Underwater production

We’re storytellers who work below the surface, and for over a decade we’ve made films, commercials, music videos and documentaries. We can join your crew as the underwater specialists, or make the underwater piece ourselves from the first idea to the finished cut.

We’re filmmakers who dive and dive professionals who film. Justin studied film production at Chapman University, is a member of the Society of Camera Operators, and is a PADI Dive Instructor and Public Safety Diver. Abbey is a freediver and underwater performer who coaches talent in the water.

See the work

A camera operator kneels underwater holding a HydroFlex cinema camera, the pool surface rippling above him and divers standing behind.

A camera operator in scuba gear films a diver in a brass helmet and a mermaid with long blonde hair among kelp and rock.

A camera operator on the pool floor steadies a HydroFlex cinema camera, a mermaid with yellow hair reaching across a glowing lotus pattern behind him.

Selected credits

Television Bering Sea Gold Safety diver, a season under the ice in Alaska
Commercial The Treasure Underwater DP. Produced, directed and edited.
Documentary The Diver & The Mermaid Behind the scenes underwater DP. Produced, directed and edited.
Music video · Ava Capra Drowning Underwater DP
Music video · ARO Against Mine Underwater operator
Music video · Isaac Dunbar Love, or the lack thereof Underwater operator

Also Netflix MerPeople, Discovery and Vevo. Watch the reel and the work

Four pirates in costume gather around a glowing treasure chest on a rock in a clear spring.

A woman in an explorer's hat and boots holds up a lantern, wedged between two rock walls in a cave.

A woman in a white gown and long veil floats above a sunken ship, an axe in her hand and sunlight above her.

Camera operation

Justin is a storyteller with a cinematic eye. He has directed and produced underwater work for years, studied film production at Chapman University, is a member of the Society of Camera Operators, and knows a set from both sides, the creative and the production logistics.

He is also a seriously experienced dive professional: PADI Dive Instructor, Public Safety Diver, technical and cave diver. Creative teams can trust him with their story, and with the underwater experience to get it shot safely and reliably, as underwater DP or as operator for yours.

He has experience with all the major cinema camera housings, HydroFlex, Nauticam and Gates among them.

A camera operator in scuba gear holds a cinema camera up to his face in a lap pool, lane lines on the floor behind him.

Four costumed pirates crowd around a glowing treasure chest on a mossy rock in a clear spring, light rippling above them.

Camera packages

Our camera For smaller productions: a Sony mirrorless camera in a Nauticam housing, with an HD monitor and an SDI feed to the surface. Justin operates it himself, so no camera tech is needed. An Oceanears sound system can be added for talent direction and music playback.
Your production’s camera For larger cinema cameras: the production rents the housing direct, from HydroFlex or Gates for example, and Justin specs, preps and operates the system. An underwater AC is recommended.

Safety divers in tanks and masks stand around an operator working on a ladder set in a pool, a hose looping overhead.

Dive safety

Justin is a PADI Dive Instructor and a Public Safety Diver, formerly on the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department dive team. He is certified to PADI Tec 40 and Tec 45, cave qualified through PADI, NSS CDS and IANTD, and experienced in ice and blackwater diving.

Justin has been shooting underwater for over a decade and Abbey has been performing in water nearly as long. Together they have brought talent and dive teams safely below the surface on film and photography projects all over the world.

Safety supervision Justin plans and monitors every scuba dive on the day, in the pool or on location.
Safety divers Dedicated, scuba-equipped safety divers, from our own network.
Cast and crew certification PADI scuba courses, taught by Justin before the shoot.

Talent coaching

Abbey Blake coaches talent in the water and performs on camera. She is a freediver and a PADI Mermaid Instructor.

Water training for talent before the shoot day covers breath-hold, scuba-assisted work and performance prep, in our pool or wherever the production is shooting.

A performer with long yellow hair floats at the surface of a pool while crew watch and a camera operator films from the deck.

Underwater stills

Justin shoots underwater production stills and behind the scenes coverage for film and television productions. With a film production background and years operating underwater cameras, he knows how a set runs from the inside. See the production stills

An operator in a blue wetsuit films a mermaid with purple hair swimming above a glowing ring on the pool floor, bubbles rising and kelp across the foreground.

Creative problem solving

We’re underwater creative problem solvers. Bring us in to fill a specific role on the day, to consult early on how to get the shots underwater (the pool or open water, breath-hold or scuba), or to produce a concept from the first idea to the finished edit.

Two scuba divers carry a brass-banded treasure chest across a rocky, kelp-covered bottom, a column of bubbles rising behind them.

Our network

We’re resourceful, and years in the dive and film industries have given us a good network of underwater pros to call on.

Performers Underwater models, mermaids and freedivers.
Safety divers Safety divers and commercial divers, scuba equipped.
Lifeguards Certified lifeguards for the pool or the shore.
Coordinators Marine and stunt coordinators, brought in as the job needs.
Marine support Myers Marine Division, with vessels and ADCI-certified dive teams.

Studio and open water

The studio

Our studio pool in Fullerton is 15 by 30 feet, sloping to 8.5 feet and heated to about 90°F, with a changing room, a video village and underwater sound. It’s sized for small crews and independent productions, and it works well for sets: we can build one for you, or help your team design and plan its own. See the studio

The studio pool seen from above, a diver in purple gear working inside a dressed holiday set with a lit tree.

A camera cart loaded with a housed camera and dome port beside the studio pool, a softbox and a ladder bridge set up across the water.

A camera operator in a blue rash guard stands among hanging flower garlands and a wooden swing in the studio pool, a housed camera in his hands.

Open water

Open water goes wherever the production does. We’ve worked under the ice in Alaska, in the cenotes of the Yucatan, in the kelp off California, and on reefs from Roatán and Bonaire to the Maldives and Raja Ampat.

A diver with a camera and a light climbs a pole in dark green water, a bright light above him.

From behind an operator in scuba gear, a diver in a brass helmet and a mermaid in a green tail stand among kelp and rock.

A diver rides an underwater scooter with a woman in a white gown holding on behind him, two divers with a light following among the pier pilings.

Marine support

In Southern California we can also bring in Myers Marine Division for specific needs: vessels for camera platforms, base camp and crew transport, ADCI-certified dive teams, and the Marlin, a 43 ft dive support vessel out of San Pedro. See the commercial diving work.

The Marlin, a white 43-foot dive support vessel, tied up at a Los Angeles dock at dawn beside a floating camera platform, a film crew and a crane on its deck and camera carts on the pier.

Tell us about your production

Tell us what you’re making, where and when, and what needs to happen underwater, and we’ll start the conversation from there. Ask for our rate sheet any time.

Get in touch