Underwater DoP Ian Seabrook on Last Breath Credit: Jon Borg / 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Canadian/British Director of Photography, Ian Seabrook is one of the best when it comes to underwater cinematography. With credits spanning blockbusters Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Batman v Superman, Jungle Cruise, and Emmy-Award winning The Rescue, Seabrook is at the forefront of his field. For both underwater and surface-based narrative work he relies on Astera, for safe, instantly controllable results. On the 2025 Focus Features film Last Breath, he chose Astera to help navigate unexpected challenges below the surface.
Last Breath is a narrative feature length adaptation of a 2019 documentary by the same name. When I saw the documentary, there were sequences that held such tension, I was transfixed, describes Seabrook. I said to Alex Parkinson (director of the Last Breath documentary and feature adaptation) that for this narrative version, we must endeavor to achieve the same. Shooting in Malta and Scotland, this international, predominantly underwater production was Parkinson's first narrative feature. Starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole, the nail-biter true-story follows a team of seasoned deep-sea divers as they battle the elements and impossible odds to save a crew mate trapped 300ft/100m below.
A veteran of three decades of filmmaking, Seabrook knows that countering the unexpected is always part of his job. The underwater portion of production was slated to shoot at Malta Studios, home to the largest exterior tank in Europe the Deep Tank. With a 351ft diameter and depth down to 36ft, the Deep Tank would be home to the film's three submerged sets, the most important of which being the diving manifold where Chris Lemons (Finn Cole) becomes trapped. In order to capture the right look and honor the story's tense drama, they had to first get the lighting just right.
Testing the Waters
The Malta Studios tanks draw water directly from the Mediterranean Sea. Sometimes even tiny jellyfish can make their way in along with the water, creating a lively, controlled ocean-environment, that occasionally borders on murky.
Clarity is a major a consideration underwater and any dive tank is apt to get cloudy after a crew of 15 people have spent the day working. Upon arriving in Malta, Seabrook determined that the particulate matter was too dense for the planned scenes. What happens to the light when natural particulate is illuminated? It blooms , he explains, The initial clarity and visibility were too low. I made the decision to clean the tank. We brought a clarifying system in from the United Kingdom and introduced a chlorine routine.
Following the notion that we would attack the clarity of the water, we decided not to use diffusion or soft boxes on the lights, because I was proposing to shoot at a 4-stop and needed the exposure, Seabrook elaborates.
Lighting for the Depths
Last Breath takes place 300ft/100m below sea level, during a violent storm. These divers are so deep that there would be no light source from the surface at all. Water absorbs and scatters light to such a degree that at 300ft it's practically pitch black. This presented a problem the tank in Malta does not have a cover or a retractable roof. Daylight was unavoidable. The crew considered using lifts to cover the tank, but ruled it out because high winds in the Malta summer would quickly bring down any above-ground solution. Instead, ever practically-minded Seabrook and crew pivoted to shooting at night.
There was just one significant obstacle the cast and crew still needed some light to work by. Working with gaffer, Aaron Keating, a concept was devised to submerge the overhead light. We decided to rig dozens of Titan Tubes on pipe rigs.
Comprised of 8 pixels which can be individually colored, flashed and programmed from the Astera App, the baton-shaped Titan Tube is a highly controllable and versatile LED lighting solution. Each 40.7 x 1.7 /1035mm x 43mm Titan Tube was housed in waterproof, pressure resistant (down to 100ft) casings from the UK-based Underwater Lighting Company. The low-heat generating Titan Tubes do not require cooling gel, fans, or dry ice to keep them functioning for hours. This proved an important bonus for underwater work, where replacing a light can severely cut into an allotted maximum of six one-hour dives per night. With the improvised lighting grid, Seabrook introduced an ambient source that could be adjusted fixture by fixture, creating enough visibility without losing the sense of ocean expanse.
Given that an RF signal would not reach the filming depth, by default all light fixtures needed to be cabled to ensure dependable illumination. Thanks to Astera's native programming, Lighting Programmer/Board Operator Adam Baker could easily adjust intensity from the surface. Once submerged and the fixtures were wired in, I would aim the camera at the lighting truss then point with my hand, to adjust either up or down. He was always watching the monitors at the surface so as to know right away what I wanted. Having the multitude of Astera fixtures and never encountering any problems with them during the shoot was alleviating.
Submerged Titan Tubes on pipe grid
The Diving Manifold
The major submerged set piece in Last Breath is an underwater subsea station the diving manifold where the divers work and where the incident the film is based on, takes place. These structures are scattered throughout the world's ocean floors and provide a station for commercial divers to perform working tasks. For the film, the set was comprised of an 11m x 6.5m overhead structure, complete with a complex array of densely rigged pipes, gauges and tanks.
In Last Breath, the divers, played by Simu Liu and Finn Cole, exit the safety of the diving bell, and descend to
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Underwater DoP Ian Seabrook on Last Breath Credit: Jon Borg / 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
