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Editor's Note -  Every once in a while we are presented with a underwater film that is pushes the boundaries as to what we can do with underwater footage -- be it through it's subject matter, editing, or filming style.

When I saw Edward Snijders Gold winning video entry to the OWU 2012 Competition, I was impressed by how creative an idea it was to remake an old classic, and also how well it was executed.  Given it's originality, we asked Edward to discuss how he came up with this award winning film.

By Edward Snijders

1932 will now be a year I never forget..
 
The idea for ‘1932, revisited’ emerged when I watched a film from Hans Hass, the Austrian scientist and diving explorer, who shot an underwater film in Curacao. It stirred my interest for more so I continued the search and found ‘With Williamson Beneath the Sea’.

J.E Williamson was a great underwater film pioneer who created this compilation from some of his earlier films, and he was a great storyteller! In those days Williamson could take his time to elaborate on his experiences and observations in the marine world, especially for a patient audience, which did not know anything about what happened underwater.

Ultimately, filmmaking is all about stories and I am convinced stories are more important than just beautiful images. When I watched the film – with a story designed for audiences in 1932 - I considered a remake by editing new HD footage to the soundtrack. Then I quickly realized that a 21st century audience would be a lot harder to tie to a story at the pace of 1932.

The next step was a logical one: edit the soundtrack to a length that even the most quickly bored or non-interested audience would be able to sit out and get the best footage (that is to say: from my stock) to illustrate the story. The bit of Williamson humor came for free, so that was the bonus, which I did not expect when I started.
 
Now, being awarded Gold in the Our World Underwater 2012 Competition for this production, I can only conclude that the following approach is the right one:  create the right story and then add your extra ordinary beautiful super HD images…Who’s next?