USS Radford Reefing Project from Dan Crowell on Vimeo.

Early this summer (2010) the American Marine Group (AMG) was awarded a contract to their largest and most challenging project to date. A US Navy destroyer “USS Arthur W. Radford” which is destined to become the largest ship ever to be sunk along the US Atlantic coast, as an artificial reef. These ships provide the perfect structure to promote marine growth creating ecosystems where none existed before.  AMG has been sensitive to both the ecology and the economics of seeing these projects to fruition and have placed more artificial reef material on the ocean floor than any other marine contractor.  I’ve been documenting this process since they took possession. This is an on going project that will follow this and other vessels from shipyard to sand bar and beyond.

I was down in Key Largo Florida shooting on spec for a demo about Pirates, shipwrecks, and Ghosts. Sony loaned me one of their new PMW-350′s along with Fujinon lending me a ZA12 X 4.3 wide angle lens to test drive.  Though we shot more than just Pirates. This footage is what really shows the latitude of the camera and a lot more fun. Keep your fingers crossed if you like Pirates, Ghosts and Shipwrecks! The demo is in the works and their working on the pitch now. To view this in HD go to Sony’s VideON.

Directed by Dena Seidel. Atlantic Crossing: a Robot’s Daring Mission is the story of a passionate team of scientists led by world-renowned oceanographer Scott Glenn, who make history by successfully navigating the first autonomous underwater robot across the Atlantic Ocean.  I have worked for Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences (IMCS) for many years. So I was the most logical choice as the underwater cinematographer. I was also already familiar with many of the crew and the AUV; having documented their first test dives in the open ocean several years earlier.  In addition to underwater, I also shot b-roll and beauty shots The underwater video was shot on a Sony HVR-Z7U inside an Amphibico Phenom Z7/LE Underwater camera housing. For topside shooting I used a Sony HVR-S270 full size shoulder mount camera with the optional VCL308BWS wide angle lens. The two cameras are essentially the same camera in different forms and both produced stunning images. If you know how to use the functionality both cameras have to offer, these cameras will surprise any skeptic of HDV as a format for professionals and documentary film makers. Can’t wait to see the entire feature…..

Trailer for a forthcoming documentary. The film will chronicle the search for Gertrude Tompkins Silver, who flew for the all-female World War II unit known as the Women Airforce Service Pilots. On October 26, 1944, Tompkins took off from Los Angeles’ Mines Field in a P-51 Mustang and was never seen again—the only WASP still unaccounted for. The action focuses on an October 2009 diving survey of Southern California’s Santa Monica Bay, organized by the Missing Aircraft Recovery Team (MAST), in conjunction with other search groups. See the Air&Space Smithsonian magazine article on MAST in September’s 2010 issue.