EC: Growing into my underwater photography, at a sudden moment I realized I could contribute so much towards raising awareness and education. I felt I came home and could fulfill my mission! It got me around the world, meeting like-minded people and making a difference towards guarding oceans and earth for future generations!
EC: When Michael and I attended a fundraiser in Orlando back in 2013, we bid on a shark feeding course by Cristina Zenato. It was Michaels intention to film Cristina who is probably the most recognized shark advocate around the world at work. Due to difficulties scheduling the shoot I realized we might had to let go of plan A filming Cristina and build a story around an average housewife, mother of two autistic children, afraid of water, fearing sharks; in short: me. As the viewer can relate to such a person, it would be a perfect angle to tell him or her the story about the threats sharks face caused by mankind. I started drafting a script on the plane the next day.
EC: No I wasnt. To a certain extent there was film pressure as those encounters, especially the last ones, were crucial to the story. But Michael reassured me not to worry. Should I have chosen not to do certain dives, it would have added a different angle to the story.MM: I never doubted for a second Ellen wouldnt be able to do it. Her love for wild animals and conservation transcends her personal comfort. However I always told her not to go in the water if she didnt feel confident about it.
MM: The actual shooting happened in 2014-2015, during some 18 months. Add 6 months to that for post production and youre at about 2 years.
MM: Bahamas: Cat Island and Grand Bahama Cayman Islands: Grand Cayman Mexico: Isla Mujeres USA: Orlando Belgium: Antwerp and the North Sea coast.
MM: Frans used to be a hired cameraman for the Belgian national television. Thats how he came to Cayman in 2011 to film us for an episode on a program Till the moon and back (by Annick Ruyts) about couples living abroad. As Frans is an excellent cameraman and visual storyteller, shares our love for the ocean and he already knew us as a family; the choice to hire him was a pretty obvious one.
MM: Epiphany is a vérité documentary. Apart from a few scenes on the post-dive-accident of Ellen (we had no original footage of that), everything is filmed as the events occurred. Nothing has been acted or staged. Even the interviews are cut as they were shot, which sometimes shows.
MM: By and large the final scene where Ellen stands tall, circled by sharks, after she successfully ended her shark feed. To me that scene is the epitome of owning your life. It is the ultimate proof a hurdle can stop you or you can decide to choose a new path. Ultimately its up to yourself.
MM: I think that would be the first close-up in the shark feeding sequence. I didnt know what to expect and was too enthusiastic getting in the water, that I forgot to double-check with Cristina (Zenato shark feeder/instructor) what my boundaries were, where I would get off limit. So the first time I saw a cool close-up opportunity, I started wondering darn, I forgot to ask how close I can get to Ellen. So I kinda shuffled timidly, closer and closer to Ellen, peeking at Cristina through the corner of my eyes, waiting for some kind of signal I had to back off. That signal never came, which I still consider a huge honor, knowing how well Cristina controls her environment.
EC: The predominant black in the interview reflects the autism in the documentary. It isolates the core of the message, eliminating all distractions. It is a good visualization on how autism affects your life.
MM: Frans made a very clever choice for his topside B-Roll shots, the Sony Z100. I got the Canon 1DCs as underwater cameras and for the main topside filming. The shotgun was a stereo Sanken CMS-10 and lavaliers from Sennheiser. I added a Helix gimbal in the mix so that Frans could shoot his shots on the rocking boat more steady.
EC: Checking out this list of 10 pointers at National Geographic would be a good start: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/take-action/10-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-ocean/
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