need more hands for project

The TV series SEA-Inside: Pacific Northwest has been successful because of the many generous and talented underwater videographers and photographers who contribute work to the show. It is like a magazine, and I have been acting as editor and producer to put it all the contributed content together, to get it on TV stations and the internet, manufacture copies, promote it, solicit more content, find sponsors, etc. But this spring the TV series is budding, and it's growing too big for me to manage alone.

Invitation: any of you out there looking for ways you can help our marine environment during your surface interval -- please consider contributing some time and/or content to this TV series.

Mission: introduce the general public to the Northwest underwater world, promoting stewardship by showing the beauty, the magic and the mystery of what's below the surface of our waters.

What kinds of help do I need?

Content: I'd like more underwater video stories -- stories about the critters, about their habitat, their behavior, or even about their dreams, conversations, or hallucinations. Stories about in-the-water conservation projects are especially needed. There are many, many of those stories the public needs to hear about, but ordinary TV stations aren't interested in.

Artistic and Technical Skills: I need help from people with various skills such as graphic design or visual art, writing, fund-raising, research, promotion, outreach (e.g. newsletter), music, animation, etc.

Non-Profit: I'm in the planning stages of forming a non-profit to manage this project and make it easier to qualify for grants and attract sponsors. So far I haven't had enough income to pay the bills, much less give something back to the content contributors. I'd really like to attract more funding so I can give some compensation to the people contributing videos, photos, music, etc. If you'd like to be involved in the non-profit organization, please let me know too.

Connections: If helping this project doesn't seem like a good match for you, do you know anyone who might welcome this opportunity? Over the last 2.5 years, the reach of this TV series has grown to about 3 million homes (not to mention internet streaming) and has quite a few fans, so I think it's doing a lot of good and has the potential for doing lots more.

Comments: Got some ideas that you think could benefit this project? I'm all ears.

John,

Headed for a trip to Alaska at the end of June...will see what I can come up with for you. Just spent 3 weeks at Lembeh, very jetlagged but came home with some wonderful footage. Love those mimic octopi

steve B)

Great! Thanks, Steve. See what you can find out about marine environmental issues while you're up there, eh?

I've been including some interviews about such topics in recent episodes, so if you want to do some short interviews*, I'll include them too.

*Interviews with people who know what they're talking about and know how to express themselves logically, not just people spouting steam.

Great! Thanks, Steve. See what you can find out about marine environmental issues while you're up there, eh?

I've been including some interviews about such topics in recent episodes, so if you want to do some short interviews*, I'll include them too.

 

*Interviews with people who know what they're talking about and know how to express themselves logically, not just people spouting steam.

I am always willing to donate footage, but I dont think I really have anything useful to say in an interview

here's a link to some footage from April 2008 off of Mcurdy point of boot worms and cloud sponges ...

http://www.vimeo.com/916881

Nice footage! What great visibility! You had lots of swim-by establishing shots of the various types of growth. Just out of curiosity, why didn't you stop at one of those sponges or boots, spent some time there getting close-ups of the neighborhood, the critters all living together in the little cluster -- found a way to stabilize the camera and watch what unfolded? It looked like you had plenty of gas for some of that. That would have given you some close-up footage to intercut with your long shots. Or maybe you have some footage like that on the cutting room floor? Or maybe you have some complementary (or contrasting) footage from another dive. Was that a kelp greenling I saw on the bottom? Maybe some other footage of a greenling would go well with that shot. Is there something going on between them and the sponges?

What do you see as the story? Is there a story that would interest the average non-diving joe? It's neat footage, I'd be happy to work with you to make a story out of it, if you're game.