Shooting in water costs three times more money, time and energy than shooting on land. Shooting underwater requires special techniques. Here the importance of the Director of Photography (DOP) increases a lot. How to shoot underwater depends on this.
Apart from this, actors also have to make special preparations. They are first taught to swim. Particular attention is paid to diet.
Before filming underwater, special attention is paid to safety. Rescue divers are present on set, so that if someone drowns, they can be saved.
Many Hollywood and Bollywood films have been filmed underwater. How these films are made and what the challenges are, we’ll talk about in the new episode of Reel to Real. For this, we spoke to stuntman Sanobar Pardiwala, underwater cinematographer Priya Seth and actress Madhurima Tuli.
Those whose lungs are not strong have difficulty shooting underwater. When filming on the actual location, only 4-5 people can go underwater. It is made up of two cameramen, a rescue diver and an artist. Actors who do not have strong lungs may have difficulty filming underwater. Indeed, shooting in water causes fatigue more quickly than shooting on land. Also, it is very important that the actors know how to swim. Without it, they cannot shoot underwater.
Handling underwater cameras is the most difficult task To prevent water from getting inside the camera, it is covered with a special type of glass. This is waterproof glass. Here the role of the cinematographer increases a lot.
Cinematographer Priya Seth said, “We can easily handle the camera on land, but filming it in water is a very difficult task. It is very important for an underwater filmmaker to have knowledge of physics. How heavy will the camera be in water? How will it be moved? A cinematographer has to know all these things, like how to guide actors. Apart from this, actors also need to understand their work. Often, their preparation is not complete, which spoils the entire shoot.
Stunt performers are also called upon for underwater filming Just as actors’ body doubles are often called in for fights or dangerous action sequences, similarly stunt doubles are sometimes called in for underwater filming. These stuntmen are excellent swimmers, filming action sequences even in the deepest waters.
Two stuntmen died due to lack of swimming skills Stuntman Sanobar said, “When performing underwater stunts, the mind should be calm and breathing should be controlled. The underwater sequence must be performed by a stuntman who is a certified swimmer. If this does not happen, the danger can be great.
Sanobar said that once, while shooting a South film, two stuntmen died. In fact, they both had to jump into the pond from the helicopter. They jumped ashore, but they did not know how to swim properly. Unfortunately, both died.
It’s not easy to shoot at sea, so most sets are built in the studio. It’s not easy to film at sea. There is always a fear of cyclones and storms. Furthermore, there is also the question of the safety of fish and dangerous actors inside the water. Apart from that, there are many problems with shooting underwater, including handling the camera.
This is why directors of films focused entirely on water prefer to shoot them in the studio.
Artificial storms and cyclones can also be projected inside the studio. There is an underwater film studio in Belgium. The indoor swimming pool is 10 meters deep. Here, with the help of electricity, waves up to one meter high can be raised. Artificial rain can also be produced here. Solar panels and a heat pump are used to keep the pool water warm.
Here, storm and cyclone scenes can also be depicted using special effects. Apart from this, the color of the water can also be changed. The person who prepared it, Wim Michels, is himself a diver and filmmaker.
It’s not a sea but an underwater film studio located in Belgium.
Why do you need to build an underwater movie studio? There is a special reason for building an underwater film studio. In fact, Wim Michels and his crew would go to the sea for several days and wait for the waves to rise. This caused a lot of delay in the filming of the film. Additionally, it was also dangerous for actors to film in real locations, so he built an underwater film studio. When Akshay Kumar got injured while shooting underwater, he was afraid of being swallowed by fish. The 2009 Hindi film Blue was a film entirely centered around water. Most of the film’s shooting took place underwater. The lead actor of this film, Akshay Kumar was also injured during a scene.
I had to stay in the sea for 12-12 hours while shooting the film – Madhurima The 2013 film Warning was filmed underwater. Actress Madhurima Tuli worked in this film. Talking about the experience of working on the film, Madhurima said, “This type of film was made for the first time in India. So it took a lot of work. We did swimming training for 1-2 weeks as many actors didn’t know swimming.
I had to do scuba diving in the film, which I had already been trained for. We would stay in the water for 3-4 hours during training because during filming we had to stay in the sea for 12-12 hours. Before the shooting began, the diver had carefully examined the entire sea for safety reasons.
We met for 40 days to shoot this film. Before leaving to shoot, we had to take a complete look at the weather. Sometimes we even got bitten by fish while filming. The whole body became tanned when direct sunlight fell on it.
Madhurima Tuli has worked in many television serials and films. Apart from ‘Warning’, he was seen in Akshay Kumar’s film Baby.
A jellyfish stung during filming, the fear of the shark remains Madhurima added, “I was very scared while shooting for this film. My co-actor and I had to film a shot in the middle of the ocean. Even though a diver was there for our safety, we were still afraid of what would happen if a shark came? What happens if bitten by a snake?
I was also stung by a jellyfish. Because of this, I had rashes all over my leg. I also felt very jealous. For this reason, I was not able to shoot that day.
Madhurima said these things should be given special attention when shooting underwater.
One should pay attention to safety measures, swimming should be essential and use more sunscreen.
Madhurima also said that while shooting underwater, special attention should be given to food. The amount of protein in food should be high. In case of protein deficiency, actors encounter many difficulties during filming.