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 Deep Sea the Ride
The Uncharted Waters of Deep Sea:
Production Notes
Deep Sea Was a Challenge
The production of Deep Sea was a very challenging endeavor. While Deep Sea is well suited to motion simulation, it is a difficult subject because so little is known. Many of the “characters” of Deep Sea have never even been seen alive, making rendering them realistically a painstaking task; only with the support of a team of Deep Sea experts led by Dr. Clyde Roper of the Smithsonian was the amazing simulation reality of Deep Sea achieved. More is known about dinosaurs and how they behaved 65 million years ago than most species living in the deep sea today.
Why The Deep Sea Theme
The “deep sea” theme was first proposed by Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, President and CEO of the Center for Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio (COSI), a true model Science Centre for the 21st century. A Space Shuttle veteran astronaut and Alvin Aquanaut, Sullivan felt that this exploration of the earth’s final frontier had the potential to be the most exciting use of simulation to date.
Why a Simulator
A simulator can be made to effectively replicate a submersible experience while capturing the 3D space effect of the ocean – meaning you can travel in any direction and at any attitude you like, as in outer space.
The Making of Deep Sea
The first task was to define what sort of story could be told and the approach that should be taken with the material. Richard Needham, Producer/Director of Deep Sea remembers the initial creative discussions; “We quickly concluded that the deep sea is a particularly exciting topic and one which needs little embellishment. The stories told deep below the surface are so bizarre, monstrous and frightening that we would not need to invent fictitious situations to generate excitement – the material was simply mind blowing on it’s own. The decision was made from the start to be as true to the subject matter as possible.”
With this clear intention, and a 2-year production process, the bulk of which was spent producing five minutes of ultra high-resolution 3D computer animation, the realistic environment was created.
Deep Sea Accuracy
The Deep Sea creative team worked closely with the world’s leading experts in the field to ensure scientific accuracy, not only of the different creatures, but of the submarines and support technologies as well.
Well Worth the Wait
After many hurdles and discoveries, two years in production, 180,000 work hours and 480,000 computer hours, generating 1.8 million megabytes of data, Deep Sea is ready for the big screen. If early reactions are any indication, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan is correct in her assumption that this exploration of the earth’s final frontier will be the most exciting use of simulation to date!
Take a virtual tour of the ride (440Kb Flash file)
See the Deep Sea Video
News Release
Quick facts about Deep Sea
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