Southern Utah Part 4: Journey's End

Alright, I don't really have any photos for this blog entry. Sorry about that. I've been trying to get the photos (HINT, HINT), but it's been harder than I thought. I'm not sure what it is about folks and their photos, but they're much better at taking them than giving them. So, you the readers of this blog, don't get to see any of the stills from the wheelchair racing shoot. Sorry. If you would like to see photos from this shoot, feel free to leave a strongly worded comment. That way, collectively, we can guilt the keeper of photos into sharing them with us. Sound good? Excellent. "VIVA LA PHOTOS!"

On April 30th, Jeff, Melissa and I enlisted the help of my mother and drove over to the local Shell gas station to meet up with Vance, our wheelchair racer. Jeff's dad had gone back to L.A. so we were in dire need of transportation. My mom was gracious enough to be our driver for this shoot. Which means that she now has a credit in the film. I had a general idea of where I wanted to shoot the sequence, but we never officially scouted the location. I hate going into production without a location, but today we got lucky. We found a great stretch of road leading up the LaSal Mountains. Once Jeff and I settled on the location, we pulled off the road and unloaded the gear. Vance loaded into his wheelchair racer while Jeff and I discussed our plan of attack.

I always storyboard before a shoot. It helps me visualize what I want, so that I can better communicate with the videographer. Today, I went into battle without storyboards. It made me a little nervous. Luckily, the shoot didn't call for any overly technical shots. We basically needed to film a racer pushing down a stretch of road, from several different angles. Not too difficult. Jeff and I discussed a few ideas and then gave Vance some basic instructions. "Roll up the road, out of view of the camera. Turn around and push back as fast as you can." Vance was great. He had the classic "intense" look on his face the entire time.

I was also extremely happy with the location and lighting. Because we started around 9:00 in the AM, we managed to capture some amazing, early morning back lighting. From one angle, the LaSal Mountains loomed in the background. From the opposite angle, the red sandstone rims filled our shots. I was most impressed with was a static, locked down shot of Vance rolling over 3/4 of a mile towards the camera. The red rock encompassing the entire background. It was amazing.

After shooting several pass bye's, Jeff came up with an interesting shot. We placed Vance on the side of the road and filmed him from every angle. An entire circle of camera setups. 360 degrees of coverage, carefully measured so that the lens remained the same distance at all times. The hope is to speed the film up so that it looks like the camera is spinning around at lightening speed. We'll see if it works once it's edited together.

This shoot took no time to complete. In fact, we managed to end early. I enjoyed working without storyboards for a change. It allowed me to work a bit more "on-the-fly" with Jeff. That's not to say that I don't like storyboards. I do. They've been extremely critical during this entire production. It's just nice to try something different for a change.

Up Next...Murderball. With Photos!!!

Indy Film

Alright. I realize I'm a geek. But I had to say something quickly about the new Indiana Jones flick that opens tomorrow. This is the fourth film in one of the greatest cinema cereals of all time. And although the reviews have been polarizing, I'm still excited as hell to see the thing.

The original Indy film, Raiders, is why I got into video/film in the first place. It was 1981... opening night at the Villa Theater. I was 5 years old, standing in a line that wrapped around the building. Completely unaware that in just a couple of hours, I'd be watching a guys face melt down to the bone. Awesome! Not to mention one of the coolest rolling things (aside from wheelchairs) I would ever see. I'm talking about the boulder at the beginning.

So, will the fourth installment be as amazing as the first? Probably not. Raiders of the Lost Ark is THE film. But I still think Indy IV will be better than anything else released this year. Except of course our adaptive sports video. I mean, that goes without saying.

Southern Utah Part 3: Apocalypse Now?

With every great shoot, throughout history, there are always the occasional moments of frustration. Brando was said to have been a complete pain in the rear, demanding exorbitant sums of money up front, and then refusing to show up for the shoot. For many productions, if the shoot goes over, tempers flare. If the shoots end too soon for cost reasons, the director throws a tantrum. No shoot ever goes off without a hitch. It's the nature of the business. What matters most is that everything works out in the end.

So far, we've lucked out. That is to say that we really haven't had too many issues during the course of shooting this project. We, the production team, all come from different backgrounds. Jeff is a doctor, Melissa is a doctoral student in rec. therapy and I am not a doctor. But every once in a while, I play one on TV. The three of us have all come together with the same goal in mind: to create an amazing short film that will show individuals with SCI what's available in the arena of sports and recreation. This is a lofty goal, but very do-able. And we're doing it! No longer is this project mere talk or speculation. We've all committed an enormous amount of personal time to bring this baby to fruition. So, it's only natural that at some point, all of us were bound to reach a moment of frustration. Today, that frustration reared its ugly head and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we were running on a tight shooting schedule, with very little time for R and R, and a lot of distractions.

Jeff, Al and I had already found the ideal location for the One-Off cycling sequence. So that was taken care of. Chris Waddell, our talent, had driven down the night before and stayed in a motel. Chris is a great guy and I was excited that he was helping us out. Jeff and I had briefly gone over the game plan, so the day of the shoot, we had an idea of what we wanted to film. I had already been a little frustrated with the late starts on each shoot and that's because I've always been a firm believer in starting on time. But I also realize that things happen, which can always delay the start of any day's shoot. On the 29th, we had another late start and I was concerned about having Chris wait around for our crew to arrive. Chris was very cool about things and followed us up to the location, which was a 35 minute drive. It took another hour to get our talent and crew out to the actual shooting spot. It was a beautiful morning and despite some strong gusts of wind, Jeff managed to get some amazing jib arm shots of Chris pedaling over patches of slick rock. After the jib shots, Jeff and Chris took off to shoot some free form coverage shots, which ended up looking great. But since I couldn't see what Jeff was capturing, I began to worry that we were straying too far from the storyboards and shooting schedule. Morning was also becoming afternoon rather quickly.

Next, we loaded up the gear and drove down the canyon to capture shots of Chris speeding down the dirt roads. This guy can cook. I don't mean food, because that would be silly in this circumstance. I mean, this guy can move down some gnarly switchbacks. But Chris is a world class athlete and flying down hills is in his blood.

I'd envisioned several shots, which we were in the process of acquiring. And then Jeff received a call from his wife and the shoot had to wrap. I won't go into specifics, suffice it to say, Jeff's call to wrap early was appropriate and totally justified. I just felt bad that we had to scrap so many of the shots, but I also understood the circumstances.

We returned to base camp (a.k.a. my parent's place) and everything ended up being okay, which was a relief. Crisis averted.

But I still couldn't let go of the fact that we'd lost some potentially killer shots. That's the perfectionist in me. I tend to obsess about certain shots whenever I'm in "production mode". Jeff sensed my frustration because it was making him frustrated as well. Melissa too. I think it even affected one of my parent's dogs. Maybe even one of the hens. In any case, Jeff and I touched base and everything got resolved.

So, what have we learned in this blog entry? Well, for starters, Stan can sometimes be OCD about production. That's in his blood. We also learned that not every shoot can be 100% perfect... but 97% ain't too bad. And finally, good communication is the key to happiness and understanding. Once Jeff showed me the footage, I felt a little better about the day's shoot. Jeff is a great videographer and I trust him implicitly, despite my perfectionist nature.

Apocalypse? Not really. Just a small bump in the road. Which is great considering we've come so far with no issues to speak of. This shoot put us over the halfway point of our production, with 17 activities "in the can". And the next shoot ended up being one of the best of the trip. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait for the next entry to hear that story. As well as the story of how my mother became a part of our production, officially.

Stay tuned for the exciting Southern Utah finale in Part 4!

Southern Utah Part 2: Location, Location, Location!

Okay. Welcome to Part 2 of our Southern Utah shoot. When last we saw our fearless production team (Jeff, Melissa and I) we had just finished shooting in the treacherous sand dunes of Coral Pink State Park. Our original plan was to drive to Monument Valley, do some location scouting and park the tour bus. After getting a late start, we ended up rolling into Monument Valley well after dark. The second leg of our road trip included a stop by Page Arizona to pick up U-Haul Trailer, and last-minute coordination with our Monument Valley film contact and talent.

The U-Haul Trailer, not pictured below, turned out to be slightly different than Jeff (Producer/DP) and I had originally envisioned. The trailer, which was built for vehicle transport, had a gaping hole running straight down the middle. We'd hoped for a trailer with a flat bed so that we could pull a handcycle and simulate cycling. After discussing the issue at hand, Jeff raced off to the local Page lumber store to purchase plywood. The hardware store employee wasn't too sure about our little trailer improvement. Nevertheless, they begrudgingly cut the wood and filled the space. Making Jeff and I very, very happy. Having solved the trailer problem, we headed off towards MV, and day 3 of our production.



DAY THREE:

The Monument Valley area is the destination spot for many film productions. Jeff really wanted to shoot there and I'm glad we did. But it wasn't without a few hiccups. For starters, we had to get permits to shoot in specific areas. We also had to get permission from the Navajo Film Commission, since we were filming on Navajo land. The last thing we had to coordinate was our police escort. Because we were going to film on the highway, we had to hire a police officer to help control traffic.

After breakfast, we met with our film contact Orville Sisco, a local who was amazingly helpful. Sisco took Melissa, Al (Jeff's dad) and I location scouting. Our first stop was the overlook to Monument Valley. Unfortunately, the road through the actual park wasn't paved, so we couldn't shoot there. Road handcycles don't handle well on dirt roads. That was too bad, because the scenery was amazing.

I asked if Sisco could take us up the highway in search of other possible locations. He gladly obliged and we drove, he shed some light on the some potential issues associated with filming in the area. First and foremost, the locals. Sisco warned us not to pull into any driveways or shoot on any side dirt roads. These areas belonged to the local people and they are, as we later found out, known for approaching all film crews and asking for money. I guess it's the hazard all productions face when filming in Monument Valley.

As we drove around, we pulled off to a safe area and caught a glimpse of the "Forrest Gump" shot.


Yep... that's the one.

After finding some great stretches of highway, we returned to our RV Park to pick up Jeff and the equipment. We met up with our talent at a local grocery store. We also met Sgt. Greyeyes, our local officer in charge of traffic control. After getting the equipment ready, we headed off towards the highway in search of our first location. Everyone pulled off to the side of the road to coordinate our first shots. I talked to Jeff about the location and it soon became clear that he wasn't too excited about shooting on the highway. There was a lot of traffic and he felt that it wouldn't be the safest place to shoot. Perhaps a second officer might have helped, but we only had one on the payroll.

Yes, I admit, I was a little upset about having to scrap our location. I joked with Jeff that the shot comes first, safety second. But Jeff eventually won me over and helped me see that the busy highway was no place gimps and cameras. So, I rolled over to Sgt. Greyeyes and asked him if there were any other paved side roads that we could use as an alternative locale. He suggested a spot that we had passed on our way to the "Forrest Gump" pull off. This new spot ended up saving our butts big time. It also proved to be an exceptionally beautiful shooting location.


Our handcyclists for this shoot were Amber and Emma. Both brought their significant others, who cycled with them for a few shots. Shooting the tracking shots was the most difficult portion of the shoot. Jeff sat in the back of the Tahoe and shot the cyclists as they peddled down the road. It was tricky keeping the exact same pace as the cyclists, but Al did a great job. After shooting the tracking shots, Jeff shot some coverage with the steadicam. As the sun went down, we moved to locked down shots. Before sunset, we managed to get some amazing evening light footage. Including a killer sunset silhouette shot of each handcyclist. The shoot ended up going really well.



DAY FOUR:

We started early on day four. Same location. Except this morning, we broke out the U-Haul trailer. We placed a handcycle on on the trailer and hooked up the front wheel to an indoor trainer. Our first cyclist transferred onto the bike and began to pedal as we drove slowly down the road. I sat at the front of the trailer and Jeff shot from the side. He kept the camera low so that we could simulate cycling. Now, why would we go through this process? Why not track with the cyclist and ditch the trailer? Well, there was no way to get the close ups we wanted without loading a cycle on a moving platform that we could film from. It was the best way of getting our lens in for the tighter shots. And it worked great. We shot Emma first, then Amber. Amber helped us with an experimental time lapse shot that I think will look great.

Everything was going swimmingly, and then we had a visitor. An irate local who demanded to speak with the "person in charge". Jeff and Al went over to see what she wanted. The woman was upset that we had filmed without her permission. She also mentioned that a fight had broken out the night before and our production was the chief instigator. "People got hurt because of you!" This was of course total nonsense, but then again, the whole interaction made no sense. We took special precautions not to film on anything except the paved road. Sgt. Greyeyes was with us the entire time, lights flashing. The woman wanted money and we told her that we didn't have any. This was the answer that Sisco had suggested we offer to any locals looking for a free handout. Perhaps if we were Paramount Pictures, we could have offered her something. But this is a very small production and we used up our travel budget on lodging and permits. The woman eventually sped off. Right past Sgt. Greyeyes. That was the only issue we encountered on our second day of shooting handcycling.

We wrapped production around 11:00 AM and then headed back to base camp. Our talent were great to work with and I think we captured some amazing "John Ford-like" footage. I also want to thank Sisco and Sgt. Greyeyes for their help. Looking back, I wish that the process had been easier, but I guess that's the price you pay for filming in such a popular location.

Up next...Part 3!

Southern Utah Part 1: The Spice of Life

April 24th, 2008: The production team drove south to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and arrived around 8:00 AM after a quick rest stop at a rest stop. All of us were running on approximately two hours of sleep after an all night drive. After Jade and Todd arrived, we set up camp near the rangers station. Michael Franklin, our contact, said it was alright to camp in a non-camp area. It was extremely generous and very convenient, given the proximity to the park entrance.


For this trip, our transportation and lodging came in the form of a 54-foot RV. This gigantic HQ on wheels was convenient for keeping all of our production equipment in a central location. Jeff could easily offload our video cards, recharge batteries and keep the equipment out of the elements. The RV also offered a nice pad to kick back and relax after a long day of shooting. Since Jeff's family came along for the trip, our ride was perfect for dining, sleeping and changing diapers. The Willie Nelson Mobile was a beast to get into. For me especially. Luckily Jeff's son helped me up and down the stairway from Hell. The bathroom was also very difficult to manage. Do-able, but very tricky.

Our original plan was to begin shooting at 9:30. But because everyone was exhausted, we decided to push the shoot back to 1:00. This gave Jeff and I time to get a grand tour of the dunes. Mike took Jeff and his son out first. Then I headed out for the ride of a lifetime. We drove in a Rhino, which is like a two-person cart. Mike tore off over the dunes and I could feel the vehicle slip sideways on the steep hills. It was better than a roller coaster ride.

After finding a couple of spots it was time to get on it. Jeff suited up in his steadicam rig and hopped in the back of the Rhino. I hopped (figuratively speaking) into the passenger's seat. We headed out to a beautiful spot with our first participant. Jade and her family followed us out to the dunes and we paused to go over the game plan. Tracking shots first, then locked down shots. We had Jade make several passes down a long strip of gentle dunes. This allowed us to film from the front, side and rear.



After filming some tracking shots, Jeff hopped off the rig and hobbled over to film Jade from her vehicle. Jeff had been thrown around quite a bit while filming from the back of the Rhino. He was in a considerable amount of pain. Still, he continued to shoot. No pain, no film.


Jade was incredibly patient, given the demanding work of the shoot and the waiting around that often comes with elaborate productions.


Next up, we shot Todd. Todd was also very patient. Todd uses ATVs when hunting, but he'd never driven the shifting sands of the Coral Pink State Park. His family was along for the ride as well.


We shot in a large bowl and Todd circled the perimeter. All was going swimingly until Todd's thumb slipped and his vehicle stalled and rolled. He came off the vehicle and landed in the sand. The rest of us raced towards him in a panic. Todd quickly waved his hands to signal that everything was okay. He wanted to see if Jeff had captured the moment on film. Jeff hadn't.


Jeff stuck to locked down shots for all of Todd's footage. We considered some jib shots, but didn't want to get sand in the equipment. We were already experiencing issues with sand finding its way into our camera gear. Damn sand.

Safety is a major concern for any film or video production. Anytime you film individuals engaging in a sport or recreational activity, there is always the possibility that something could go wrong. I always joke that the shot comes first, and safety comes second. But of course I don't believe that. And I certainly don't want anything to happen to any of our participants. Todd was okay, but it gave us all quite the scare.


The ATV shoot went really well despite the sand, pain and near misses. Both Jade and Todd are amazing riders. Jade has a thoracic injury and Todd a cervical. The state park rangers were also very helpful. We wrapped at 7:00 PM and everyone was able to get home early. We retired to the RV for burritos and rest.

Now, here's the thing: I realize a lot of people are against ATV's for environmental reasons. I certainly believe in protecting the environment. But we have to realize that not everyone has the opportunity and ability to access difficult areas in nature such as sand dunes and mountain trails. ATVs give many people, who cannot hike, the option and freedom to see some of the most beautiful places in Utah. Just something to consider.


Up next...Part 2!

Goin' Mobile

On April 8th, Jeff and I shot snowmobiling, a segment we thought would be somewhat interesting, until we actually hopped on the snowmobiles. The shoot turned out to be one of the best to date.

This was my first time on a snowmobile. With no prior experience and only a quick spin in the parking lot before setting sail, I was a little nervous about keeping the ride smooth enough for my DP/Producer. He had to sit behind me and shoot from the vehicle. Aside from avoiding bodily harm to both Jeff and I, it was important that we keep all tracking shots as smooth as possible. After a short while, I soon got the hang of riding.


Bud Larson and his wife Alyssa, were gracious enough to be the talent for our sequence. They also provided the snowmobiles and land. The Larsons own and operate Thousand Peaks Snowmobile Adventures, a great touring company just 55 minutes from Salt Lake City. Located in the beautiful high country near Smith and Morehouse. This 60,000 acres of terrain proved a perfect location for our production. It had just snowed a few days before, so the only tracks to be found, were the ones we made.





Our first shots were in a large flat area near the river. It was overcast, which made filming the snow a bit difficult. Snow is always hard to shoot because it's either too bright or to flat (no depth). As we began to shoot, we had no problems getting great shots. However, because the snow was so white, is was hard to tell that the camera was even moving with the snowmobile. Only the background gave away any camera movement. It almost looked like the snowmobiles were sitting still on the snow. That said, we were able to get a variety of shots that won't trick the eye.




Next, Bud and Alyssa took Jeff and I up to the "Super Bowl", located at 11,000 feet. "The Bowl" is particularly profound because it's the location where Bud was paralyzed. The fact that Bud chose to return to this location for our project not only surprised me, but also made a huge impression on me. It's difficult for many people, who have had spinal cord injuries, to return to the sites of their accidents. It certainly takes courage. I'm thankful to Bud for going where he did, and letting us film him there. "The Bowl" is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Completely untouched. Powder as far as the eye can see.




Jeff and Bud shot in the bowl while I watched from afar. Afterwards, we followed Bud and Alyssa back down the canyon. Jeff and I tore through the powder. I was apprehensive, but Jeff egged me on, so I had to do it.



This was a fantastic shoot. Jeff got some really great footage and I'm excited to start cutting it together. Bud and Alyssa were really great to work with and I think everything went extremely well.



Next up: Southern Utah

Esmeralda and Hol Chan Cut

The production team, consisting primarily of Jeff and I, arrived in Ambergris Caye (pronounced "Keye") on March 27th. Due to financial restraints, we opted not to pay for a participant to come down and dive with us. Instead, I agreed to fill the role of "talent" for the scuba diving sequence. I was reluctant to do so, but figured it would be the easiest (and cheapest) way to make the production happen. Ambergris Caye is a small island located to the east of Belize in the Caribbean Sea. There are hundreds of dive sites surrounding Ambergris and many of the other Cayes. We decided to defer to our underwater videographer's personal preferance for diving locations.





Marty O'Farrell, a local underwater videographer, was referred to us by Amigos Del Mar, a local diving company. Jeff made the initial and subsequent contact with Marty. I had seen some of Marty's work online and was extremely impressed with his videography. Originally, Jeff thought that he could film the underwater sequences using SNUBA (a scuba like apparatus in which the tanks float on the surface and a tube runs down to the diver) since his scuba certification was outdated. After several discussions, he decided that it would be best to use someone who had experience shooting underwater. Jeff contacted Marty and filled him in on the production. Marty agreed to offer his services at no cost, which was extremely generous. Marty also put us in touch with Ambergris Divers who we eventually contracted as our diving outfit.

Jeff and I met with Marty on March 29th, the day before the shoot. We had already charted a boat, driver and dive master for the morning of our shoot. All that remained was working out a few logistics with Marty. I typically storyboard every sequence prior to a shoot, but this time, I decided to let Marty do his thing. Having seen his amazing photography, I was confident in his ability to get some great shots. We chatted about a few key shots and then made arrangements to have a boat pick him up in the morning.

In the meantime, I had gone on three seperate dives to prepare for the shoot. The night before production, Jeff and I transferred footage and discussed above-water-shots. Jeff brought an underwater housing for our camera, and planned to shoot me entering and exiting the ocean. Jeff would also shoot peperation shots on the boat (putting on mask, hand fins, etc.)
We didn't get to bed until 12:30 am.

ESMERALDA




Jeff and I drove our golf cart over to Ambergris Divers at 8:30 and met our boat captain and dive master. The dive company sent a small boat to pick Marty up and bring him back to "Baby Catherine", our boat for the shoot. Around 9:30, we departed the island and headed out beyond the reef to our first dive site: Esmeralda.



Marty chose both of our sites for their visual aesthetic and animal life. For this shoot, our dive master brought along some chum for the sole purpose of attracting some nursing sharks for the sequence. The chum was placed in a long PVC pipe with holes throughout. The pipe had a rope attached which our dive master held.


When we arrived at the site, the boat anchored to a bouye and all onboard prepared to enter the water. The boat driver and dive master lifted me to the side of the boat and then helped me secure my BCD and 16 lb. weight belt. Marty was already in the water, with his underwater camera rig ready. After a quick signal back in forth, Marty rolled camera and I dove into the warm water.

I let the air out of my BCD and began to descend into the water below. Visibility was perfect and so was the weather above water. So many of our productions thus far have been cancelled due to rain or snow. This wasn't the case today. I sank towards the ocean floor and began swimming alongside the dive master. Before too long, there were six or seven nursing sharks sticking their noses into the tube of chum. The dive master and I drifted gently to the sandy ocean floor where he proceded to pet the sharks. Marty continued to film as the dive master grabbed one of the sharks and handed it to me. It was a surprise to say the least, but an incredible experience. The animal was fairly heavy and I began to sink under its weight. I decided to let go and swim ahead to a small canyon. Marty followed, filming from all angles.


As I floated into a narrow canyon, Marty and I coordinated several shots from different angles. Underwater direction and communication is a tricky thing, but we were both on the same page at all times. I felt like my buoyancy was perfect, to the point that I could move up or down with every breath in and out. The deepest I dove on this dive was 65 feet.




When my oxygen reached 700 PSI, I re-connected with the dive master and we ascended to 20 feet for a 3 minute safety stop. After that, we surfaced and returned to "Baby Catherine". It was an amazing dive.

HOL CHAN CUT


After picking up some additional equipment, we sped off to Hol Chan, a popular dive and snorkel site. Hol Chan is a shallow dive with a maximum depth of 30 feet. After a brief explanation of Hol Chan's underwater currents and layout, Jeff and Marty jumped in the water and prepared for a second shoot. Again, I sat on the edge of the boat and dove into the water. This time, it didn't take long to reach the ocean floor. As I swam away from the boat, Jeff shot from above and Marty shot from the side. As the floor gradually dropped away, we swam to a depth of about 30 feet.



There was a substantially greater amount of underwater life on this shoot. No sharks, but several Eagle Rays and a Barracuda, which caught me off guard.


As we circled around and headed back to the boat, it became increasingly difficult to cover distance due to the strong current. I swam as hard as I could, but never seemed to get anywhere. It was extremely difficult. The harder I swam the more air I consumed. Marty kept rolling, but I soon forgot all about the shoot. Totally preoccupied with how I was ever going to get back to the boat. Marty caught my attention and signaled for me to grab the dead corral and use it to propel my body through the head current. At first I was reluctant, as I didn't want to disrupt the integrity of the reef. But finally, I used the corral to crawl along the floor. It felt like rock climbing, the dead corral my hand holds.


When we approached to boat, I noticed that I was becoming increasingly buoyant. At one point I drifted to the surface. The dive master did the same and suggested that I dump the air out of my BCD. Apparently some air had made its way in, causing me to float to the surface. After emptying the BCD, I returned to the bottom and captured additional shots, both from Jeff and Marty.


The dive lasted 48 minutes and then it was time to head back aboard the ship. Marty was extremely pleased with the footage. I was also happy with the way things went.

We returned to shore and dropped Marty off. Then Jeff and I headed back to the dive center and thanked our driver and dive master.

Later that afternoon, Jeff and I drove over to Marty's office to review the footage. It was amazing! I couldn't believe how great everything turned out. Mission Accomplished!


Looking back, the entire experience was unbelievable. Ambergris Divers were wonderful and very accommodating.


And a very big thanks to Marty. Marty was amazing to work with and very giving of his time and expertise. I thank both of them for helping bring this production to life.

Everything seemed to go smoothly. I really hope Marty is happy with the finished product, once we cut the footage together with our other sports. As for the diving itself, I've never experienced a more beautiful environment. Scuba diving is an ideal activity for individuals with paralysis because it allows you to go anywhere. On land, I and others like myself who use a wheelchair, are forced to find accessible routes. Underwater, the ability to fly over a canyon or glide through a tunnel are so simple to accomplish. There is so much freedom beneath the water.