Howard & Michele Hall – Legendary Award Winning Underwater Filmmaking Duo

Hey everyone welcome to another episode of the League of Extraordinary Divers. It’s great to have you here today.

Have you ever been to an IMAX movie? IMAX redefines the phrase big screen films. Well I vividly remember seeing Deep Sea 3D IMAX film, I was stunned at the beauty on the massive screen. It was truly an experience to watch. Well it turns out that movie along with multiple other IMAX and made for tv movies were all filmed by a husband and wife duo none other than Howard and Michele Hall.

Howard and Michele Hall are wildlife filmmakers who specialize in marine wildlife films. Working as a team, Howard and Michele have produced and directed many television films including a National Geographic Special, three episodes of the PBS series Nature and the five-hour PBS series Secrets of the Ocean Realm.

In addition to winning the Best of Show at Wildscreen 1990, The Festival Choice Award at Jackson Hole in 1991 and Best Cinematography in 1993, the Hall’s television work has resulted in seven Emmy Awards.

IMAX

The Halls are perhaps best known for their underwater IMAX® films. In 1994 Howard directed the first-ever underwater IMAX 3D feature, Into the Deep, and in 1998 he directed and Michele produced the IMAX film Island of the Sharks. They returned to the IMAX 3D format in 2005 when Michele produced and Howard directed the Warner Bros./IMAX feature Deep Sea 3D. The award-winning sequel Under the Sea 3D followed in 2009. Of the five highest grossing 3D films produced by IMAX Corporation, two were directed by Howard. The box office receipts for the IMAX films they’ve produced and directed exceed $200million.

Howard and Michele have participated in many other underwater IMAX productions in various capacities, including MacGillivray Freeman Films’ IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure, Journey to the South Pacific and Humpback Whales.

They are currently in production on two films. One is an IMAX film, Secrets of the Sea. The release has been delayed due to Covid-19, and is now scheduled for 2022. The second is a feature-length documentary, which they expect will be available on a streaming venue in 2021.

Accolades

The Halls strive to make family-friendly films that raise awareness of and increase appreciation for the marine environment. During the past 30 years, the films they have produced have been seen by thousands of children and adults. They consistently receive feedback in letters, emails and in person from many who have said that not only have their films increased their knowledge of the marine environment, but they have also been the inspiration to turn career choices toward marine sciences and / or environmental issues.

Howard is a member of the Directors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Michele is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Women Divers Hall of Fame. The various awards they’ve received include being inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, and being named as honorees of the Hans Hass Award. Both are recipients of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences’ NOGI Award.

Items In This Podcast

• They met at a dive shop in California, Michele was Howard’s student
• Howard started on the set of The Deep motion picture
• The first PBS specials
• Attempting the first ever underwater IMAX film camera scenes – with a 345 pound camera!
• Favorite diving locations
• Lifesaving measures for a diver… who was going to the bathroom
• Helping a Manta Ray has a major reward – Girl of the Sea of Cortez inspiration
• Tips for divers
• Women Divers Hall of Fame Scholarships
• Howard and Michele’s website

Sponsor

Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Adventures

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