The Perfect Storm

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

NEW MEDIA IV: DIGITAL FILMMAKER SPECIAL ISSUE
JUNE 23, 2000

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Drenching the cameras with 3,000 gallons of water at a time was all in a day’s work during filming of “The Perfect Storm.” How to protect the equipment and still get the shots became an overriding issue for Oscar-winning cinematographer John Seale (“The English Patient”). Encasing the equipment in typical hard underwater housing was out of the question because the combined weight of the casings and the camera would have been beyond the capacity of the two Super Techno cranes. The cranes were being used for their ability to hydraulically snorkel out a distance of 30 to 40 feet. Seale turned to underwater cameraman Pete Romano, owner of HydroFlex, who started designing his own aquatic equipment after becoming dissatisfied with what existed on the market. Romano ultimately custom designed soft waterproof bags specifically for the project.

 

“Each bag was fitted with two air blasters to keep rain and water off the optical lens,” says Seale, whose recent credits include “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” “The bags were purged with dry air that went through a compressor and a couple of filters to remove the moisture. The air pressure in the bag was slightly greater than the ambient pressure, which helped keep out water in the event of any leaks. We didn’t lose a single camera and, for a film like this, that’s incredible.”