Underwater VR filmmaking: capturing coral reefs with Canon EOS R5 C

Forgive us for breaking the fourth wall here, but it feels the appropriate way to introduce an exploration into virtual reality because VR takes your brain elsewhere and lets you step into someone else’s world for a short time. So before we dive into the tech, it’s important to remember that the highest achievement of VR is in making you forget that it exists. Let’s begin with why this matters…

Through Canon Europe’s partnership with Coral Spawning International and Nature Seychelles, they discovered that some of the greatest challenges for these organisations lie in education, sharing their work and the threats to our oceans – and what this means for the world.

“Biodiversity of reefs is fundamental to ocean health,” explains Dr Jamie Craggs, marine biologist and founder of CSI. “In every second breath we take, is oxygen generated from systems in the ocean. So, we need healthy oceans for healthy people.”

Right now, coral reefs are in trouble. Warmer, more polluted oceans are putting them under unprecedented levels of stress. Even an increase of just one or two degrees will cause the coral to expel the tiny algae upon which it feeds. Without it, it begins to starve and turn white – known as ‘bleaching’. As oceans become warmer, bleaching is happening more frequently, making it harder for reefs to bounce back, or simply can’t.

But showing this to the world is a tough ask, as Madeline St Clair, a coral biologist and cinematographer, knows well. She follows the mantra “you protect what you love, but you can't love what you don't know”. And, to that end, she jumped at the chance to join a small, but intrepid team, including Canon Europe’s Virtual Reality Product Specialist Mark Fensome, accepting the challenge of telling the real story of Seychelles' reefs as an immersive experience.

The size of the crew is actually more relevant than you might think, and it is largely thanks to the compact size, portability and simplicity of the technical set up.

“In the old days of shooting 3D or VR, you’d need to have two cameras, two fisheye lenses, two sensors and it would result in two files to process – and making sure both cameras were synced and aligned properly was always hard work,” explains Mark. But to achieve the same virtual experience, Madeleine used just a single camera: the Canon EOS R5 C with the RF 5.2mm F2.8L DUAL FISHEYE lens, modified to fit inside in a custom-made waterproof housing.

“The camera was a deliberate choice, as we were going to be shooting long-form,” adds Mark. “We also wanted to be able to shoot 8K 60p RAW LT for the best quality experience. So, using the EOS R5 C with its built-in fan would keep it as cool as possible within the housing.”

When you’re shooting in such an unusual setting, you want to keep things as simple as possible. In terms of kit, the fact it was virtual reality actually made things easier: one camera, one lens and an external battery pack all within the underwater housing, reflecting an almost impossibly simple workflow. “You’re then just exporting a single file to our EOS VR Utility software,” explains Mark.

So, while there were people on hand to support the shoot, the camerawork was entirely in Madeline’s capable hands. Well, almost.

You might assume that less kit equals fewer challenges, but there was one bitterly ironic problem, completely unrelated to technology. “We found a small but incredibly beautiful area of coral – lots of different species, unbroken,” says Madeline. But this perfection came with a price. If there’s one thing you need when filming in virtual reality, it’s stability. “But there was a huge amount of what we call surge – where water moves from side to side”. When they went looking for an alternative spot, they found nothing but degraded reef after degraded reef and so Madeline had to, quite literally, face the surge.

“Beneath the crystal clear, flat water, there can be real turbulence,” she explains. “You're in a world that is much more three dimensional, where the water around you is also moving. It gives you more flexibility in how you film, but also a lot more difficulty because you're at the mercy of the elements”.

To prepare, they headed to a local pool, spending hours testing different diving positions. “With virtual reality, you film at head height,” says Madeline. “But we scuba dive in a horizontal position, so that’s not going to work”.

There was a lot to consider before they could even think about heading to the boat. “It makes sense that the level of problem-solving was a little higher than the usual shoot,” she says. “We had to work out the perfect place for the immersive experience of the coral, while still being far enough away that the focus and depth of field were correct”.

They also stress tested the resilience of the kit, making sure the camera sat well in the water and, critically, that everything was watertight. After each dive the camera was removed from its waterproof housing, so the footage could be exported to a MacBook pro and checked using a VR headset. Then it was put back and repressurised with a pump before Madeline geared up and started all over again. “The housing was one of the first samples of its type, with no accommodation for an external monitor,” Mark explains. This made a largely straightforward process a bit more complicated, but the extra time gave them welcome breathing space.

Taking time to test also taught them a thing or two about the importance of O-rings. Mark still remembers the initial sense of panic: “there was water inside the housing!” Thankfully, nothing was damaged, but the source was elusive. “We were all afraid that the unit was cracked, but Madeline had an idea”. She spotted a missing O-ring on the pressure release valve. After huge sighs of relief, the shoot was back on.

At the reef, however, there were more challenges ahead. The surge kept dragging Madeline from side to side, forwards and backwards as she tried to keep her footage as stable as possible. “In VR this is important,” says Mark. “Because when you wear the headset, your eyes see the movement even though you’re not feeling it. So, your brain tries to work out what's happening, and that's where sickness or discomfort can come from, especially if you're panning or moving left and right.”

Eventually, however, it became so strong that a bit of good old fashioned human ingenuity was required. Fifteen metres under the sea, “the sweet spot for filming, where the coral was great and the light was very good,” Madeline, her dive partner Sophie and a team from Nature Seychelles battled the ocean to try something new – attaching a tripod to the ocean floor. “We tied weights to it with dive belts and attached a flotation device to help navigate the heavy set-up to the seabed. Then we added on the camera and VR lens”. Miraculously, it worked and the footage from the DIY deep-sea rig was a success.

But, when you put the headset on for the first time, before you’ve even had a chance to appreciate the beauty of the coral, one thing is immediately striking. How much like diving it feels. And despite all the testing and planning, this, as it turns out, was just a happy coincidence. “Sometimes viewing VR through a headset can seem a little unnatural but in this instance, it’s actually beneficial to the experience, as you gain an even greater sense of scuba diving – almost as though you are looking through Madeline’s mask and seeing it all first-hand. You even have to move your head around to see the whole image as you would in real life,” explains Mark.

It’s a perfect little detail that is so important because successful VR makes your brain believe.

Most of us will never really put on that mask or experience the stunning beauty of a coral reef first hand. And this means that understanding the tragedy of reef loss also takes a leap of faith. But by using virtual reality, organisations like Coral Spawning International and Nature Seychelles can help us to suspend our disbelief and discover an endangered world that is very real indeed.