Documentary cinematographer Sandi Sissel is harnessed to a camera mount on the deck of the James Caird while filming in Cumberland Bay. For Smoot and Sissel, as for Hurley, the technical hurdles to realizing their vision are considerable. Both crews undertook extensive technical preparations for the polar environment, including cold-chamber testing of all equipment in Canada. On location, splash bags or scuba housings keep out seawater and mist, compressed air blowers remove spray from lenses, and heaters fend off extreme cold. Sissel rigged a straw on her viewfinder to siphon condensation, since the heat of her face frequently fogs it.
Gyroscopic mounts help stabilize the film image in wild seas.
We have a very narrow window when the weather is severe enough to tell the story, but not yet too dangerous to film. Sissel agrees, citing the added difficulty of conveying severe weather. To tell this story, I want to shoot when the weather is at its worst. But the problem is you can't see cold or wind. The landscape just looks romantic.