BEHIND THE SCENES - NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S “SHARK ATTACK 360”
IN SEPTEMBER 2023 I WORKED AS THE B CAMERA OPERATOR ON THE LONDON UNIT OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S “SHARK ATTACK 360” WHICH WAS RELEASED ON DISNEY+ AND NATGEO TV.
THE LOCATION WAS AN UNFINISHED UNDERGROUND MULTISTOREY THEATRE IN CENTRAL LONDON WITH BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE, WHICH WAS TO BECOME OUR VIRTUAL SHARK LAB.
WE USED A SONY FX9 MOUNTED WITH AN NCAM UNIT (NOW ZEISS CINCRAFT SCENARIO) AND ZEISS CP.3 XD LENSES TO SEND THE RAW CAMERA FOOTAGE TO THE VFX TEAM “LITTLE SHADOW” WHO WERE ON LOCATION WITH US. THE VFX TEAM WOULD TAKE THIS RAW CAMERA FOOTAGE AND PROCESS IT ONSITE TO THEN SEND A LIVE FEED OF COMPOSITIES BACK TO AN ON CAMERA MONITOR ALLOWING US AS THE OPERATORS TO SEE THE VIRTUAL BACKGROUND AND SHARKS IN THE SCENE IN REAL TIME.
THIS ENABLED US AS CAMERA OPERATORS TO CREATE CAMERA MOVES AND SEQUENCES THAT ENHANCED THE SCENE USING THE VIRTUAL PRODUCTION ELEMENTS. WE WOULD FOLLOW THE MOVEMENT OF THE SHARKS WITH THE CAMERA AS IT SWAM PASSED THE PRESENTER, SHOOT DETAILS AND THE PRESENTERS EXPLAINING SHARK ANATOMY, AND SHOOT A POV ANGLE THROUGH A SHARKS MOUTH. WE EVEN HAD THE ABILITY TO FOCUS PULL BETWEEN THE VIRTUAL SHARK AND THE PRESENTER. IT WAS A REAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH SUCH A HEAVILY VFX DRIVEN SHOW BUT EACH DEPARTMENT WORKED EXTREMELY WELL TOGETHER AND I THINK THE RESULTS WERE FANTASTIC.
