The Not Next Big Blue ?
Posted By Paul Kotik on 14 January 2007
DB - What's your freediving background?
Sky - I trained with the lead actor as I was writing the script to get into the freediving mindset, which became particularly important during editing. Before every editing session for an underwater scene, I would spend at least an hour in the water letting my mind shift back to that world. Aquatic psychology is quite different from its terrestrial counterpart, and I tried to juxtapose the two in the film. Max, the protagonist, finds freedom from his deepest fears and problems while in this aquatic space. As a result, all underwater scenes flow with long fades and dissolves, whereas the dry-land scenes utilize jump-cuts and faster pacing.
DB - Your wife is an Olympian, too?
Sky - My wife, Tamara Christopherson (then Tamara Jenkins), competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia in sprint kayaking. She's a fierce competitor but also graceful and beautiful- I am lucky to know her. We met at the Olympic training center in San Diego, CA, fell in love and married in 2002. Tamara's love and support were instrumental in getting this film made, whether it was playing the part of an athlete extra or in staying up all night with us to get a scene shot, she was always there.
DB - How'd you go about casting the film - especially the main character, Max Avery?
Sky - In the summer of 2003, I traveled to Colorado to visit my friend Justin Williford, a member of the US National Shooting Team. At the time Justin was ranked 5th in the nation in his Shotgun discipline of Skeet. Because shooting is so much more a mental sport than a physical one, I found it much easier to discuss the points of mental preparation with him on an elite level and how important it was to have a strong mental game.
Justin and I were roommates at the Olympic Training Center, and would talk for hours about those cherished moments of "flow" that we lived for. Justin said the tiny 108mm clay pigeon that normally traveled over 60mph (100kph), would kick into slow motion and appear as large as a trash can lid. He could see the sun glistening on the edge of the targets and would hit them effortlessly with the shotgun, which now felt as if it was an extension of his body.
During this visit, we talked at length about freediving and its parallels to our sports. Justin shared my conviction that freediving had been exploited by the media, and was in need of something to communicate these greater values.
- Bookmark with :
- what are these?
