American Cinematographer - November 2021 - 46

HEROIC EXTRACTION
Previous spread: British divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen in a set
that was built at Pinewood's Underwater Stage to emulate Chamber 9
of the Tham Luang cave system. This page: Volanthen makes his way
through the darkness of the cave-system set.
Some of the most suspenseful moments in this new documentary
are depicted in dramatic reenactments of the rescue effort. The work of
underwater cinematographer Ian Seabrook in re-creating key events -
discussed in detail in this article - served as a vital strand in a complex
visual web that includes interviews with the principals, a tapestry
of international press footage, and video footage shot by the SEALs. The
military footage, which was captured primarily in the main rescue staging
area (known as Chamber 3) within the Tham Luang Nang Non cave
system during the actual rescue operation, has not been seen before.
Assessing Assets
" Our goal was to create a holistic view of the rescue out of all these fragmented
perspectives, and when we started, there was very little footage
from inside the cave, " says E. Chai Vasarhelyi, who directed the National
Geographic documentary with her filmmaking partner and husband,
Jimmy Chin. " We'd heard rumors about the Thai Navy SEAL footage, but
at that point we hadn't seen it and didn't know if we'd be given permission
to use it. "
The 87 hours of SEAL footage yielded a gold mine of visual connective
tissue - " the most exciting thing that can ever happen when
you're making a doc, " says Vasarhelyi - though that perspective did not
extend beyond Chamber 3, whereas the children and their coach were
46 / NOVEMBER 2021
eventually found about two miles from that location, in Chamber 9.
" Except for a few GoPro shots the cave divers had [captured] themselves,
we had no footage of the actual rescue, " says Chin.
" We needed to cover the big dramatic beats, which were pretty clear, "
adds Vasarhelyi, " and our choices were reenactment or animation. "
Underwater Authenticity
The 10-day reenactment shoot at Pinewood Studios' Underwater Stage
in England marked the first time the directors were able to work in person
with some of their camera team and the cave divers. It was October
2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic had siloed nearly everyone involved
in the production.
Los Angeles-based cinematographer Seabrook flew to the U.K. for
the Pinewood shoot and used his quarantine time to prep. " I pored over
research materials about the actual event for many hours, " he tells AC.
" Given the short window we had to shoot this, every element had to be
meticulously planned. Once out of quarantine, I met with 1st AD Joey
Coughlin and line producer Tibo Travers to discuss the shooting schedule,
props, set design, wardrobe and SPFX requirements, and coordinated
with Jimmy and Chai by phone and via Zoom. It was in no way normal
prep, but by the time we all met for the first time, we were ready. "
Five of the British cave divers involved in the rescue - Rick Stanton,
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
American Cinematographer - November 2021

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