“Once Upon a Tide”

Sea Studios Foundation, Monterey, CA 8/15/07.
In addition to producing science documentaries like “Shape of Life" and "Strange Days on Planet Earth" , we are starting to depart from traditional science narratives. “Once Upon a Tide” is a live-action / animated fable designed to touch people’s hearts by witnessing the journey of a little girl named Olive. Olive lives in a world, set in a time, not unlike our own, where a spell has been cast causing people to forget about the ocean and its importance to our lives. Luckily for Olive, she finds a shell that helps open her eyes to the magic of the ocean. Here are some stills from the film:



Animation created by LAIKA/house

Yesterday we shot two of the live action scenes in Monterey. We had what I thought was a big crew, a director, a DP, a sound recordist, an AC, a grip, a gaffer, two caterers, several producers, a child actress, her mother, a make up artist, a prop designer, me, and a crane operator. I guess that isn’t big by Hollywood standards, but it was the biggest shoot I had been on.



Everything went great. Olive, our star was good as gold. The weather cooperated for the most part. We thought our big hero, dune jib shot would be ruined by fog. But the sun came out just in time and we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. It was a fabulous day!

Signing off for now...Hannah Smith Walker (Sea Studios Production / Post Coordinator)

Harry Potter and the search for the perfect children’s bedroom

Sea Studios Foundation, Monterey, CA 8/15/07.
While most everyone at Sea Studios was out having grand adventures in Africa, I had my own quest in Monterey. I had three weeks to find the perfect sand dune and the perfect children’s bedroom for an upcoming documentary called “Once Upon a Tide”. It was great trekking all around Monterey finding all different shapes and sizes of sand dunes.
But the bedroom was another story. I had struck out at every turn finding the mythical perfect child’s bedroom. But luckily, a boy named Harry Potter led me to a woman named Tammy.
The night before the new Potter book came out, I found myself in a library-sponsored trivia contest. I didn’t know a soul in the audience, but I noticed one of my competitors seemed to know everyone. Scores of people held up placards supporting a woman named Tammy and her daughters in Harry Potter trivia domination. Tammy wiped the floor with me and ended up winning the competition. When I went up to her to congratulate her, I surprised her by asking to take pictures of her daughters’ bedrooms. She gave me quite a funny look, as I tried to explain that I was scouting locations for Sea Studios. It all came out in a nonsensical rush, but fortunately a woman near by perked up and said, “Sea Studios, I know Sea Studios, they make wonderful films”.

So, to make a long story short Tammy showed me her wonderful home, and two weeks later a giant film crew invaded her house.

Explosions

July 28, 2007. The desert outside Swakopmund, Nambia.

After much anticipation, we arrive early in the morning, before the easterly winds, eager to see if our explosives expert George will deliver. As he sets his powder and fuses and pours gallons of petrol, we set our shots, sit back and wait. There's a lot riding on these explosions, and I'm starting to feel the pressure. We've carved precious time out of a very tight schedule and if it doesn't work, we're going to be in trouble. George has brought enough powder, fuses and fuel to detonate five explosions. He's not sure exactly how big they will be, despite the fact that he's carefully measured and built each unit. Explosive can be unpredictable, and if the winds suddenly pick up they could blow fire, dust and rock in our direction. The unpredictability of explosives is real, and the fact that George is missing one hand underscores this fact. After decades of defusing bombs and creating explosive events for movies and concerts, it was a simple flare that blew up as he was holding it, taking his hand.

We decide to set-off a test explosion to gauge its size. We all take our position at a distance, and George counts down. "Three . . . two, one!"

A fireball races into the sky, followed by clouds of billowing smoke and great cheers. We're in business!

Chad, David, Chris, and Mark await the test fire.

Andy, our character can be seen walking in the desert contemplating the destructive nature of hydrogen sulfide events, as an explosion, shot in slow motions, blazes across the sky.

Chad stands next to the explosives so that we can mark the next shot.