How To Become an Underwater Filmmaker With Steve Benjamin
Through his passion for the water, marine life and photography, Steve has worked with a wide range of clients including the BBC and National Geographic, and his work has taken him to the Seychelles, Mexico, Peru and the Galapagos.
Renowned for his visually stunning and emotionally impactful films that showcase the beauty and complexity of the ocean, we caught up with him to find out his advice for aspiring underwater filmmakers. From a typical day on set to how he came to specialise in underwater filmmaking, Steve shared everything you need to know to become a successful underwater filmmaker.
What exactly does an underwater director of photography do?
In my case I work on natural history films, which tend to be small productions despite their big impact. The underwater cameraman or director is responsible for the look and feel of the captured footage, and delivering the correct interpretation of what the director wants. So, a director might come to me and say they want to get intimate, character-building shots of a particular fish or marine creature, and I have to get in the water and ensure I have the right lenses and equipment to get what most people can’t see. Most directors of production companies aren’t divers, which means they trust me to create beautiful imagery by using backlighting and symmetry and framing. I try to work in an unobtrusive manner, because most of the time these creatures don’t want to perform in front of the camera; trying to be unobtrusive with big camera gear can mean a lot of hard work, so (in short) it involves using your underwater skills to bring to life a production vision.
Can you walk us through a typical day on set?
There really is no such thing as a typical day on set. Often these things involve fetching the boat and getting equipment ready, but every shoot is different. For example, on a Netflix documentary I worked on about the breathing behaviour of chukka squid, I used rebreathers – which is when you recycle air and can stay underwater for long periods of time.
Often, I go out to sea to find the right location, to double check that it’s beautiful and that the aesthetics are good, and the reef is the right colour. Typically, we dive for between 1 and 3 hours, come up, have a break and then go down again. This can vary drastically depending on what we’re after. Generally though, we’re in the ocean, launching boats, going out to sea, finding locations, coming back and looking after the equipment, going home and then doing it again the following day.
Who are your filmmaking influencers?
Character-led stories that feature individual animals are a big influence to me. I like stories where you follow one individual and you’re able to see the world through their eyes; I’m much more drawn to stories that involve personalised characters, in the natural history world where you’re able to follow a single creature.
There’s one series I love called Tiny World and then there’s another series called The Hunt, which focused on the hunting sequences and behaviours of animals — I find both of these incredibly inspiring.
When it comes to still photography, Tom Peschak is incredible — his conservation photography is off the charts. The angles and the messages he creates in a single image transcends both boundaries and languages, and I’m also a big fan of Justin Gillighan’s work.
What are the toughest aspects of making a film today?
Often, it’s the logistics. The right timing, proper permits, and getting a production company to believe in a project can be hard to navigate. As can funding – people need to have money to do these underwater shoots, and it’s a long process that can also be expensive.
On the practical side of things, visibility, ocean conditions, and wind are all extremely difficult to plan around – all you can do is your best to try and work around them when possible, or at least have the ability to go on standby and wait for the conditions to line up.
“I try to work in an unobtrusive manner, because most of the time these creatures don’t want to perform in front of the camera.”
Can you talk about the themes and messages you want audiences to take away from Shaped by Water?
I really just want people to fall in love with the ocean, to appreciate it more and to try to alter their behaviour around it. Everything ends up in the ocean, and it’s such a dumping ground for humanity. My hope is that people see the ocean as a living entity that needs to be protected.
Shaped by Water is a beautiful piece of poetry that pays homage to the water cycle, and if that helps people connect with it in a way that they otherwise may not, then I’ll consider my job done.
What was your favourite part about making this film?
Without doubt, the people. I loved working with Dean Leslie, Sacha Specker and Craig Kolesky, all of whom were incredibly creative and great to work with. Zandile “Zandi” Ndhlovu was very up for the challenge and on the few days that we worked together I really enjoyed the camaraderie, the ability to be flexible, and the willingness to be in the water. It was amazing being able to translate that excitement to the camera.
Did you always want to work as a filmmaker?
To be honest, I never really feel like I’m working when I’m at sea and I want to be able to do it for the rest of my life. The bit that feels like work, for me, is the logistics, the meetings, and sorting out the equipment, but I hope I’ll do this forever. I love the challenge of trying to find new stories, trying to keep fresh material on screens with new ideas and doing my best to go out and capture them.
"To be honest, I never really feel like I’m working when I’m at sea and I want to be able to do it for the rest of my life."
Did you always want to work as a filmmaker?
To be honest, I never really feel like I’m working when I’m at sea and I want to be able to do it for the rest of my life. The bit that feels like work, for me, is the logistics, the meetings, and sorting out the equipment, but I hope I’ll do this forever. I love the challenge of trying to find new stories, trying to keep fresh material on screens with new ideas and doing my best to go out and capture them.
HOW DID YOU COME TO SPECIALISE IN UNDERWATER FILMMAKING?
I’ve always been an underwater person. I spend a year working in Aliwal Shoal focusing on tiger sharks and freediving with them in a tourism role and I just grabbed cameras whenever I could. There were a lot of production companies coming to film the sharks and I always had a camera, and kept on getting great footage. Slowly but surely people realised I was able to capture better footage than they were, and it went from there.
“Character-led stories that feature individual animals are a big influence to me.”
CAN YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY ANIMAL OCEAN?
Animal Ocean focuses on seal snorkelling. It’s a tourist activity in Cape Town and we run trips to take people snorkelling with seals and to experience the ocean on the Atlantic side of Cape Town. We have a whole dive centre focusing on that. Because we spend so much time on the water, we get to see so many incredible things, and so I try to capture as much of that as possible and then either sell stock footage afterwards, or show proof of concept for an idea I might have.
We’re good at giving anyone access to the sea to complete or develop their project. Working with story development, logistics, underwater camera work, and action, that’s where my happy place is.
Hero image credit: ©Craig Kolesky
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Jamie Haines, sailor “I grew up on the ocean, and in order to protect it, we need to solve the climate crisis. It all goes hand in hand.”
Ian Walsh, big wave surfer “As athletes, ocean health and sustainability are at the heart of what we do – without the ocean, we wouldn’t be here.”
Steve Benjamin, filmmaker “I really want people to fall in love with the ocean, to appreciate it more, and to try to alter their behavior around it. Everything ends up in the ocean, and it’s such a dumping ground for humanity. My hope is that people see the ocean as a living entity that needs to be protected.”
Amory Ross, storyteller “How can I describe the ocean? The ocean is impossible to describe because it is endless; it is full of life, wonder, and mystery.”
