shots are doable “in real life”

Essentially the earlier discussions start taking place the better.

Be it one shot or a week in a pool,  both require adequate time to prepare equipment for a shoot.  This involves testing of various communication and control systems for the camera, lens and focus package as well as familiarising productions camera crew with the housing (if we are not providing a full crew).

Depending on the lens package time is required in a pool to check the need for any additional filters to be able to focus underwater.  This is particularly important for anamorphic lens kits.

There may also be requirements for time at a pool to perform any tests required by the productions insurance providers.

Yes, as soon as there is crew on SCUBA there is a requirement to have a qualified dive supervisor and safety divers on set.

This is required for both the safety of the crew and the cast.

Water shoots will always be slower than dry. While we do our best to keep production moving there are limitations in a wet environment.

Simple changes to lenses and media are a lot slower as it requires the housing to be removed from the water, dried and de-presurised before it can be opened. Once changes are made time is require to ensure the housing is fully sealed.

Communication can also be slower, although we try to work with an underwater comms system and be relayed instructions by the dive supervisor and other tops crew.

Essentially it is important that timing is discussed in pre production and considered when developing the shoot schedule.

We can use a number of camera and lens combinations in our housings however there are conditions which may include:

Which housing? Out Universal Deep Housing can fit a very wide range of cameras and housings, while our Lightweight housing has more limited options.

Is the camera new or rare? There is a chance we have not used one. In this case there may be a requirement for some pre production time spend fitting our housing our to cater to the preferred package. This is doable however will require time and resources so the earlier this is discussed the better.

Is the lens particularly small or large? This may limit options to attach motors to control the lens remotely or simply fitting in the housing. Again discussions on pre and adequate prep will help alleviate any issues on the shoot.

If you wish to hire a housing kit for another operator to use we have a couple of options -

Currently our larger cinema housings can only be hired with a housing tech to go along with it.

For simple shoots we do have a Canon C70 housing kit that is operator friendly and we do dry hire as long as the production has appropriate insurance covering the hired equipment.

We are looking to expand the fleet to more dry hire friendly packages however that is still a bit down the line. Watch this space!