By Randi Altman

Disney’s feature film Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, is based on the theme park ride of the same name. The story follows the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through a jungle in search of the Tree of Life. As you can imagine, some scenes involve water, so the production called on the aptly named DP Ian Seabrook to shoot underwater footage for the film.

Ian Seabrook

An experienced cinematographer, Seabrook’s credits include Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadpool 2, It Chapter Two and the upcoming untitled Thai cave rescue documentary. We reached out to him to find out more about the shoot, the challenges and what inspires him in his work.

How early did you get involved on Jungle Cruise?
I was finishing up underwater work on the film It Chapter 2 for DP Checco Varese when the line producer for Jungle Cruise contacted me to see if I would be available for a sequence for his film. I then met the director, Jaume, producer Doug Merrifield, DP Flavio Labiano, special effects coordinator J.D. Schwalm and first AD David Venghaus Jr. in Atlanta to discuss the underwater sequence. The production was around a third into the schedule at that point.

What direction did Jaume Collet-Serra provide?
Jaume explained in prep what the sequence entailed and how he saw it playing out in rough form. On the shooting days, he was more concrete on how he wanted the cast to play within the frame. There were some storyboards as a reference, but much of the composition was left to me.

How did you work with the film’s DP, Flavio Martínez Labiano?
Flavio and I discussed the lighting for the sequences I was involved with, and I kept an open communication with him during the production regarding any changes I was making by visiting him in his DIT trailer on the main unit set. By maintaining an open communication, I find it yields the best results.

What sort of planning do you have to do for underwater sequences?
The first is figuring out what the sequence entails: How many cast members will be involved? What environment will they be in? What are the potentially dangerous elements? For Jungle Cruise it was the La Quila and puzzle sets with two actors — Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt — and their associated stunt personnel.

The next step is figuring out if the cast has prior underwater experience, which can make or break the success of filming the sequence. If someone is not comfortable being in or underwater, then the scene could be a challenge to get around. Dwayne had prior underwater experience on Baywatch, but to my knowledge, Emily’s underwater experience was less involved. That said, she did an absolutely amazing job in the water and was key to the sequence’s success.

In addition, it was necessary to have several meetings with the art and construction departments regarding the build of the puzzle set, as we had to go over what materials to use and not to use with regards to submerged set pieces and the associated hazards. Those hazards include the disintegration of paint and construction materials in the water, the primary concerns about which are running afoul of water clarity standards and the potential for ear or eye infections (which happened to both me and Amy Adams on Batman v Superman).

Where were the underwater sequences shot, and how long was the shoot?
The underwater sequences for Jungle Cruise were photographed in two tanks at Blackhall Studios in Atlanta. One tank was an exterior set, which was built in a parking lot at the second lot at Blackhall and used for shots involving La Quila and the cast transitioning into the water. The interior tank, which contained the puzzle set, was built inside one of the construction stages at Blackhall 2.

Shooting in a water tank

Can you talk about the puzzle sequence?
The sequence involved the cast swimming down from La Quila to the puzzle and holding their breath. In reality, it was not entirely different. Only the sets were separate, with the exterior tank being used for the La Quila set. The interior tank, which housed the puzzle set, required working within tight confines and limited mobility.

To achieve the shots required, I used my customized underwater housing, which has a small footprint and enables me to fit within the set and have enough room for the cast and stunt personnel to perform. Emily’s character gets trapped inside the set, and Dwayne’s character tries to rescue her, but due to his sizable frame, he cannot fit. Instead of resorting to passing breaths to Emily via mouth, we constructed the set piece outside of the tank then lowered it in once all materials had been dried and sealed. It then needed a few days for the water to settle, and I did daily checks with marine coordinator Neil Andrea.

What about other challenges?
The epilogue of the puzzle scene involved raising the set out of the water, so the discussion point became how to achieve this practically. As the shots required the camera and set to travel out of the water simultaneously via a construction crane (which was barely able to fit within the stage doors), the thought process was for the camera housing to be attached to the set via pipe rigging. This idea was short-lived because when I saw what the desired shots were and where the camera needed to be, I realized there would be no space or bracing point where I could attach any rigging. I suggested that I could hand-hold the housing for the shots, which was met with “Do you think you could do that?” It was a challenge to go from hand-holding an 80-pound camera housing in water, where it has slightly negative weight, to having the full weight of water pulling down as the set was raised, but the test worked. Of course, after that, we did it eight more times!

How do you go about choosing the right camera and lenses for projects like Jungle Cruise?
I make every attempt to use the same camera and lens package as the main unit uses on the production, which in the case of Jungle Cruise was the ARRI Alexa SXT Plus with Panavision anamorphic glass. The 30mm C series was our hero lens due to its smaller size and weight, but we used a few other focal lengths as well.

What about the underwater enclosure?
The underwater housing is my own custom housing, which gives me access to all the exterior buttons for the Alexa: ISO, white balance, shutter or camera speed, all of which can be changed underwater. The housing also contains a TV Logic on-board monitor for viewing. I have several housings for different cameras. It makes it easier to have a housing for the camera that is already in use on the show.

Any “happy accidents” along the way?
Though the lighting was designed to illuminate the inside of the set with subtlety, there were moments when Emily Blunt would swim inside the set and the backlight, and small kisses of refracted light would hit her perfectly. I saw these on the monitor as we were filming, and they made me smile.

Ian Seabrook

Any scenes that you are particularly proud of?
Both Dwayne and Emily were wonderful to work with in the water, which made the sequence a success. The shots of Emily figuring out how to manipulate the puzzle were structured around a sequence of manipulations of the set pieces. We discussed what action she would be doing, but on that day, I went with how I felt the scene should be photographed and followed her action, which was somewhat balletic. With both of us in sync, the sequence came together nicely.

Now more general questions …

How did you become interested in cinematography?
From a young age, I had a desire to figure out how things like radios and televisions worked. That interest in the practical morphed into cinema as I watched films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia and Giant and began to wonder how they were made. Around the same time, I was watching a lot of Disney and wildlife documentaries on television, in addition to James Bond films like Thunderball, which had fantastic underwater sequences. I became obsessed with being underwater and how cameramen were able to be in the water with marine life like whales and sharks. Many years later I found myself in the waters around Cocos Island, Costa Rica, surrounded by schools of sharks with a camera in my hand. My dreams became a reality.

Ian Seabrook

What inspires you artistically?
Robby Müller, who shot films for Wim Wenders, Alex Cox and Jim Jarmusch, is my favorite cinematographer. His ability to use available light on the films he photographed was unprecedented and is still a major influence to this day. I take inspiration from many forms: cinema, natural history films, music, art and photography.

Lamar Boren, who was the underwater cinematographer on Thunderball, and David Doubilet, who worked on The Deep, Splash and The Cove, are top of the list for me.

What new technology has changed the way you work (looking back over the past few years)? 
Taking LED fixtures underwater has changed what was a constant for underwater illumination. Smaller, lighter and, at times, more compact fixtures have transformed the lighting market. Where the dialogue used to involve lighting with attached cables and the associated boats with generators required to power them, LED housed fixtures without tethers have reduced the time and power requirements for underwater illumination. When I need a lot of punch for composite screen work, the industry-standard underwater lights still very much work, but the smaller and lighter fixtures have become indispensable, especially for travel.

What are some of your best practices or rules you try to follow on each job?
Arrive early, pay attention and remember why you are there. I bring enthusiasm to each project. I always remember my beginnings and strive to exceed expectations on each assignment. I work in many locales worldwide and try to involve as many local crew as I can. And whenever possible, I train those who are interested on the proper use of the equipment. I do a lot of my own prep and research for the assignments I do, in addition to the standard production prep. I also have backup plans.

Ian Seabrook

Explain your ideal collaboration with the director or showrunner when starting a new project.
I work best when there is a relationship built on mutual respect. There is always a reason that you want to collaborate with someone, and they with you. While I have been on my share of large, multi-personnel crews with a slew of trucks and trailers, it is the more intimate jobs involving travel and a reduced crew that have been the most memorable. I am quite capable of being autonomous and capturing sequences on my own while adding the right people to that mix, and nothing beats that. The same applies for the land-based second unit cinematography I have done — good people usually yield good results.

What’s your go-to gear? Things you can’t live without?
Much of the work I do is with the ARRI Alexa, which I have several housings for. I own my own Mini LF, but I rarely use it because it is usually working elsewhere on other jobs.

I travel a lot and always take my Leica M10 Monochrom with me  — I have a housing for that too.

What is in my bag at all times? My iPad makes scheduling and workflow easier while on the go, and I have housings for all my light meters, which I still use to this day.

Randi Altman is the founder and editor-in-chief of postPerspective. She has been covering production and post production for more than 20 years.