|
|
| |
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
The USS Cooper has not been commemorated since it sank on Dec. 3, 1944.
Enter Rob Lalumiere, a skilled scuba diver interested not only in oceanic depths, but WWII history and the men who sacrificed their lives for freedom. After numerous excursions, Lalumiere located the USS Cooper and then, determined to honor the men he had long admired, placed a memorial plaque on the ship.
An intense 12 day production shoot documented Lalumiere's expedition in Ormoc Bay -- Leyte Island, Philippines. Unpredictable weather, dive complications and intricate underwater shoots from three angles were some of the numerous factors that the filmmakers faced.
Finding the coordinates
The USS Cooper's exact position was difficult to locate since all records and log books were destroyed with the ship.
Diver Rob Lalumiere contacted Ron Babuka whose father sailed on the USS Allen M. Sumner. Babuka plotted the movement of the ships on that fateful night using radio logs, survey maps, battle action reports and navigation tracks. Lalumiere worked from this data, which Babuka assembled into a track chart that became an accurate blueprint of the ships' movements on Dec. 3, 1944.
During several trips into Ormoc Bay, Lalumiere and Frank Doyle, captain of the Rags dive boat, eventually located the USS Cooper. The Rags was also the main dive boat used during Lalumiere's dive to the USS Cooper.
The destroyer was found to be at a depth of 633 feet (193 meters) -- deeper than the world record technical dive of 581 feet (177 meters). Extensive planning began eight months before dive day -- May 29, 2005, Memorial Day -- although Lalumiere had begun planning other aspects of the dive two years before.
Testing the waters
Rob Lalumiere collaborated with key players to accomplish the memorial dive. The dive team had collectively achieved thousands of deep technical dives. Ron Loos, Lalumiere's mentor, and Luke MacNamara, a student of Loos, accompanied Lalumiere on the first of numerous test dives and were present at the USS Cooper dive. Technical support coordinator Jongin Lee oversaw such details as Lalumiere's helmet camera and underwater lighting devices. Overall, Lee was a needed voice of safety and caution on the dive.
Frank Doyle, owner of the main dive boat, Rags, acted as dive supervisor and project coordinator. Doyle and his team plotted out decompression stops, which allowed Lalumiere to rest during his ascent and rid his blood of harmful nitrogen bubbles.
Numerous other divers contributed to Lalumiere's success, including: Paul Nielsen, technical support diver; Ross Thompson, dive support coordinator; Brian Gilles, support coordinator; and Simon Birtles, technical support diver.
Testing the waters
Lalumiere completed four test dives before the main USS Cooper dive to allow for equipment adjustments, and to prepare his physiology for the deep dive. Test dives were also necessary to begin calculating gas mixtures during the main dive, which used five tanks. Lalumiere twice dove to the Japanese ship the Kaisha, and he also explored the Japanese destroyer the Kuwa. An unexpected discovery during the test dives was an intact Lockheed PV-1 bomber ditched on Jan. 18, 1945, because of low fuel and bad weather.
The final decision
Tensions grew tight as dive day approached. A final sonar reading of the wreck revealed that it rested at a slightly shallower depth than originally thought. Gas mixture, descent and decompression charts needed last minute revisions - forcing a one day delay in the dive.
The blessing
USS Cooper survivor Hank Wagener joined Lalumiere, Father Ramiel Costolo and the production crew for a blessing of the waters above the USS Cooper on May 27, 2005. The event took place aboard Bigfoot Entertainment's production yacht, the Sun Seeker. Wagener recited a prayer honoring his fallen comrades from that dark early morning 61-years ago. He and Father Costolo invoked protection for Rob during his challenging dive. The three men released a wreath into the water above the USS Cooper as a 21 gun salute echoed through Ormoc Bay, fired by the Philippine National Police/ Ormoc Division.
Hank's prayer continues to be remembered:
The reality that my shipmates were killed as I watched from the water was very disturbing. That the lord works in mysterious ways is so true. One wonders what is the Lord's purpose behind all of this. I know I was very fortunate to be so close to the tragedy and escape with my life. A bible passage reminds us to be ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven because we will not know the day or the hour of our calling. It is a great honor to be here to see Rob put that plaque on the deck of the ship. It has been a long time to honor our shipmates who gave their lives. God bless them and God bless America.
Animating the past
CGI and animation are crucial design elements in USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay. Both were used to fill in story gaps and augment various memories. Bigfoot Entertainment's CGI team was charged with simulating the USS Cooper and creating movement within charts and old photographs. The night of Dec. 3, 1944, springs to life in the documentary, replete with its inherent terror, chaos and suspense.
Battle scenes feature a recreation of the USS Cooper as it dodges torpedoes, fires off salvos and careens through the moonlit night. Bigfoot animators extensively researched how the ship sailed, sounded and turned. A model of the ship was created using Maya software, and was given motion, lighting and texture to bring it to life. Other key elements in these scenes involve accurate portrayal of waves, torpedo trajectories and munitions fire. In the documentary USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay, the USS Cooper sails once again.
Bigfoot animators brought subtle movement to 1940s photographs and documents donated by survivors and their families. The artfully treated photographs take on new life as cigarette smoke wafts from a cigarette, sailors' hats soar in the air and champagne bursts from a bottle during the USS Cooper dedication ceremonies.
Since the documentary involves the complicated sport of technical diving, the CGI team also animated dive charts and decompression and gas mixing schedules to convey the intricacy of the dive, as well as the danger involved. |
| |
PRODUCTION TEAM
| Director/director |
Daniel Foster
|
| Producers |
Daniel Foster
Leica Cruz |
| Executive Producers |
Michael Gleissner
Kacy Andrews
Matt Lubetich |
| Associate Producer |
Jeneth Borlasa |
| Director of photography |
Eugene Florendo |
| Underwater videographer |
Jacques Tarnero |
| Editors |
Daniel Foster
Kristoffer Villarino |
| Composer |
Mark Amberville |
INTERVIEW SUBJECTS
| Rob Lalumiere |
Diver |
| Hank Wagener |
Survivor |
| Richard Sementelli |
Eye Witness |
| Veda Kelley |
Widowed wife |
|
| |
ABOUT THE INTERVIEW SUBJECTS
Rob Lalumiere- Diver
Rob Lalumiere is an advanced deep and wreck diver from Lebanon, New Hampshire. He was first certified as an open water PADI Diver in 2002 and now holds nine certifications. Lalumiere has logged over 1,000 dives, with a majority of them going below 196 feet (60 meters). His affinity for deep diving and WWII history brought him to Leyte, Philippines where he sought out ships sunk in the Pacific War. After multiple finds, he searched for the undiscovered USS Cooper.
Hank Wagener- Survivor
Hank Wagener is an 81-year-old WWII veteran who survived the torpedoed USS Cooper. In February of 2005, the Bigfoot production team contacted Wagener about the documentary. When asked to return to Ormoc Bay to attend a memorial ceremony for his lost comrades on the USS Cooper, he gladly accepted. Wagener traveled from Chicago, Illinois to the Philippines to join the dive boat and witness the memorial from above the water. "This is something that has been bothering me for 61 years," he told Lalumiere. Through the experience, Wagener laid old memories to rest, and paid a final tribute to friends he had lost long ago.
Richard Sementelli- Eye witness
Richard Sementelli was a 20mm gunner on the USS Allen M. Sumner, which sailed alongside the USS Cooper in Ormoc Bay. In gripping detail, Sementelli relates the battle from start to finish, with equal parts suspense and insight into the tragedy of war. A superb storyteller, Sementelli truly becomes the voice of USS Cooper: Return to Ormoc Bay.
Veda Kelley- Widowed wife
Veda Kelley, widowed wife of Eunice Theodore Guilford Jr, lives in St. Charles, MO, just outside of St. Louis. Kelley was married to "June" as she calls her late husband, just a short time before he died defending both the Philippines and the USS Cooper. June left behind both his wife and an 18-month-old son, Rod, who also relates his experiences in the film. Eunice Theodore Guilford Jr. died at the age of 24.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Daniel Foster- Director/ writer/ producer/ editor
Daniel Foster owns EyeAwake Studio in Los Angeles , where he works as a director, editor and writer. His award-winning work is known for its rich, global explorations and its ability to capture the essence of culture. In association with Novica and the National Geographic Society, he has directed and produced projects showcasing artisan rituals and ceremonies in Thailand, Cambodia, West Africa and Indonesia. Foster recently served as director and photographer for the television pilot, Keepers of the Arts, which features work of artisans in South East Asia and Africa. He also wrote and directed the Thai-based travel show pilot Nautical Angels produced by Bigfoot Entertainment. His first short film, AIRBORN, recently captured a Best Experimental Film award after a 2005 world tour showing by the International Festival of Cinema and Technology.
His studio has received critical acclaim for its groundbreaking theatrical projection design shown in major U.S. theaters. Foster's feature essays and articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Harvard Business Review, Details, Smithsonian's Air & Space, The Advocate and Esquire, among numerous other national publications. He also has broadcast his feature essays on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, as well as Marketplace Radio.
Leica Cruz- Producer
Leica Cruz graduated from St. Theresa's College, in Cebu, Philippines with a degree in Mass Communications. Before entering the television and film industry, she worked extensively in the theater, directing and producing several plays. Cruz carved out a niche in broadcast and has produced travel programming, a commercial, a music video and various audio visual presentations. Cruz is currently head of production at Bigfoot Entertainment.
Michael Gleissner- Executive producer
Asia-based media and business entrepreneur Michael Gleissner made his directorial debut with a thriller set in Hong Kong, Irreversi, for which he also served as co-writer. The film stars Estella Warren, Kenny Doughty and newcomers Mei Melancon and Ian Bohen. With Irreversi, Gleissner pioneered Dual Language films, as he shot Irreversi in both English and Mandarin Chinese, the latter targeted specifically for the Asian market.
A noted underwater photographer and music video director, Gleissner began his professional career in the technology industry. After service as Vice President at Amazon.com (which acquired one of his companies in 1998), Gleissner started a New York-based hedge fund, generating exceptional returns by short-selling overpriced, internet companies. After the dot-com bubble, he made headlines as he took major stakes in devalued but viable dot-com assets when the market bottomed and exited these investments with exceptional returns.
In 2000, Gleissner turned his attention to e-mail pioneer Bigfoot.com, acquiring and utilizing the brand for what turned into a Hong Kong and Singapore-based conglomerate, with businesses in communications, business process outsourcing, education and real estate. An entertainment division, Bigfoot Entertainment, was then added with investments exceeding $20 million. The Bigfoot Group of Companies also includes ventures such as a state-of-the-art production facility in Cebu, Philippines; a film school, the International Academy of Film and Television; and Bigfoot Partners, a film fund that has financed and produced diverse films such as 3 Needles (Lucy Liu, Chloe Sevigny and Stockard Channing), East Broadway (Margaret Cho), Shanghai Kiss (Kelly Hu) and The Curiosity of Chance (Tad Hilgenbrinck from American Pie Presents: Band Camp). Among the projects in development for Bigfoot Entertainment are the adventure travel television series, Nautical Angels and feature films Simple Man and Quiver. Bigfoot also acquired the master franchise of Fashion TV in Singapore and the Philippines.
Kacy Andrews- Executive producer
Kacy Andrews has been actively involved in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years. Her diverse resume includes feature films, television series, theater and animation. She has worked throughout the world, and was recently profiled in PEOPLE Asia Magazine's 2006 People of the Year issue.
Kacy spent nine years in production and project development at Los Angeles-based Hyperion Studio. This includes work as one of the Producers on Miramax's Playing By Heart (Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands and Angelina Jolie). Kacy's portfolio at Hyperion also includes the feature film Tom's Midnight Garden (Joan Plowright); BoneChillers, a children's television series for ABC (Linda Cardellini); and numerous animated projects such as FOX's Life With Louie (Louie Anderson); HBO's Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (Denzel Washington and Whoopi Goldberg); and Paramount Pictures' The Oz Kids (Jonathan Taylor Thomas).
Moving from Hyperion, Kacy had a short stint as Vice President of Development at Blue Focus Management where she worked on projects for MGM, Disney and Sony. She then dabbled in the dotcom and software arena at Creative Planet and Entertainment Partners.
In 2003, her consulting work at Bigfoot Productions led to the creation of Bigfoot Entertainment and the International Academy of Film and Television. As the CEO and founder, she has overseen the set up and development of the company, production facilities and campus located in Cebu, Philippines. The company has since grown to more than 250 employees both foreign and local.
Over the past few years, Bigfoot Entertainment has invested in several feature films, including Shanghai Kiss (Hayden Panettiere), East Broadway (Margaret Cho) and 3 Needles (Lucy Liu, Olympia Dukakis and Sandra Oh).
During her tenure at Bigfoot, she has served as a Producer of such feature films as; The Curiosity of Chance, Irreversi (Estella Warren), Hui Lui, Within, and Midnight Movie, as well as the documentary, USS Cooper and reality series Hollywood Boot Camp. These projects have been shot in such international locations as Belgium, Hong Kong, Thailand, Los Angeles and The Philippines. Many have played the film festival circuit and received numerous accolades before going into the marketplace.
Kacy is a recipient of the David Letterman Internship and a Cum Laude graduate of Ball State University with continuing studies at the American Film Institute. In 2000, she was awarded Ball State University's Graduate of the Last Decade and more recently was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award. Since her move to Los Angeles, where she is based, she has been actively involved with organizations such as Women in Film, Step-Up and Big Sisters/Big Brothers of Los Angeles. She currently sits on the Board of Governors at the Bigfoot Foundation - a charitable organization.
Matt Lubetich- Executive producer
Matt Lubetich's diverse professional experience ranges from corporate to creative. Matt was a partner at Big Twenty Inc., specializing in multimedia productions for Microsoft and Paul Allen, as well as edutainment for kids and music videos. Following that, he moved onto the role of Corporate Producer at Microsoft Studios before going into independent consultancy. Matt has created a wide-ranging portfolio of marketing/training programs for Fortune 500 clients, including Conoco-Phillips, Georgia-Pacific and Target Stores. He has also bagged numerous accolades, with Multiple Telly, MCA-i and Omni under his belt.
He has produced two feature films Redemption (1997), which earned an honorable mention at the 1999 Methodfest Film Festival in Los Angeles, and dot-CON, an award-winning High Definition Drama/Satire.
Joining Bigfoot Entertainment in 2003 as a production consultant, Matt migrated quickly to Head of Productions overseeing all in-house and series/documentary programming. Matt eagerly accepted the role of VP of Development in 2004 to help shore up the executive team. His most recent advancement into the role of Chief Operating Officer in early 2005 combines his production experience with entrepreneurial spirit to elevate Bigfoot Entertainment to its next level.
Eugene Florendo- Director of photography
Eugene Florendo started working for DSL Trading, an audio-visual firm in Manila, when he was 20-years old. He began his career as a lighting assistant, but soon redirected his interest to the camera. His ambition and passion for camera work led him to additional schooling to learn underwater cinematography. He was then hired to film a "behind the scenes" production of an underwater model shoot. Florendo has shot audio visual presentations, various travel programs and a TV pilot called Dive Asia.
Jacques Tarnero- Underwater videographer
Jacques Tarnero, an independent filmmaker and underwater cameraman, has captured a vast array of marine life behavior while creating numerous short documentaries. Tarnero's production company, Artifishal Productions, has documented underwater life for the past eight years for such shows as Discover the Blue-Tropical Marine Life and Discover the Blue-Dangerous Marine Life. Other projects include the television pilot Diving Asia and an underwater calendar for Fashion TV.
Kristoffer Villarino- Editor
A native to Cebu, Philippines, Kristoffer Villarino began his career directing and editing music videos and short films. Binaliw, a short film written and directed by Villarino, won second prize at the 15th Cultural Center of the Philippines Awards for Alternative Film and Video and was a finalist at the .MOV International Digital Film Festival. Kris now heads the editing team of Bigfoot Entertainment. He has edited several of Bigfoot Entertainment's feature length projects including Irreversi, Hui Lu, and the horror film Midnight Movie.
Mark Amberville- Composer
After moving to Sweden at the age of three, the Romanian born Mark Ambervill quickly learned piano at age 18. While studying at Stockholm Music Conservatory, Ambervill received an opportunity to score his first feature film, Sixth of June. Since then, he has scored two feature length films, five shorts and multiple commercials for Absolut, Ericsson, GE healthcare, and SKANSKA. Ambervill continues to expand his musical talent by composing for various genres, such as electronica, contemporary jazz and orchestral.
ABOUT BIGFOOT ENTERTAINMENT
Bigfoot Entertainment's mission is to create an innovative, profitable and socially responsible organization and learning environment that provides quality content, products, and services for our stakeholders and the global marketplace.
Based in Asia, Bigfoot Entertainment is the parent company of Bigfoot Productions, Bigfoot Production Services, the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) and Bigfoot Partners. Through all of its divisions, Bigfoot Entertainment recognizes a global competitive organization that provides critically acclaimed and commercially viable content as well as providing training, facilities and services to international filmmakers.
Bigfoot Entertainment - leaving lasting footprints in the world of entertainment!
For more information, visit www.bigfootentertainment.com
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
