Review of Private Underwater Videography Course by Award-Winning Shark Photographer Harry Stone

“There really aren’t any others that can teach at the level that Liquid Motion® offers to you…”. 

LM: Why did you want to switch to filmmaking?

HS: “I think i can broaden my conservation message to help sharks with film, there is more scope creatively to tell the stories that i want to tell in filming. With a still, you tell a snippet of a story.  You can tell a much more immersive, complex story through film. Because sharks sell, they are ‘movie monsters’ and while ‘teeth shots’ get peoples attention, these animals are really in trouble, and it is beyond time to change peoples perceptions. With film, I will be able to get more conservation messages across to a bigger audience as well as show a different side of these animals that is not portrayed. It’s been absolutely wonderful to be with LM in Cozumel and learning how I can tell much more of a story. 

LM: How was the training, did it fulfil your expectations?

HS: “The training with Guy was absolutely incredible and far exceeded all my expectations. It really was tremendous in every way and was everything i wanted and more on so many different levels. 

Guy is a great teacher, able to convey very complicated things very clearly, and his attention to detail really stands out at all times, often in quite surprising ways. He sees absolutely everything, picks up on all the little things and they are fed back straight away so you immediately know what to work on next. He really pays attention to what you’re doing. I certainly felt that he cared about what i wanted to achieve and it was very clear he cared about helping me do that. I think its that intensity, the way you are so closely supervised, and given ideas about how to improve, the process really works in a way that surprised and thrilled me. I never felt like just another student, i felt like somebody who has support, it was incredible. Every afternoon we would go through the footage in detail, there was plenty of time to discuss it and it was so beneficial as you could use that knowledge the next day. 

LM: Did you reach the level you hoped in filmmaking? 

HS: “Absolutely, and more. I was actually a bit sceptical at the start whether I could achieve everything in the relatively short time that id allocated shouldn’t have worried. The change was quite dramatic, from the first day when i looked at the footage, and thought, im never going to get this, to the last day of filming when i was thinking, wow, im there. The change was dramatic. I couldn’t believe there was that much progression in such a short time. Guys ability to teach is astonishing and it really has delivered everything that you said it would do and far exceeded everything that i wanted to get out of it, it was tremendous. I felt very much supported in this, the whole way. On top of all that, Anita’s help with the administrative things and logistical things was so helpful, i never had to worry about a thing since even before i came to Cozumel. Every question i had you were able to answer and help with. Your experience of the island on top of the film school and everything else was wonderful in every respect. 

LM: How does filming differ from still photography, and what did you learn to adapt, going from photography to filmmaking?

HS: “It differs profoundly and i had to learn and adapt many things! For example, I just spent over a week with Guy, i spent over 12 years trying to keep my camera perfectly still and now i am supposed to move it! I knew nothing about camera moves underwater and now thankfully through Guy, i’ve learnt all about camera moves, but it was a while new world i wasn’t expecting, a new concept and i wouldn’t have really known where to start with that. It’s just sth completely new. It’s interesting that Pro Photographers are often expected to deliver some moving images too, and you would think it’s quite a natural transition, but it isn’t. It’s a massive jump, you have to think 360 degrees different, it is an alien thing to a still photographer to suddenly be filming the world. 

In still photography, you visualise, do your preparation etc, but then when you press the shutter button, the process ends, the creative work is done. Whereas with filming, it is just beginning when you press the button, thats when the creative work starts. Of course you have all the preparation and planning too, but it all really starts when you press the button. You have to move the camera, know how to actually move it, how to move your lights and expose your subject well, be with your subject and adapt constantly to the light, dark, shadows, colours and so on. Filming is just so much more complex, there are so many components ti it, whereas a still l stands on its own.”

LM: Why did you choose to take a course in UW Filmmaking rather than learn it yourself?

HS: “I’m at a professional level with stills and i wanted to be at a professional level with the filming, which was an alien concept. To do this alone, it would have taken me a very long time to reach the level I wanted to be at, and I didn’t have the luxury of that time, i do this commercially, time is money, and i really wanted to speed the process along, rather than make numerous wrong turns along the way.  I wanted to learn to film cinematically UW, not just learn UW video. I was looking for a very high standard, i didn’t want to be an amateur. Also one of the things i wanted to learn was the actual thought processes of a filmmaker, cos its not sth i knew anything about. I know the thought process of a still photographer but to turn that into moving footage, how would i do that. So it  was key for me to find an expert who could start making me think like a filmmaker, not just teach me the techniques and technical side of filmmaking. I wanted to find a highly experienced teacher who could start making me think like a filmmaker when i approached a subject, when i approached a dive, when im thinking about a project or creating something, and i had no experience of that at all, as well as someone who could help me quickly master the craft.”

LM: Why Liquid Motion?

HS: “I had been looking to make the transformation for a long time, and i did a lot of research over the last year.  From all the research i did – and i exhausted the market – it became very evident that LM is unique. There are many people that will offer to teach you UW video, but often the teacher doesn’t have the body of work behind them. They don’t teach with the cinematic style that LM do. Or you’ll find somebody with the body of work, but they are hopeless at teaching. And what makes LM so special and unique is that you have both those components together at  an equally high standard. Your work speaks for itself, you have many awards, your films have been broadcast globally, the different ways your work has been featured and so on. You’ve walked the walk but you can also talk the talk in that your teaching is absolutely fantastic and obviously you are an established academy too and have been for a long time. It was incredibly attractive to come to a place where you had both components together, the teaching and the body of work. And that is unique.  And i think above all else, what LM does with their one on one tailor made courses for the student was amazing, i had a course made just for me. You listened to what i wanted, cared what i wanted to achieve, gave me realistic expectations and designed a course around that that was exactly what i was looking for. You delivered. You don’t see that anywhere else. I felt like LM wanted to help me obtain my own particular goal. 

So for all those reasons I am certain I made the right choice. There really aren’t any others that can teach at the level that LM offers to you.  Guys teaching is absolutely first rate, i have been so impressed with it. I knew that from the first interaction i had with him, as we did some initial zoom lessons before i came here. I was really able to connect with my teacher.  Then on top of that too, not isn’t just the filming he helps with, its other things. The diving for instance. Guy is a wonderful diver and very experienced dive professional as well, and was able to help me really hone my own diving to apply to the filming and handle a motion camera instead of a still one. It’s not just the filming, it is the whole thing. And again, all tailored to me. And then in addition to that Anita, you have helped so much with everything – coming to Mexico, a place I’d never been before, during a pandemic traveling to Cozumel wasn’t easy but you made it very smooth and easy; the interactions with you, helping me arrange everything, and once here i didn’t have to worry about a thing. You helped with accommodation, you even helped me with feeding myself, you helped me with so many different  things. It was all a very slick process the whole thing, it just all came together very well, everything was so helpful, clear, well done and the entire experience far exceeded my expectations and was exactly what i wanted. I would recommend d LM to anyone who really wants the benefit of professionals, who have been there, done there and can teach it at the highest level, then this is the only place to come.”