“It’s great to be able to do things like 24 frames per second editing without having to buy additional hardware or software, like you do with other programs,” says Cousteau about Final Cut Pro.
Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro even go along on the topside support boat. A dual-processor 2GHz Power Mac G5 with a PCI card interface handles the processor-intensive video that’s uplinked live from the shark sub. “It’s the central nervous system and display system for the data I’m sending up from Troy — for the shark eyes facing outward as well as the cameras facing me, so the crew can see what I’m doing,” says Cousteau.
The Power Mac G5 captures Cousteau’s video and allows him to edit and produce daily rushes onboard. “With Final Cut Pro, we’re using the de facto industry standard for all our video from the field,” comments Cousteau. “And because a lot of the data is graphic, it makes sense for the acquiring machine and our editing equipment to be the same. We have our scientific experiments on the same system as the visuals we’re using for our video.”
“With documentaries, budgets are something you have to be really conscious of. So to find a whole package of pro apps that rival the best out there, for such a reasonable price — well, that in itself is a decision-making factor.”
Seamless — and Priceless
Cousteau is pitching his TV special to cable and network channels, and after it airs he’ll use DVD Studio Pro to author and replicate a DVD version. “DVD Studio Pro is a jewel of a program that allows us to create DVDs worthy of a Hollywood production,” he says.
“What makes it incredible is the way it and Final Cut Pro work together so seamlessly,” he says. “To be able to work in that intuitive, non-linear way is such a gift — they beat any competition hands-down.”
The applications deliver practical value the indie filmmaker couldn’t forgo. “Final Cut Pro comes with all these peripherals you’d normally have to pay extra for, like Live Type for beautiful titling, Soundtrack so you can create your own music and sound effects, and Cinema Tools and Compressor,” he notes.
Cost, of course, is a big issue. “With documentaries, budgets are something you have to be really conscious of,” says Cousteau. “So to find a whole package of pro apps that rival the best out there, for such a reasonable price — well, that in itself is a decision-making factor.”
Steel+SkinFlex+Pneumatic Propulsion System=Shark
Like a proud papa, Cousteau details the anatomical features of the sub that enables him to become a shark for hours at a stretch. “Troy uses a very high-tech patented pneumatic propulsion system with aircraft pistons — the same one that’s used by the Navy,” he explains. The pistons drive pressurized air into cylinders with cables that move the tail back and forth, an organic motion that mimics the smooth strokes of real sharks.
Rib-caged. “That body could support a tractor driving over it,” says Cousteau about the shark sub’s steel skeleton.
Troy’s body is as sophisticated as the engine. “The frame is a skeletal system with two-inch thick stainless steel ribs,” notes Cousteau. “It’s like the infrastructure of a skyscraper.” These ribs extend most of the length of the sub, hinged with a double spine made of flexible, bulletproof Lexan on the dorsal and ventral sides.
The skeleton is covered with SkinFlex, a soft, skin-like material that’s mixed with glass beads and sand to simulate the texture of sharkskin. “That’s for camouflage,” says Cousteau. “It’s not protective. A shark could easily bite through the skin.” But with the steel skeleton underneath, Cousteau feels plenty safe. “In my opinion, it’s overkill — that body could support a tractor driving over it.”
No Bubbles, Moving Eyes
Troy features a state-of-the-art, six-hour re-breather unit — the same silent-running, no-bubble SCUBA technology used by the military. Cousteau explains why that’s important. “Sharks breathe water, not air, so they don’t produce bubbles,” he says. “Bubbles make noise the sharks would feel and hear — it’s an artificial stimulus that could spook them or alter their behavior in some way.” The air would also sabotage the dive. “Any bubbles would accumulate inside the sub,” he adds, “and eventually cause it to float to the top.”
Inside, lying flat, Cousteau holds a joystick in each hand to control speed, left and right movement, and pitch, roll and yaw — “just like a fighter plane.” Most importantly, the sub lets Cousteau communicate with his fellow sharks. “We have the latest in onboard miniaturized watertight cameras, recording electronics and tracking equipment,” he says.
“The sub’s eyes are actually camera lenses that move, and the mouth moves too, so we can make specific gestures and study the sharks’ responses.” Troy even has two attached cameras concealed in 14-inch rubber remoras — the symbiotic suckerfish that hang around Great Whites — to track sharks swimming alongside and behind it, which the sub’s forward-positioned eyes can’t capture.
Next page: Soundings from the Deep
