In New Zealand waters, orca appears to have given photographer Brian Skerry a stingray and tossed it at his feet. Eventually, the orca picked up the unattended fish and shared it with the other whales. Orcas are known to share food, and they are picky eaters with a unique preference for prey, possibly unlike neighboring orca swarms. This trait is whale culture and the core concept of the new documentary series. Photograph by Brian Skerry
Written by JACQUELINE CUTLER
Sigourney Weaver's apartment in Manhattan, James Cameron's home in New Jersey, photographer Brian Skerry underwater, and they were scattered everywhere. However, as soon as you devote yourself to the documentary series "Secrets of the Whales," the same feeling will spring up in everyone's heart: awe.
They are always moved by the whale's story: the orca tries to feed the stingray to Skerry (there is no other reason to explain this phenomenon), and the beluga whale adopts a wayward narwhal. On Earth Day, April 22, National Geographic aired these unprecedented scenes for the first time on Disney+ Channel. Four documentaries ("Orca Dynasty", "Humpback Whale Song", "King of the Moby Dick" and "Ocean Behemoth") will take us into whale life.
Every summer, female beluga whales migrate to an estuary on Somerset Island in the Canadian Arctic, where newborn baby whales frolic in shallow water, which resembles a beluga whale nursery. In the world of whales, such gatherings are unique: hundreds of beluga whales gather in places where there are almost no polar bear predators to socialize. Photo by BRIAN SKERRY AND NANSEN WEBER
The soundtrack for the documentary series is Raphaelle Thibaut, where the cetaceans communicate with each other with soothing melodies and the tempo of hunting; Weaver is responsible for the narration, Cameron directs the storyline, and Skerry and scientists track these marine mammals. It's a story about nature, raising baby whales, and a complex culture. "The Secret of the Whale" is the result of a 3-year study, and the film crew collaborated with experts who studied different species to understand the migration patterns of cetaceans, which is the favor of fate.
"Nature always brings surprises..." said Cameron, a National Geographic explorer, "and we often ask for it." but...... There will be serendipity. The project is based on the idea that whale culture may not be much different from that of humans.
"Before Brian started this project, he had seen a few phenomena that he thought could prove that whales have a real culture," Cameron said, "not just in terms of intelligence, not just those created by natural selection." ”
Actress Sigourney Weaver narrated the documentary, and she has voiced more than a dozen documentaries. And that one required her to turn to plain and simple style: She recorded some footage in her New York apartment. The recording in the walk-in closet wasn't ideal, so she used a pile of clothes, costumes and blankets to make a sound barrier. Photograph by ANDREW H. WALKER VARIETY REX SHUTTERSTOCK
James Cameron is the executive producer of the documentary. In 2012, the filmmaker, a National Geographic marine explorer, piloted a submarine and successfully dive to the Pacific Mariana Trench at a depth of about 10,908 meters, diving alone to the lowest point on earth, breaking records. Photograph by MARK THIESSEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Skerry's shooting experience shows that different species have different ways of communicating and hunting. Skerry, also a National Geographic explorer, was once within easy reach of these behemoths, such as a female orca. It had just knocked a stingray for its family and unexpectedly gave it to Skerry instead.
"I was lucky enough to receive the film they sent me in advance," Weaver says, "and whatever Brian Skerry was doing, what I was shooting, it would have left me so stunned that I forgot the dubbing mission." In the 1988 film Eighteen Years in the Misty Forest, she played National Geographic researcher Dian Fossey.
We can hear a hint of surprise in Weaver's voice; we will see for the first time sperm whales feeding their young whales, with 2,000 beluga whales gathering in Canada's Cunningham Bay for a raucous party.
Skerry photographs a herd of sperm whales off the coast of the Caribbean island of Dominica. In order to get into their intimate territory, he most of the time had to abandon scuba diving gear that would scare off whales and opt for less intrusive freediving. He uses a simple snorkel device to hold his breath underwater. Photo by STEVE DE NEEF
Weaver usually narrates documentaries in the studio. However, due to the pandemic, she had to work in her apartment in New York. Construction was outside the building, so Weaver only recorded on weekends, and she also worked with assistants to create a temporary sound barrier.
"We took all the clothes out," she explains, "and even some old costumes I don't know where they came from." We also took out our clothes rails and hung towels and blankets. ”
Weaver has always been an environmentalist, and she grew up near Long Island Bay and loves the waters. Cameron, who has directed films such as Alien and Avatar, persuaded Weaver to learn to dive. She recalls a magical night dive, "We lay on the bottom of the sea and beautiful manta rays slid past us. ”
The Beatles in the cetacean world
Cameron's fascination with the water world grew with the filming of The Whale's Secret. The Academy Award for Best Director and producer is familiar with a variety of marine life, working underwater for thousands of hours and even discovering dozens of species. But he was still drawn to the images Skerry took, such as the song of a humpback whale.
"In fact, it was a song written by a small group of male humpback whales in Western Australia, which later became the song of the entire Southern Hemisphere humpback whale population, and it wasn't just culture, it was pop culture," Cameron said. I mean, there were whales who wrote this song, and then all the whales had this tune in their heads, and they sang all the time! ”
A male humpback whale near the Cook Islands attracts its mate with "singing". Before they surface to breathe, they put their bodies vertical, sing a song for 20 minutes, and then come back to continue singing. Scientists have been studying these songs for decades, and new findings show how a tune can be accepted by other cetaceans and spread throughout the sea. "It's not just culture," Cameron said, "it's pop culture." Photo by Brian Skerry
Viewers of the documentary series may also be inspired, as Cameron and Skerry took inspiration from Jacques Cousteau. As children, the legendary underwater explorer was a regular on TV shows. Encouraged by their adventures at Cousteau, they learned to scuba dive at the local YMCA, which was very helpful for their career development.
They quickly shifted their focus to The Secret of the Whale, where Cameron called himself a "master of narrative" and dramatically set the narrative framework for the documentary. These stories move us because they are universal: life and death, play and hunting, education and learning.
"The way the camera came in and the way Brian photographed the animals was a touch of intimacy," Cameron said, "and I think the way she [Sigourney] described the images also had an emotional intimacy." ”
"This time, change the rules"
Skerry said the idea for the project took 10 years to brew, and he traveled to 24 places around the world as a result.
"I've been looking for a narrative expression, and I've looked for it in scientific papers," Skerry says, "and much of my career has to do with environmental protection." This time, change the rules. "Science is trying to reveal so-called human traits in cetaceans. With that, "we can get people to look at the oceans in a different way," he said.
He collaborated with National Geographic on the cover story for the May issue, produced the TV series, and wrote a book. Skerry photographed marine life for decades, spending more than 10,000 hours underwater, and he knew what was feasible and knew that working with cetaceans was not the same.
During underwater photo shoots, Skerry spent most of his time scuba diving. "But if you want to photograph cetaceans, you can't use scubas, and bubbles will scare them," he said. In this shoot, "I was freediving 95% of the time." Only masks, snorkels, fins and wetsuits. "I take a deep breath and stay underwater for a few minutes."
Skerry snapped the first photograph of sperm whales nursing, while also helping to solve long-standing mysteries. Scientists want to know how these mother whales breastfeed juveniles with long jaws. It turned out that the female's nipples were hidden in the cleft; when the young whales were hungry, they would bring their jaws close to the cleavage, and the milk would enter their mouths directly. Photograph by Brian Skerry
Sometimes, the whale will "scratch its head" in front of him. Despite 3 years of experience, Skerry was still shocked by his experience.
He was most impressed by the moment when the newborn baby whale was breastfeeding. He said emotionally, "I took the first picture of a sperm whale breastfeeding. ”
All mothers are very fond of their newborns, and this picture is very warm. Weaver realized that's why we resonated.
"Moving so close to these mothers and children, there's no feeling that we're disturbing or hurting them," she says, "I think shooting is a great gift because the picture is full of respect and admiration." ”
Weaver recalls the evolution of his narrator character as the plot unfolds. "I'm not telling a scientific phenomenon, I'm telling a story. It's like, I'm saying, follow me! I know this family and would like to introduce you," she said. The point is "to bring the audience along." The images are fantastic, and I want to show them in a way that's close to the facts. ”
(Translator: Sky4)