This time last year we posted about our latest nautical filming project “Remains of War”.  So it seemed time to post an update. Being a 3 x 1 hour series, there’s a lot more work to be done than on our usual one hour stand alone films. Actually three times as much!

Marine filming

Bottles deep inside a wreck

Edit progressing well

The edit is progressing well. River – who left us a while back to pursue his own projects and travels – has come back to work on the edits. River actually filmed many of the locations with me including the Palau and Papua New Guinea sections. So he is very familiar with the footage. And there have been other developments.

Nautical filming

WW2 tank now a kids playground!

On screen expert WW2 historian

We have decided to have an on-screen expert interspersed at relevant times in the episodes. So who better than Saul David? Saul has been described as our finest living military historian. Plus he is the author of Devil Dogs – which traces the actual Pacific campaign that is the subject of our series. And we have worked with Saul before on our Truk Lagoon film.

Underwater documentary filming

Biplane deep below the waves

Well Known narrator

Chris Packham – of Springwatch fame among others – has agreed to narrate the series. Chris is a well known wildlife TV presenter and dedicated conservationist. However he also has a deep interest in wartime history. So he is an ideal choice.

Filming Underwater

Deep in a shipwreck

Final online edit now scheduled

So we are now pressing ahead towards the final online edit and delivery of the finished films to our agents – who will hopefully achieve some good sales to the international TV markets. However there is still so much to do. We need to source maps and graphics. Additionally we will be making decisions on music tracks. We will be finalising our selection of archive material from both American and Japanese archives. Plus we will be finalising the script. And after all this, we will be heading to    Films at 59 in Bristol to do the online edit. Tis project is historical nautical filming at its best and most exciting!

Documentary filming

But not a bad place to be working…

Almost certainly we are by far the leading Cornish Nautical Filming Specialists . Indeed we started our filming career trading as Shark Bay Films – marine documentary specialists. And we continue to produce documentaries for worldwide television distribution under that persona. We are currently finalising the edit of a 3 part series about WW2 shipwrecks throughout the Pacific. And we are particularly skilled in drone filming of all sorts of boats and marine events.

Marine filming Cornwall

Pilot Boat LK Mitchell

Our latest project was for our friends Falmouth Harbour Commissioners saying farewell to the long serving pilot boat L.K.Mitchell – see featured image.

Marine filming background.

Because we produced our first marine documentary over 30 years ago. We filmed “Caymania” in the Cayman Islands. and National Geographic bought the film. Encouraged by that, we shot our next film at Cocos Island, Costa Rica and Discovery Channel bought that. Since then we have produced over 30 underwater documentaries and won over 60 international awards.

Marine filming UK

Marine filming Norwegian fjords

Somali Pirates

One particularly intriguing marine project was our film about Somali Pirates . We signed a distribution deal with National Geographic. And the spin off book commissioned by Bloomsbury was in the non-fiction best sellers list for many weeks.

Cornwall marine photography

Blood Ransom paperback edition

Work with national boating magazines

We have done extensive work with both Motor Boats Monthly and more recently Motor Boats and Yachting magazines plus Princess Owners magazine, both producing feature articles and series of videos. We have taken our princess V39 from North Africa through Biscay and to St. Petersburg in Russia and Norway’s Arctic Circle among other adventures. This is not the greatest picture as photography was forbidden so I snuck the shot from inside the cabin…

Marine filming specialists

Marine Border checkpoint St. Petersburg Russia

Promotional filming for boat manufacturers.

We have done promotional filming for a number of high profile UK based boat builders, including Princess and Rustler. Among other projects for them we have filmed a number of Princess cross-Channel events.

Cornish marine filming specialists

Filming for Rustler Yachts

Promotional filming for charter boats both UK and abroad

Indeed we have a niche expertise producing promotional films for all sorts of holiday charter companies. Among many, we have produced promo films for Silhouette Cruises in Seychelles, MV Febrina in Papua New Guinea, and  Atlantic Azores in Philippines.

Marine filming for charter boats

Filming for Silhouette Cruises, Seychelles

Filming for marine insurance companies

In this field we have done extensive promotional filming for Haven Know Johnson, now known as MS Amlin, and even been sponsored by them on one of our voyages.

Marine events filming

Finally we are very experienced in filming marine related events. These include filming power boat racing for IPRC, Tall Ships in Falmouth, and other marine festivals including the Shanty festival. Falmouth Harbour Commissioners are among our regular clientele. And a very unusual special event -filming a group of top Cornish surfers doing a sponsored SUP paddle from Cornwall to Scilly for the campaign Against Plastic Pollution.

Filming Cornish Marine Events

Filming sponsored paddle to Scilly

Marine filming for news channels

We have also filmed Cornish marine subjects for a number of national news channels and newspapers. One of those was filming Boka Vanguard for Channel 4 News.

Marine filming Cornwall

Filming Boka Vanguard for Channel 4

So I think it’s fair to say that we are indeed the foremost Cornish Nautical Filming Specialists .