Why shoot productions with sharks at Tiger Beach, Bahamas?

Mythbusters 2009 Discovery Networks

Film and television productions have come to realize that Tiger Beach, Bahamas is perhaps one of the best sites to film shark productions on the planet, and for good reason.

Shark Diver has been involved with top rated productions for the past seven years at this unique dive site and we have listed just a few reasons to consider your next shark productions here.

1. Ease of Production

Tiger Beach sits just off the shores of Grand Bahama Island. With top rated hotels for talent and crews like the Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina as your base of operations and medium sized dive vessels for productions, from concept to shoot day this site has everything you will need. Additionally the Bahamas Film Commission is perhaps one of the most production friendly government agencies in the Bahamas and has gone to great lengths for every production they service to make things happen.

2. Multi-Species Encounters

Few dive sites on the planet can offer guaranteed big animal encounters with Tigers, and even fewer offer multi-species encounters all within a short distance of each other. From Reef sharks to Tigers and even clouds of Lemon sharks, Tiger Beach and the surrounding reefs offer shark filled productions in short order.

3. Dive Site Magic

At a maximum depth of 20 feet Tiger Beach offers an encounter space tailored for novice to serious talent. Visibility at Tiger Beach is 80% blue water, additionally the vast majority of Tiger Beach is white sand bottom allowing for additional objects and production development for larger commercials and product placement. Consider Tiger Beach a blank canvass for commercial productions that seek live sharks in the environmentally friendly environment they develop.

4. Cost Benefit

Most shark productions originate out of the USA. From commercials to documentaries flights, accommodations, and time are of the essence once you decide to do a shark production. With ease of travel to Freeport, Grand Bahama from multiple major airports in Florida the Bahamas makes the most production sense. We like to call this site a one-stop-shop for unique productions.

In 2010 Shark Diver was the driving force behind an award winning Gillette commercial at Tiger Beach, developing the site, building cage systems, talent choices and dive safety crews. In tandem with a top Los Angeles based commercial agency the following Gillette commercial set the bar for live action shark filmmaking and won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Where are you going to shoot your next shark production?

Shark Diving, Why Choose Sharkdiver.com?

There are two types of vacation seekers. Those who are content with the ordinary, the explored, and the predictable.

Then there are the vacation seekers who look for the extraordinary. The unique off-the-beaten-track adventure experiences that create lasting vacation memories.

This is who we are. This is Shark Diver, and for the past decade we have prided ourselves in offering destinations and guaranteed big shark encounters that attract real adventure seekers.

Our newly minted Shark Divers are unique in so many ways, but they tend to share one distinct feature, they are the people that you meet at parties, backyard BBQ's and friends houses, the ones you always say, "I can't believe you did that!"

Yes they did, and each year we enjoy reading the flood of trip reports that come back from our boats and from our first time Shark Divers.

2011 was another banner year for us and we have chosen a just few of our diver trip reports for your review. Written by our divers in their own words you can begin to understand why so many people are beginning to seek extraordinary travel destinations.

Maybe 2012 will be your year, or maybe after reading these trip reports you will add one more item to your bucket list. Either way we'll be here when you decide that this is your year for extraordinary adventures:

Sarah Fuller 2011 - Living The Dream


Michelle M 2011 - Bucket List Scratched 


James Woodhead 2011 - From U.K to Mexico


Bev Downie 2011 - Sharks and More Sharks


Tammy and Wayne - Getting Their Shark Groove

Shark Productions with Shark Diver - 2009 Tiger Beach

2009 shark productions Tiger Beach with Mythbusters for Shark Week

Shark Film and Television Productions Bahamas - Popeye

Popeye the "friendliest shark" in the Bahamas

Her name is Popeye.

Named for a jaw wound that has left her with an unmistakable look, she's quickly becoming the Bahamas most filmed Tiger shark.

The wound is courtesy of a what we assume to be a fishing episode gone bad, but it could also be the result of any number of accidents waiting to happen for a curious Tiger shark in the Bahamas.

And curious she is.

Popeye as it turns out is the most inquisitive animal we have met to date at Tiger Beach, a world class dive and production site for sharks off Freeport. She likes close interactions with divers and cameras and is the perfect shark for film and television projects.

We enjoyed her company this spring on several productions with sharks that included an award winning Gillette commercial where she got top billing at the end. With a mug like hers you can understand why she got the final credit (click image for full size).

Most recently we worked with Popeye on a high energy commercial with an "international brand" and she literally saved the production by arriving early and staying late in conditions that made for tough shooting.

She needs an agent.

She works for fish.

This is one great shark.

She's also a terrific ambassador for shark conservation being a "survivor". That unfortunate hooking experience and her subsequent adoption by the dive community at Tiger Beach has produced a remarkably seasoned animal and we're thrilled to see and work with her when the opportunity presents itself.

Popeye is one of the reasons why Tiger Beach has become the place to film big charismatic megafauna, and they don't get more charismatic than Popeye.

Looking forward to seeing you soon big gal, try and stay out of trouble in the meantime.

Tiger Beach Bahamas - Denny the Shark Video

Last week in the middle of another commercial film and television shoot on Tiger Beach we celebrated the arrival of Denny, a little Tiger shark we had come to know and love this spring in the Bahamas.

The celebration lasted until we saw the close up video that Fraizer Nivens surfaced with.

Sadly it looks like little Denny (all three feet of him) had been chomped on by another resident Tiger, crushing his dorsal fin and leaving behind several healing puncture wounds. Additionally he survived a fisherman's hooking event recently.

If you watch this video of Fraizer's you'll see the hook and line in the corner of his mouth.

The good news is that sharks are very resilient critters and if he can stay out of any more trouble little Denny might just get big enough one day to hold his own at Tiger Beach.

Life can be tough for sharks in the wild and we'll continue to follow Denny's progress and update you as he grows up, right now he's a cute little guy who's always showing up in the thick of things not quite sure where he belongs.

Thanks to Fraizer Nivens for the video documentation shot on RED One Digital Cinema camera at 4KHD, 30 fps. RED Code 36. Light color grade in RED CineX, output to Pro Res 4444 and then compressed using Episode into a smaller H264 webmovie.

Let's go shark diving!

Denny the Tiger Shark, Tiger Beach Bahamas from Frazier Nivens on Vimeo.

Tiger Beach Bahamas Video - Frazier Nivens

Underwater DP Frazier Nivens with Ocean Imaging spent a few weeks this spring with the M/V Kate in the Bahamas at Tiger Beach.

This video is about as good as it gets. If you have ever wondered what shark diving with Tigers is like, look no further, the Bahamas remains the quintessential Tiger shark site on the planet.

Shot in RED.

By the way we'll be back again with the M/V Kate this fall, who's in?

Enjoy:

Tiger Beach Fall Shark Diving 2011 Bahamas

Bahamas Tiger sharks are calling and fall is just around the corner. There's no better way to celebrate the end of summer shark diving than being in the Bahamas surrounded by pristine offshore reefs, ancient wreck sites, sharks and wild dolphins.That's what we do here at Shark Diver each and every year with six new, and returning dive friends.

Mark your calendar and join us September-November in 2011 and again in 2012 for unique shark encounters close to home when the biggest sharks appear in the Bahamas.

This spring 2011 was a banner season for us entertaining multiple film crews, a site visit from the great folks over at the Bahamas Film Commission, and divers joining us from as far away as Italy!

Here's a look at Tiger Beach and the diving from RTSea Productions:

Tiger Beach Shark Diver Expeditions 2011

In the spring of 2011 Shark Diver was back in the Bahamas with new and returning divers in tow for one of the best spring shark diving seasons we have yet encountered.

What we got was amazing diving, full blown sharks, and great weather for six weeks.

On the first trip of the season a trio of divers, Brad Bamford, Jonas Toft, and underwater photographer Michael Coughlin joined us for a week of simply amazing encounters.

Caught on camera by Michael Coughlin, who's images are some of the best we have seen in a while, Michael managed to capture both the grace and simple predatory nature of these magnificent animals.

He also caught one of the 14 sharks tagged by Dr. Neal Hammerschlag and his group from FAU in action (more on that to come), in short this first expedition of the season delivered pretty much everything a diver would like, including late night visits from friendly Tigers;)

Thanks to the crew of the M/V Kate our go-to vessel in the region and Capt Rob MacDonald who remains one of the top shark handlers in the industry. You might not know Rob because he's one of those "quiet professionals" who does not seek the limelight but few have spent as much time with these Tigers as he has.

If you're doing sharks in the Bahamas, either commercially or with film and television productions, Rob is your guy, and we have been fortunate to work with him now for the past 5 years.

Join us this fall as we return for bigger sharks and excellent fall conditions in the Bahamas, 2011 has been unprecedented so far and we cannot wait to get back.

Tiger Beach Shark Expeditions 2011 - Trip Report

Look up the world "enthusiastic" in the dictionary and you'll see an image of Magnus Greenacre from New York.

We got to meet him and his two dive buddies, Matt Todd and Kathryn Deveraux earlier this month in the Bahamas for some quality time with sharks.

As Magnus wrote this week:

This was one of those perfect trips when weather, sharks, and the company of some fine shark divers conspire to deliver a memorable adventure.

To say this was a trip of a lifetime would just not do it justice. After opening my eyes on a dreary Monday morning to find myself in a fuzzy walled cube, I decided that it was time to take a trip that I will remember forever: Shark Diving.

I found Sharkdiver.com, emailed Pat, and within 10 minutes already had a response....the rest is history.

Day one, we woke up to a fully cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, banana bread and all the coffee a worn out Manhattan Workaholic could desire......oh, and 4 tiger sharks ominously circling the boat. The team gave us the full run down and before we knew it we were surrounded by Lemon and Tiger Sharks. The only way one can truly appreciate a sharks beauty is to be in the water with them. As exciting as day 1 was, there were six more days to follow of equal awe and amazement.

I hope my pictures speak volumes of the six days that followed...

It’s been a week since I returned home from my trip with Pat and Sharkdiver.com and I am already planning my next shark adventure.

Thanks again to Pat and his Crew for a life long memory, story, and friendship.

Image by Josh Friedman

2011 Tiger Beach Expeditions - Trip Report

It's been a busy few weeks for the crew of the M/V Kate and Shark Diver as our first divers are coming back from Tiger Beach in the Bahamas this year having once again had the time of their lives.

As April approaches we're looking forward to meeting our next months batch of shark divers at perhaps one of the planets top Tiger sites.

Newly minted Tiger diver Brad Bamford was with his buddies last week not sure what to expect, what he got was shark diving in paradise:

March 15-22 Tiger Beach Trip Report

The week our group spent a Tiger Beach was incredible. We had excellent weather the entire trip and lots of shark action. We had 5 different Tigers ranging from 10-13 ft and anywhere from 20-30 big Lemons.

Even when we went off Tiger Beach to dive the various reefs we had big Tigers show up!

I was surprised at how massive some of these sharks were. They were extremely curious which gave us lots of close-up encounters and great photos.

To mix things up we went swimming with the dolphins for an afternoon and dove a pristine reef with giant Loggerhead turtles. This was definitely the most extreme shark adventure I’ve been on and can’t wait to get back out there.

The food aboard the M/V Kate was excellent and the crew worked tirelessly to make sure we had an awesome trip.

They did not disappoint!

Miss you guys and hope to see you again real soon!

Cheers,

Brad Bamford

Guy Harvey with PEW and BNT - Event

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The Bahamas National Trust are very excited to have as a guest speaker, Guy Harvey. Dr. Harvey has agreed to provide support for the BNT’s Shark Conservation Campaign that is being implemented in The Bahamas in partnership with the Pew Environment Group. In addition to his speaking engagement, Mr. Harvey has designed a poster promoting protection of shark and a special Guy Harvey T-shirt for the conservation campaign.

Guy Harvey is a unique blend of artist, scientist, diver, angler, conservationist and explorer, fiercely devoted to his family and his love of the sea. Growing up in Jamaica, Guy spent many hours fishing and diving with his father along the Island's south coast. He was obsessed with the creatures of the sea and began drawing pictures of the many different fish he observed. Guy captures marine wildlife animals in their natural environment with extraordinary detail and brilliant colors.

Harvey has traveled the globe to observe marine live and is passionate about its conversation. The BNT are thrilled that he has agreed to speak and support the Shark Conservation Campaign and hope that many of you will join in for what promises to be an exciting evening.

For the past two years, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University have been sponsoring and conducting an ongoing project to tag and track tiger sharks in the western Atlantic. The goal of this long-term study is to gain a better understanding of the migration of the tiger sharks in this region and to use that data to aid conservation efforts. Dr. Harvey will be speaking on the tagging and tracking process that has now been expanded to the Bahamas in an area known as Tiger Beach In Grand Bahama.

Space is limited to 300 persons for this event, therefore all members please RSVP by February 28th if they want to have a seat. Call 393-1317 or email sharks@bnt.bs

Tiger Beach Bahamas 2011 - Shark Diver

In just a few short weeks we'll be back at our second home, the Bahamas, to dive with our favorite locals - the Tiger sharks.

We're also back with Scotty Grey and the MV Kate one of the best vessels operating at the beach right now with one of the most accomplished and flexible shark crews out there.

We use Scotty and crew exclusively for all our Bahamas operations, from film crews to commercial diving they deliver safety, value, and comfort.

This season we're only running six divers per trip and this is the key for us. Small families and dive groups enjoy a private charter set up on the 65' MV Kate, and this allows us the ultimate flexibility on site and at other sites as well.

We cannot wait to get wet this March-May, and frankly, like you, we're tired of the winter.

Here's to 80 degree days, sunshine, Tigers, lemons, reef sharks, and oh yeah, we'll even throw in a day swimming with the spotted dolphins, or not, it's your expedition after all.

Image Frazier Nivens

Tiger Sharks in the Bahamas Could Get Big Break

By ALISON LOWE

Image Wolfgang Leander

alowe@tribunemedia.net

A ban on commercial shark fishing would help protect the $78 million that shark dive-related tourism is estimated to bring to the Bahamas annually, the industry's potential growth and the predator's role in the sustainability of other commercial fisheries in this nation, a leading expert said yesterday.

Working with the Cousteau Society, Pierre-Yves Cousteau, son of legendary French explorer and marine scientist, Jacques Cousteau, is in Nassau this week to support the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and the Pew Environmental Group's (PEG) campaign to get the Government to enact legislation banning commercial fishing of sharks in the Bahamas.

As shark populations globally have come under threat from over-fishing, primarily driven by the demand in Asia for shark fins for soup, a long-line fishing ban in the 1990s and lack of local demand helped the Bahamas remain one of the few countries with an abundant population of sharks.

However, the advice to the Bahamian government and people from Mr Cousteau, the BNT and the Pew Environmental Group is that the Bahamas should take a proactive stance towards specifically protecting this resource through legislation banning the commercial fishing of sharks, which have both environmental and economic importance to this nation and the wider marine environment.

With any depletion of sharks in the Bahamas, said Mr Cousteau, the multi-million dollar shark diving industry in this country - estimated by the Bahamas Dive Association to have brought in $800 million to the Bahamian economy over the last 20 years - could be threatened, as could the health of other commercial fish populations whose abundance to some extent is "regulated" by the existence of the "apex predator" in Bahamian waters.

At risk, too, would be the exposure that the Bahamas gains from footage of its sharks and marine environment being featured in television programs and films worldwide, which can stimulate not only dive tourism but tourism generally. Meanwhile, Mr Cousteau - who went for his first dive as a child in Eleuthera, where he also saw his first shark - noted that shark tourism could be a growth industry for the country if protected.

Complete Story.