“This action involved 60 scientists from all over the world on 15 ships,” he says, “it was insanely complex, and we had very limited access. Sometimes I had to go on a ship all by myself—I couldn't even take a sound man or an assistant. I was on my own.”
Naturally, when preparing to film the conservation operation, Richard thought very carefully about his kit. “It was important to me that I would be able to work with my equipment as quickly and self-sufficiently as possible. Right from the start I thought that the Master Grips could be very helpful because they allow me to focus with my right hand, for example, and to pull the aperture, and sometimes just hold on to the boat with my left hand.”
So, to give him that extra degree of control he chose Master Grip Right Wheel MRW-1 (for focus and iris) with 160mm rod extension, a Master Grip Left Rocker MLR-1 (for zoom) with 160mm rod extension, and a Cforce mini and zip gear (on the zoom axis), along with his ARRI AMIRA and EF lenses.