At 15 years old from the bottom of the shallow end our storyteller Brian Skerry saw his epiphany to swim with the fishes. The scuba gear barely fit his small frame when the old man pushed him in a sink or swim type of way. His first breath underwater was after the thud on the bottom.
All he could remember was being told to blow out air on the way backup. The breath was tepid as the brain told him he would drown. But soon, the SCUBA gear performed and a whole new world was opened. Brian Skerry became so comfortable underwater that we got to a magical display of interaction, caring, observation and playfulness with whales. All types of whales!
Sigourney Weaver narrates and James Cameron directs Secrets of The Whales on National Geographic TV.
But really this is a whale of a tale as we get to learn about social behaviors and the 15-pound brains of our host subjects. The amazing voice of Ms. Weaver leaves no astonishment of our filmmaker unturned.
The funny part of the first narrations felt like they were talking about James Cameron. Give it a try when you watch and close your eyes and replace "James Cameron" every time Ms. Weaver's voice shatters in amazement. Oh James! I can hear her say.
Is there an actual comparison between the social behavior and smarts of whales to the mind of James Cameron? If his movies are slices of the story, or each a note in an exceptionally long ode, we seem to tie the whales up and then heroically free them during Secrets of Whales.
The magic happens when Ms. Weaver's voice blends away and the action of the screen takes your breath away. A dramatic hold on the very momentum of thought in their telling. The subjects become the stars and the rest of the filming crew is just along for the ride. Hollywood disappears and majesty takes over.
Direct questions to Brian Skerry brought so much more to the Secrets of The Whales.
Brad: I want to ask my last question first. Are there any secrets that are not in the movie? I will let you think about that and we can learn that last.
Brian: Ok, sounds good.
Brad: The interesting thing that came out was learning the social behavior of the whales. Since you have dived with them so much, could you tell us how many dives until you started to see it?"
Brian: Well, it's a great question Brad. I would say that you know I've actually been with whales and dolphins, which are small whales, for decades. I have always seen the social part of it to some extent but when I created Secrets of Whales it was after really understanding the science.
Some of the latest and greatest science is telling us that these whales have very deep cultures. That they are doing things differently in different parts of the world within a genetically identical species and therefore they are not so different than us when it comes to culture. They are passing on ancestral traditions.
I did a cover story for National Geographic in 2015 about dolphin intelligence and I was looking at culture. But I did not really realize it, I was very clinical in my approach. It was after that and talking to more scientists that I realized that what I have been looking at all along was culture.
That is what Secrets of Whales was about. It is about seeing these animals through the lens of culture. Understanding that is a bit of a game changer in how we humans see our world. To know that there are these intelligent animals alien species in our oceans, and they are doing things much like us and have rich cultures.
Brad: So, you discovered it twice then?
Brian: Yeah, I think so. I mean I was always aware of some social behavior with whales and dolphins. But to understand it from a much deeper connection culturally was a real revelation.
Brad: The writing was fine and with Miss Weaver reading and the beautiful filming I found that if I closed my eyes for a moment, I could replace Orcas with James Cameron. When you were describing a 15 pound brain I was wondering if you were talking about him?
Brian: (with laughter) Yeah, he is operating on a high level. I agree.
Brad: The fondness for the Beluga whales really came through. Could you tell us about the bonding you may have had with the Belugas?
Brian: I too love Beluga whales. They are sort of this mythical creature for me in a they live at the top of the planet up near the North Pole. They live in these societies that we have not been able to see very much. It is a logistically difficult place to work.
But the footage that I was able to capture with the Beluga whales was done with remote cameras. You are not allowed in the water in that place. We had to design and build these passive underwater remote cameras.
I was standing right on the edge of the shore and could almost reach out and touch them, but I did not go in the water. If I put as much as a toe in the water 700 whales would have stampeded away.
To be able to come home every day and look at that footage and see what we were seeing. You know stuff that had never been seen before was extraordinary. But I could hear them and see them. It was a very special experience to be in that remote place with nobody else around. 6 weeks with the Belugas.
Brad: Can you tell us about your first dive? The first time you went under water.
Brian: The 1st time, the very 1st time I went under the water with SCUBA gear was when I was 15 years old, and I did that in my parents' backyard swimming pool. I had a friend in high school whose parents had some dive gear he brought over the house. I sat in the shallow end about 3' deep, and I can remember like it was yesterday. Being able to breathe and just my mind was blown. It was like a game changer man and I am never going back.
Brad: That's Great. Finally, is there another secret that we did not get in the movie?
Brian: I think we are just at the beginning Brad. I mean the Secret of Whales that we reveal in this series are quite extraordinary. We see a new view of our planet through these whales. But we are at the tip of the iceberg. I think in time so much more about these cultures and traditions that these animals have will be revealed.
I think it is just going to be one revelation after another.
James Cameron's SECRETS OF THE WHALES premieres on Disney+ on April 22 (Earth Day).
