Gwylvos; Forests Beneath the Waves

Matt has used underwater shots in previous drama and documentary projects but this is the first film he has made where the whole story takes place beneath the surface. In the past Matt has spent many hours photographing the ocean while scuba diving but for this recent piece he has dispensed with the cumbersome air cylinders in favour of free diving.
“The sort of film I planned to make would have been almost impossible to shoot scuba diving. Free diving gives you so much more flexibility in the water, and allowed me to be spontaneous in terms of times and locations”. Said Matt
The first challenge was to build a camera rig that would be stable and also flexible enough to work in confined spaces and rough seas. The majority of the film was shot on the North coast of Cornwall, where even in the middle of summer, the ocean is rarely completely calm and access to suitable locations often involves long hikes on foot.
“The North Coast is an extremely challenging environment to dive and film in! So many factors have to come together in order to get suitable conditions, but when they do you enter a fascinating world of giant granite rock formations and swirling Kelp patrolled by shoals of Sea Bass.” Said Matt.