Realm Pictures is currently shooting ‘The Underwater Realm’, an independent British film project on an epic scale. The Underwater Realm consists of 5 short films all set in different periods of history, telling the story of 5 occasions when mankind has come into contact with a race of people beneath the sea. These films are high concept fantasy epics, and have already won interest from the creators of Lord of the Rings and 20th Century Fox.
The films are backed by Raindance Film Festival (the largest UK film Festival) and will be premiering in Leicester Square in September 2012. The purpose of the films is to excite the general public about the oceans and encourage greater interaction and conservation.
“Before starting this project 9 months ago no one in the crew was PADI trained with only myself and a one other ever having even tried scuba diving. Thanks to the great PADI instructors in the south west we managed to go through our training and advance very quickly. Now 9 months later we’ve dived all over the country as well as the Red Sea, in quarries and pools, tanks and the open ocean with PADI dive masters to newly qualified open water divers. We’ve developed new lighting systems and camera equipment and are in the process of developing underwater motion capture. We’ve come so far in so short a space of time and that’s all thanks to PADI. Without the qualifications we earned and the guidance of PADI staff we could never have hoped to achieve this. We found a strong community of professional and amateur divers all willing to join the project for the sheer love of diving. It’s opened up a whole new world, not only of diving but also the dive community.”
Mark Ruddick, Production/Stunt Coordinator
The team released this blog entry after certifying as Open Water Divers with Teign Diving in Plymouth, UK - where some of the staff even ended up being extras and support divers in the first film!
Pictured: New PADI divers Dave Reynolds (Director), Eve Reynolds (Director of photography), Mark Ruddick and Jenny Groves (Special FX)
So how can you help?
The team at Realm Pictures are looking for support through social media, blogs and newsletters; anything that reaches divers, conservationists and general ocean fans. This is an entirely voluntary project and no one involved is being paid, so they are also fundraising to cover costs via the ‘Kickstarter’ funding platform for creative projects. To find out more and to get involved, go to www.kickstarter.com/projects/realmpictures/explore-the-underwater-realm
“You can’t go to an alien world after having watched Avatar but … you can strap on some fins, get in the water, learn about it, fall in love with it and start protecting it”