Natural History DP Mark Shelley Uses Fujinon Zooms to Capture the Dramatic Rescue of “Otter 501”

Dec. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- Wayne, N.J. – The breathtaking Monterey Bay Coastline is the setting for a natural history film documenting the rescue of “Otter 501” – a sea otter pup found clinging to life on the beach after being separated from her mother.

Cameras follow Otter 501 as she’s taken to the Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) facility at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where a specially trained team will introduce a surrogate sea otter mother to raise the pup until she’s ready to be released back into the wild. She was called Otter 501 because she was the 501st sea otter admitted to SORAC. Through Otter 501’s ordeal and survival, viewers gain a better understanding of the threats sea otters face in the wild, including, great white sharks, and a host of diseases and toxins coming from human actions.

One mission of this feature film is to raise awareness of the plight of the Southern sea otter, a threatened species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Because of these protections, the “Otter 501” boats could not get very close to the marine mammals, making the long zoom lenses a crucial production asset.

Natural history Director of Photography (DP) Mark Shelley and his production crew used FUJINON 2/3” format Premier Series zoom lenses to capture rare footage of sea otters in their natural habitat off the California coast. They were also used to document Otter 501’s experience at SORAC and her triumphant return to the sea.

“Our FUJINON lenses did a phenomenal job in extreme conditions,” said Shelley, who is president of his own production company, Sea Studios. “When you’re capturing wildlife footage, you don’t have the luxury of setting up the perfect shot. To capture this footage, we were continually framing, zooming, and focusing the shots, trying to predict how and where the sea otters would swim. Our FUJINON zooms captured extremely sharp, crisp images, with no aberrations or flaws – despite the salt water, sea spray, and other challenges.”

The story of Otter 501 is seen through the eyes of a young woman named Katie who embarks on an adventure after college that takes her to Monterey where she discovers the sea otter pup stranded on the beach. In a departure from conventional wildlife documentaries, Katie conveys the story by speaking into the webcam on her laptop as she blogs about her experience.

Picture quality was of critical concern to the production team, which included DP Mark Shelley, Producer Josh Rosen, Director Bob Talbot, Cameraman Ernie Kovacs, and Editor Shirley Gutierrez, because the film will be projected on large theatrical screens. However, the storyline required that the super sharp digital HD footage be interspersed with Katie’s prosumer and webcam footage—an effect that DP Shelley said worked extremely well.

According to “Otter 501” Project Manager Arlene Burns, “A variety of video vignettes and short films were also produced as part of an extensive social media campaign that will help promote the movie. Among the videos that we hope will go viral are: a short piece showing how Katie learned to roll a kayak in the surf, and a behind the scenes look at the making of ‘Otter 501.’”

FUJINON lenses were used on Panasonic Varicam and Sony CineAlta cameras. The Varicam and F900 employed a FUJINON HA13x4.5 super-wide lens for underwater and top-side production. An extended-range, yet portable HA25x16.5 ENG-Style zoom was used for top-side production. A Sony F950 with a HA42x9.7 FUJINON ENG-Style zoom lens was used in a Cineflex gyro-stabilized housing that was extended from the side of a boat using a jib-arm.

Shelley added, “The customer support we received from Fujinon’s Western Manager Chuck Lee was invaluable. He is a true supporter of natural history production.”

Production, which began in January 2011, involved 16-hour days, six days a week over many months in all types of weather and lighting conditions.

“Otter 501” was funded by the National Science Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and investor Clint Jones. It is slated for release in first quarter 2012 to cinemas and aquariums nationwide.

About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM North America Corporation, a marketing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation consists of five operating divisions and one subsidiary company. The Imaging Division sells consumer and commercial photographic products and services including film, one-time-use cameras, online photo services and fulfillment, digital printing equipment and service. The Electronic Imaging Division markets consumer digital cameras. The Motion Picture Division provides motion picture film, and the Graphic Systems Division supplies products and services to the printing industry. The Optical Devices Division provides binoculars, and optical lenses for closed circuit television, videography, cinematography, broadcast and industrial markets. FUJIFILM Canada Inc. markets a range of Fujifilm products and services. For more information, please visit www.fujifilm.com/northamerica, or go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, digital printing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials, and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 16 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2010, and in the year ended March 31, 2011, had global revenues of $25.8 billion*. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.

* At an exchange rate of 86 yen to the dollar.

About Sea Studios Foundation
Sea Studios Foundation is a non-profit team of award-winning filmmakers, respected scientists and communication experts who work together to raise public involvement in solving the major threats to our planet’s health. We are dedicated to raising awareness of all the ways human life is entwined with the natural environment, and exposing the complex web of connections of Earth’s life support systems. We believe that lasting solutions demand an informed, engaged public as well as government and business leadership. In all our work we rely on cutting-edge social science research, extensive scientific and public opinion research, and we rigorously evaluate everything we do.
The Foundation received international acclaim for two recent projects produced for PBS in collaboration with the National Geographic Society: The Shape of Life, a primer for understanding the evolution of the animal kingdom and animal biodiversity, and Strange Days on Planet Earth, One and Two, hosted by Academy-award nominee Edward Norton. Both projects were praised for the quality of their science-based content, style, storytelling and pioneering techniques in underwater and deep-sea filmmaking.

Strange Days on Planet Earth is the recipient of fourteen international awards, including Wildscreen, the environmental equivalent of the Academy Awards®. Building upon the Strange Days Two episode Dirty Secrets, Sea Studios spearheaded the Think Beyond Plastics Social Activation Campaign, which won Best 360 Campaign at the 2009 Jackson Hole Film Festival. The Sea Studios film Once Upon a Tide won Best Children’s Film at Jackson Hole.

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