Oceans 3D – Into the Deep

The Mantello Brothers Talk about the Making of their Latest Movie

Disneynature has acquired the North American and Mexican distribution rights to the underwater film OceanWorld 3D, the first feature-length nature documentary ever filmed and released in 3D, it was announced by Jean-Francois Camilleri, executive vice president and general manager for Disneynature, and Francois Mantello, chairman of 3D Entertainment. The film is presented by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the legendary Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and was directed and produced respectively by veteran filmmakers Jean-Jacques and Francois Mantello. OceanWorld 3D premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Annual Film Market last month, and will be released theatrically in France and Russia starting this August. The film's North America debut will be announced at a later date. Digital Cinema Report recently spoke with the Mantello Brothers about the production.

Digital Cinema Report: Introduce yourselves and give a brief background of your careers in film.


Mantello Brothers: We are Jean Jacques and Francois Mantello, or the Mantello Brothers, as we are often referred to.  Our path through the film industry began with L’Equippage Video, our post-production house founded outside of Paris, which specialized in CGI effects and new digital technologies. Being in this space allowed us to expand our horizons, leading to our first underwater 3D short film, Miracle Mermaid, which received the Public’s Choice Award at the 1992 World Festival of Underwater Pictures.  This success spurred us to change our career paths from post into production, where we pioneered work in stereoscopic films for theme park rides.  However, being avid divers and conversationalists, we were drawn back into the underwater world and developed an ambitious plan in 2001 to produce a series of three 42-minute-long edutainment films for IMAX theatres and a feature-length documentary for 35-mm cinemas filmed entirely in 3D. Jean-Jacques would direct the films and manage the entire post-production process whereas Francois, a trained engineer, would produce, finance and oversee all distribution activities.  In 2003, Ocean Wonderland 3D, was released in IMAX 3D. Two years later we released Sharks 3D, followed by Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean in 2008.

DCR: What was the genesis of OceanWorld 3D (working title)?

MB: It began in 2001 when we came up with a plan to produce a series of 3D edutainment films for IMAX theatres and a feature-length documentary, OceanWorld, for traditional 35-mm cinemas on the importance of ocean conservation. Our goal was to combine our passion for environmental awareness with our experience as filmmakers to educate the general public on the state of our oceans, which have suffered greatly from the world’s industrialization. We worked on the feature film during the entire seven years we spent filming our IMAX theatre projects Ocean Wonderland 3D (2003), Sharks 3D (2005) and Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean (2008). When murmurs of a 3D revolution started making their way through the film industry in 2006, we decided to go back and produce OceanWorld 3D in digital 3D, which was actually always our ideal as we were well aware of the power of the stereoscopic medium. 
 


DCR: How was it financed?

MB: The financing for OceanWorld3D came solely from private equity.

DCR: How much experience have you had shooting underwater?

MB: For OceanWorld 3D alone, we spent over 1000 hours underwater and came back with 200 hours of footage in 3D, which we’ve edited down to create an 85-minute film. In 1992, we shot our first 15-minute underwater film in 3D, Miracle Mermaid, which we screened that year at the International Underwater Film Festival in Antibes, France. Much to our surprise, we ended up taking home the Public's Choice Award. It was there as well that we met the legendary Albert Falco, captain of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's ship Calypso, who paid us the greatest compliment. The first thing he said after seeing the images, was, "I felt like I was really there!" That's the magic of 3D. It takes viewers straight to the heart of the images and transports them places they'd normally never be able to go themselves.

DCR: How much experience have you had shooting stereoscopic 3D?

MB: We were pioneers of sorts in the medium as we shot our first 3D film back in 1991. It was a four-minute CGI promo spot in 3D for a Hewlett Packard computer that was to be shown to 500 European sales agents in Monaco. As soon as the spot began and the HP logo "came off" the screen, the entire audience jumped to its feet and started clapping. There was such enthusiasm and interest in the spot that it ended up being shown around the world, including in the US.  After that we moved into the entertainment industry and founded a company that specialized in creating motion simulator rides where the viewer is placed in a seat that moves according to the action appearing in the 3D film. For close to 10 years we produced and installed stereoscopic rides at locations all around the world, including at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. From there, we moved into underwater films in 3D so we have a lot of experience not only in CGI- but also live-action stereoscopic filmmaking.

DCR: How many people were involved in the [OceanWorld 3D] shoot?

MB: OceanWorld 3D is the result of 25 filming expeditions around the globe over seven years so the size of the film crew varied. We generally worked as a team of about 10-15 but in some of the more remote and difficult-to-reach locations we had a small crew of just four or five.

DCR: How many cameras? What cameras did you use?

MB: We filmed with standard Sony HDW-F900 and HDW-750 cameras but had to design and build an underwater rig ourselves that could house two cameras simultaneously in order to shoot in 3D.  The first rig we created weighed approximately 300 pounds and was difficult to maneuver as it took a crane just to get it in and out of water. It was also impractical since it could only be transported on a large boat whereas many of the areas in which we wanted to film are only accessible by zodiac, so we went to work on a new design. We were able to bring the total weight down to 150 pounds on the second-generation housing, making it considerably easier to move around. The less bulky design also allowed us to infiltrate certain marine species’ habitats much more easily and to get closer to them than we’d ever been able to previously. In terms of the number of cameras, we sometimes had two teams working simultaneously so we used about six throughout.
 


DCR: Did you light any sequences? If so, describe that.

MB: Certain sequences were lit but we mostly opted to shoot in natural lighting to avoid distressing the animals. When we did use lights, we generally had one fixed on the camera rig as well as two underwater lighting operators. But this procedure remained unusual for this film.

DCR: How did you handle audio?

MB: The only audio actually recorded underwater for OceanWorld 3D was the male humpback whale songs because, as anyone who’s ever dived can attest to, the majority of the sounds you hear underwater are incredibly different from those we’re accustomed to on land. We used sound design and music to recreate the sensation of being there with each animal. Our longtime musical composer and sound engineer Christophe Jacquelin wrote each piece of music directly on the images to create a perfect symbiosis of image and sound.

DCR: What lessons did you learn about shooting 3D underwater?

MB: We’ve been shooting underwater 3D films for nearly two decades so most lessons were learned when we first started out. At that time, we didn’t have much formal knowledge about shooting stereoscopically underwater but we quickly learned, for example, that you must frame the subjects differently than you would in traditional cinema to fully take advantage of the 3D-stereoscopy medium. Perhaps the most important lesson we’ve learned, though, is that a tremendous amount of patience is needed when filming underwater animals. Unlike most directors who work with a cast of trained professionals, the stars of our films are wild, occasionally act in totally unexpected ways and don’t always show up when you want them to.

DCR: Where was the project edited?

MB: Our films have always been edited in-house. As a vertically integrated company, we have the luxury of being able to oversee the entire process from shooting to post-production ourselves. The editing process was entirely done in 3D and this was done in real-time.

DCR: What technology was used?


MB: We used a customized workstation and brand new editing and data management software that was developed in-house. This fully proprietary system allowed us to complete post-production in high definition and 3D simultaneously. The entire process and system have been enhanced by our engineers over the years.

DCR: How long did the edit take?

MB: The entire post-production process, including editing, took not less than twenty months.
 
DCR: In your mind, how does editing in 3D differ most from editing in 2D?

MB: For me, if you’re making a 3D film, you must also edit it in 3D. That’s the best way to make sure there are no issues with stereoscopy. It also allows a much better appreciation of your film.

DCR: What is your next project?

MB: We have several film projects – both underwater and on land – currently in the works but they’ll be announced at a later date.  I can say, though, that they’ll all be in 3D.

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