Several Vancouver Islanders were involved in Secrets of the Octopus, a National Geographic documentary produced by James Cameron and narrated by Paul Rudd.
The docuseries features a variety of octopuses in various habitats, including filming around the Campbell River area.
Maxwel Hohn, a cinematographer and diver from the Comox Valley, who received critical acclaim for NetflixB次元官网网址檚 Island of the Sea Wolves, was chosen to helm the project with AustraliaB次元官网网址檚 SeaLight Pictures.
B次元官网网址淗e specializes in underwater cinematography,B次元官网网址� says Roger McDonell, who skippered the boat used by the show in the Campbell River-filmed scenes. B次元官网网址淗e used to work at the DiveSafe School as an instructor here in Campbell River, and heB次元官网网址檚 kind of branched over into exploring his artistic skill set, and heB次元官网网址檚 been out diving with us a bit on our boat on some other projects and that, not anything major like this. He had the initial contact with them, and they wanted to come out to British Columbia and knew of his work and, of course, they were looking for the giant Pacific octopus which we have in the waters here.B次元官网网址�
Hohn chose McDonellB次元官网网址檚 boat because it has an elevator attached to it, making it easier for divers and filming equipment to get on and off the boat, as opposed to hoisting the equipment up and over the boatB次元官网网址檚 gunnels.
Krystal Janicki, Tynan Callesen, Shannon Groenewegen, Manfred Lippe, and Russell Clark were locals who also helped out in the project.
Janicki, from Black Creek, has been diving for nine years. She says she has endless connections with the giant Pacific octopus after 1,000 dives. Janicki is also known as the B次元官网网址渙ctopus whisperer.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hen I was newer in my dive journey, I thought it was a normal occurrence for people to have these incredible moments with Giant Pacific octopuses,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淏ut in chats with other divers, I began realizing that this was very unique; to often have such powerful and long encounters with the animal. So, within a few years of my diving, other divers started commenting saying I must just be an octopus whisperer.
Lippe, who worked as the film unitB次元官网网址檚 diving safety coordinator, expanded on it.
B次元官网网址淭hey (octopuses) seem to be attracted to her. But the thing is that she is one of the few people that I have met that if there is an octopus the first thing she does is take her glove off and put her bare hand out thereB次元官网网址� octopuses love skin, so they get attracted to the warmth of your skim. They tend to play with her and some will perceive Krystal not as a threat but as an almost-like friend.B次元官网网址�
Lippe says she is like an octopus magnet. That was more or less her role in the series. Janicki says her role in the series was to show the connections a giant Pacific octopus can form.
B次元官网网址淭hey are the largest octopus in the world, and their hearts seem to be just as big as they are. They wanted to show the size comparison from a diver to a Giant Pacific octopus. But, also how curious and tender they can be when they bond with someone,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭hey are incredibly smart and recognize faces.B次元官网网址�
A giant Pacific octopus has a life span of three to five years. They usually weigh around 33 pounds, with an arm span of up to 14 feet. However, some have been discovered to weigh around 110 pounds. They are also one of the only species that use tools.
Janicki says the octopus they encountered trusted her immediately and took her from its den to stroll around the reef and into shallow water.
The Campbell River segment is around 15 minutes and features in the seriesB次元官网网址� second episode. It solely focuses on the giant Pacific octopus. The experience of filming the series was even more magical than the series showed, Janicki says. Janicki and the crew showed a lot of respect to the octopus they encountered, allowing it the freedom to show her the reef, hunt, or just explore Janicki.
B次元官网网址淭he staff from Australia that were here for the filming were incredibly kind and humble. They had so much patience and understanding since we were working in Mother Nature with wildlife, and we canB次元官网网址檛 predict whatB次元官网网址檚 going to happen,B次元官网网址� she says.
The three episodic series is part of CameronB次元官网网址檚 Secrets Of franchise, which also contains Secrets of the Whales and Secrets of the Elephants. The Secrets of the Octopus was released on Earth Day (April 21) in the United States on Disney+, Hulu and the National Geographic Channel. It will be available in Canada on Disney+ on May 22.
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