The Art of Underwater Cinematography In Last Breath

In Alex Parkinson’s Last Breath, a trio of divers—Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu), and Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson)—face insurmountable odds when a violent storm on the North Sea critically disables their underwater mission, leaving one of them struggling to survive. Adapted from Parkinson’s acclaimed 2019 documentary, Last Breath thrillingly recreates this remarkable true-life story.

To capture the visceral, heath-thumping reality of diving 300 feet underwater, Parkinson tapped Ian Seabrook to work as the film’s underwater director of photography. A veteran of over 100 television and film projects, including Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and the award-winning documentary The Rescue, Seabrook has transformed shooting underwater into an art form all its own.

We spoke with Seabrook about the art of underwater cinematography in Last Breath.

Last Breath is in theaters now— so get your tickets now!

When you came on board as the underwater director of photography, what did you see as your biggest challenge?

For me, the main challenge was going to be how to convey photographically to the audience the desolation the lead character feels when he's separated from the ship, especially in an environment that is pure black. I always prefer to do everything real for real, so I wanted to avoid CGI or other techniques that simulate an underwater environment.

How did the documentary Last Breath influence your underwater photography for this film?

I saw the documentary during a long layover in Munich. There was a moment in the film when they were searching for Chris on top of the manifold that mesmerized me. I felt that I wouldn’t have cared if I missed my connecting flight. It was that intense. I knew that we needed to bring that level of tension to the underwater shots in the film.

How did you get started as an underwater cinematographer?

As a kid, I was always enamored with National Geographic shows, watching the sharks—the stars of the show—but also the turtles, the manta rays, and other wildlife. After I got dive certified on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, I found I was more interested in taking pictures underwater than swimming about like the other divers. I learned how to do photography and filming underwater. My first job was in 1998 when I did a beer commercial, and after that, I became an assistant on shoots. It was a great position in which to learn the basics, like how to seal the camera. Now I work as a director of photography, where my main focus is on the four corners of the frame, using my experience to decide how best to shoot scenes for dramatic effect.

How did you coordinate your work with Nick Remy Matthews, the film’s director of photography?

We had a really good relationship during prep, but when we were shooting, I rarely saw him. When he was shooting in the saturation chamber or on the bridge, I was either prepping or shooting in the tank. We shot all the underwater scenes in a huge sea-water tank in Malta at night to simulate the environment of the divers in the story. We had to prep it to simulate the conditions on the bottom of the sea. For one thing, I had them clean out the tank, which I don’t think had been cleaned since the ‘80s, to give us a clean slate, which we could muck up as we need to create the right environment.

How did you organize the underwater shooting?

We structured it so that there were five to six one-hour dives per night. The schedule was mostly dictated by the actors’ availability and their diving levels. When Simu was finished with a scene, Finn would come into the water to shoot. When they were both done, we would continue and use dive doubles for shots where we never see their faces.

How did you design the lighting?

The original plan was not to light the manifold. The story takes place 300 feet underwater in a space where there would be no light penetrating from the surface. But cinematically, we needed some sort of illumination to give shape to the divers’ bodies and wardrobe. Otherwise, it would be all black except for the light in their helmets illuminating their faces. We brought in lights, but they were all dialed down. We had a submersible lighting rig over the top of the manifold that was movable. Also, the ROV (remote-controlled vehicle) was a lighting source that we could move around as needed.

Many of those underwater substations, like the one the team was brought in to work on, have some lighting. If you look at the reference photos, they look like underwater construction sites. I wanted to add lighting, but also create something dramatic, similar to the flickering effect at the beginning of Alien. The lighting programmer and I devised a system whereby when the lights get plugged in at the substation, it feels like a dormant Frankenstein awakening at the bottom of a cold ocean.

The actors have to both breathe underwater and perform as their characters.

It’s difficult for the actors to act underwater. If they are in a scene—especially in an overhead environment like we had where there's a ceiling over their heads and they can't get out—they're already terrified in some way, shape, or form. Part of my job is to make them feel safe. So, I really need to be aware of what is happening with them and be aware of any slight twinges that might reflect discomfort or anxiety. When filming underwater, my first concern is for the safety of the talent. Finn’s family had already had a history of diving in the family. I don’t know how much experience Simu had, but they were both very capable in the water.

How did the director work with the actors?

I was always keeping an eye on them to make sure that they were comfortable. Our communication was all done through hand signals. In addition, the dive supervisor communicated to both crew and talent underwater through a speaker system. But the talent also had a direct line to Alex who would direct them. I couldn't hear their conversations, but I could always tell when I was to keep shooting. As with any other dive, we had a dive tender who made sure that all the actors got the correct amount of time above water in between their underwater performances.

David Brooks, the producer, and Alex were on the surface with a monitor. When we first started shooting, it was a little bit chaotic, because in addition to the feed from my camera, they were watching the feed from the divers’ helmet cameras, plus the footage from the ROV. But it all quickly got ironed out. When Alex started directing the scenes on the bridge, I took over directing the second unit with the underwater crew.

How do you capture emotion when you are shooting underwater?

I would usually start shooting the actor's waist up and then close in on him slowly until the camera is focusing just on his face. Over time, I’ve come to understand what the audience will need to see to understand what is happening to the characters emotionally. Alex also let me know what might be happening on screen with the audio while they were underwater to help direct the shooting and motivate the closeups.

What do you hope people take away from the film?

My hope is that the audience will be absorbed into the story and find it an amazing survival story.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.