I know personally how much time and effort went into making this film. While personal beliefs differ greatly on the morality of harvesting Black Coral the fishery here in Hawaii is legal, well managed, well studied, and most importantly sustainable. There are very VERY few men and women left conducting such dives. The decades of research that have went into creating this sustainable fishery are the bench mark for other nations trying to get a hold of their run away over harvesting. Black coral can reach minimum harvest size within 25 years and gets a nearly 10 year period of optimal reproductive phase before its allowed to be taken. The logistics and skill set required to even attempt these dives both top side and in the water is quite impressive. Especially in the treacherous waters around the Hawaiian Islands that so often seem deceptively calm.
While I'm not a huge fan of riding marine life some of the stock footage depicts behavior from a time long ago where less emphasis existed on the modern "do not touch" model most of us accept today. I actually enjoyed some of the footage of the diver in marathon distress mode. I prefer to move through the water with my fins, or actually dpv, but these things have happened in the storied history of the fishery and when your in the middle of a channel and your anchor is on the move you better catch up or be prepared for one hell of a surface swim. Most importantly this film captured rare interviews with the men who not only pioneered the harvest of Black Coral but also numerous diving techniques in the infancy of technical diving. They are the old guard and without such films their stories and perspectives would be lost forever. I for one cannot wait to see the final release. Congrats to you Todd! I know it was a lot of hard work.