By Founder and President Kurt Lieber
In June, I was at a film screening of videos that had been submitted for the Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award. The film that won was one that Walter Marti had submitted about Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA)!
After all the videos were shown, I had a chance to give a short talk about what ODA is all about, and where we could use help. One of the things I mentioned was my desire to get more young people inspired about the oceans. A teacher from the film school at the University of Southern California "Wendy" talked with me afterwards. She wanted to know if I would be interested in having some of her students create a short documentary that would focus on getting a good message out to the younger generation. You don't have to ask me that one twice, Wendy!
In early July, Angus Yates called me and said he wanted to go out with us and shoot a documentary for his USC film school project. Angus is 19 years old, and has what it takes to become a great film maker: good energy, asks good questions, and has the ability to capture the topic in a way that compels the viewer to want to deeper look into the issue at hand. Angus also brought along Xuan Zhong, who did a great job handling the sound and also bringing up good topics for the interview. The two of them made for a complimentary team.
There is one point in this video that I would like to clarify because there is a pause in the audio. Where I say the following: "…this ghost gear kills whales, dolphins, sea lions, and large fish…[pause] 360,000 die every year… I want to see that come to an end." I want to make it clear: the 360,000 die from ghost gear alone!!
I hope this video will inspire more of you to get out and enjoy the wonders that the oceans offer us. If there are any aspiring film makers out there, let's get you out with us and get more people pumped up about saving our friends in the ocean!
Please enjoy Defenders of the Deep, by Angus Yates