Jacque Perrin, Director, Scriptwriter and Associate Producer of Océans. Photo by Matthieu Simonet

When French production company Galatée Films (Himalaya, l’enfance d’un chef – Caravan, Le Peuple migrateur – Winged Migration, Microcosmos, Les Choristes - The Chorus), prepared for principal photography of the film Océans, they knew their multi-format approach called for careful lens testing and selection. Based on the results of their tests they purchased the brand new ARRI Lightweight Zoom and used it extensively during production.

Jacques Perrin, who followed migratory birds for four years in the acclaimed documentary film Le Peuple Migrateur (Winged Migration), works again as director, scriptwriter, and associate producer. He explains the concept of Océans: "From polar ice floes to tropical lagoons, from wave-battered shores to the abyssal plains, Océans explores the still unrecognized hidden face of the Earth. Beyond the wondrous accounts, beyond the emotion elicited by the beauty of the images, Océans makes it alarmingly clear that the marine world, despite its fascinating wealth and complexity, is fragile. It is living on borrowed time, threatened by human actions: overfishing, pollution, coastal destruction, climatic changes. Through the intersecting destinies of various characters, Océans experiments with a new cinematographic script, mixing fiction and documentary. Fiction so close to reality; documentary treated like fiction."

Philippe Ross, HD designer, supervisor and adviser, adds: "This film is a continuation of Jacques' earlier films, as they all strive to show the exquisiteness of nature, and hopefully will lead to more understanding and a more responsible attitude of humankind. To achieve this, we will use all available technological means, including miniature helicopters to follow dolphins close up and various different recording formats: digital HD underwater photography, 35 mm shots for fiction using mostly fixed-focal lenses, and documentary style 35 mm shots using mostly a zoom and some fixed-focal lenses."

Luc Drion checks on an ARRIFLEX 435 in Mexico, Sea of Cortez, getting helicopter shots of Blue Whales. Photo by Richard Herman

Luc Drion, one of their 35 mm camera operators, conducted various tests between prime and zoom lenses, and chose the ARRI Master Primes and Ultra Primes as the fixed focal lenses of choice. When it came to choosing a zoom lens, he was able to get a hold of one of the very first ARRI Lightweight Zooms LWZ-1. He notes: “I ran quite a few comparative tests between the ARRI LWZ-1 lens, the 15-40 Cooke lightweight and fixed Ultra Prime lenses and was very impressed by the performance of the LWZ-1. I started with a flare test by pointing the camera straight into a car’s headlights and the amount of flare was minimal. I did the same test with a rescue boat’s very bright projector and it was just as successful. Other parameters, including ramping, are quite exceptional for such a compact and flexible lens. Another test I ran was to see how the lens behaved in low light conditions, and the T2.6 aperture helped produce beautiful footage with no extra lighting.”

Olli Barbe in La Rochelle with an ARRIFLEX 435ES during the tryouts for a gyro stabilized mount. Photo by Luc Drion an

Galatée Films decided to purchase the very first LWZ-1 production lens. Production Manager Olli Barbe adds: "For the exterior documentary action shots as well as for the topside animal shots, the operators of Galatée Films needed a multi-purpose, high quality, lightweight lens. Many of the shots are done from boats, in unpredictable lighting conditions, handheld, with even more unpredictable animals and weather conditions. Overall, the optical quality, flexibility, light weight, and small size of the LWZ-1 lightweight zoom are an ideal answer to our very particular needs. Therefore, Galatée Films is extremely happy and proud to be the first production to use this brand-new lens. We feel very privileged and it gives us great comfort to know that we have this lens for our coming shoots."

Christophe Pottier shooting with the ARRI Lightweight Zoom on board of an extreme weather rescue boat. Photo by Vincent Blasco

During production, the lens performed very well. Christophe Pottier, 35 mm camera operator, found that "... the LWZ-1 allows extreme flexibility. I shot in February for Océans on the Abeille Bourbon, an extreme weather rescue boat. The boat crew was very mobile and their actions unpredictable. The LWZ-1’s reduced weight and small size allowed me to shoot shoulder-held shots in all sorts of situations. Not only is it very lightweight, giving me the right amount of mobility, it also allows a wide variety of angles without changing lens, which prevented salt and water from damaging the camera. In some situations, the available space was very small. This is when the size of the lens and its close focus distance (0,45m) came in very handy.”

Ross summarizes: "Our operators thoroughly tested the ARRI Lightweight Zoom in actual shooting conditions and we are extremely pleased by the results. It's optical quality, weight and size are great, and the flexibility it gives our operators is outstanding and perfectly fitted to the shooting conditions on Océans".

Olli Barbe & Marc Shipman-Mueller

A production still from Océans, showing a sea turtle in the red sea. Photo by Pascal Kobeh
		Production stills from Océans, showing a Dugong in the red sea. Photo by Pascal Kobeh