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Yesterday, I woke up at 3am and prepared to meet the morning after 1 hour of sleep. My taxi (Karwa company) was 15 minutes late and I was pissed. The film crew told me to be at the LaSigal Hotel by 4am if I wanted to come along on the Pearl Diving documentary shoot. My Karwa driver was nervous, and I can only imagine that it was because I was so flustered when I got in the car. He got lost for another fifteen minutes in Education City trying to find the exit gate. I couldn't help him because there are at least 3 different security gates and each driver has to use a different one depending on his company.
This wasn't the first time that Karwa tried to ruin me, and I'm sure it wont be the last.
It didn't matter that I scheduled my taxi 30 minutes earlier than I needed, I was still late... but luckily, so was the film crew.
we made it to the dock where four boats, 2 dhows and 2 speed boats, were hired for the shoot.
I met the 2 directors (Mark and Clare) and the 3 videographers (Ralph, Scott and John).
I almost peed my pants when I heard Ralph and John mention their previous work for Planet Earth.
I asked Mark about it, thinking that I may have heard wrong, and he assured me that the videographers on this shoot were some of the best in the world. After wards he added that the directors (Clare and himself) weren't so bad either.
Mark works for the National Geographic channel in New Zealand, and has worked extensively for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and more. John, in addition to filming for Planet Earth, mentioned that he filmed episodes of Meerkat Manor.
"Spectacular creatures," he called them.

Mark (left) Scott (right)

Ralph (left) John (right)
All the videographers had cool matching hats

Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, and Animal Planet are just about the only channels that I watch, and have watched since I was was 8.
The first time I saw an episode of Planet Earth, one of the deep see episodes, I all but changed my major to marine biology.
These people were impressive, to say the least, but I was more affected, and even envious, of their unbelievable patience which was tried over and over and over again by everyone and everything, from the beginning of the shoot until the very last take.
They had to manage a crew of about 20 Qatari pearl divers and ship operators, about eight pearl diving musicians, two speed boats (nobody in either of these categories spoke english), and each other.


The old Qataris on board made the day very pleasant. They spent most of the time making jokes with each other and casually making music.



They did as the directors asked them, and often, they did it over and over and over again. When it came time to shoot the actual diving, there were some complications as the Qataris were too fat for the weights which were attached to their feet. They wouldn't sink. Fifty years ago, the real pearl divers who used the same weights to sink to the bottom, were not as well fed, and it would not have taken much to pull their lean, malnourished bodies down to the ocean's floor. I am quite sure that the majority of this Qatari crew had never actually gone pearl diving. Nonetheless, they knew how it was done, and were able to give a pretty accurate reenactment.


They didn't although, seem to understand that their movements were being filmed, and didn't wait for the cameras to start rolling before they played their parts. Once they knew what they were supposed to do, they did it immediately.


It was absolutely hilarious to see them jumping into the water over and over again, and each time they jumped, they didn't wait for the crew to get into position.



They just couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that there were more than just human eyes watching them.


The musicians performed different songs as each occasion arose. They performed a song when the sail was hoisted,



one during the rowing, one as the anchor was pulled,



and many for leisure.
The musicians as well wouldn't wait for the sound technicians before they started to play each song.



These traditional songs and dances have deep roots and traditions whose importance far exceeds that of the camera which they were expected to wait for.



It was apparent that the mood of the musicians, and their audience, were necessary elements of the song. I think that the restrictions placed by the cameras and directors made it somewhat impossible for the songs to have full effect. The whole point of pearl diving music was to enhance the spirit of the pearl divers. It was music that was created for its audience. Mark, wondering what he was going to tell his producer who paid 3,000$ for one day of these musicians, kept asking for a translation of each song. He wanted to know their meanings and he wanted to hear stories. The musicians kept replying "this song is about the sea," or "this song is about the desert." The director wanted more, but the musicians were getting impatient and didn't want to explain further.


I spoke to one of the musicians after wards and asked if I could meet with him sometime this week to try and get information about the stories and folklore that many of these songs were based upon. He was more than willing to assist me, and I hope to get some real translations of these songs and poems. A translation might be impossible, but at the least I want to find out what events were happening that inspired the words of the songs.


When noon rolled around, one of the Qatari men placed his right hand on the right side of his face and began to recite the call to prayer.



It was a bit surreal to see him standing amidst all the chaos singing so clearly and intently. Eventually, the majority of the men lined up in the middle of the boat like it was a mosque. One man lead the prayer, and the rest followed him.


The film crew didn't seem to pay much attention, but I know that everyone could feel the presence of religious dedication hovering over the boat. It was pretty incredible.
Later in the day, I watched the men, one by one, do a ritual washing of their hands, face and feet in preparation for another prayer.

There were a few scuba divers on the shoot, one of whom gathered baskets full of oysters which were opened on the boat as part of the shoot.


I got a little too excited at the prospect of finding treasures inside the oysters and had to contain myself so as not to get in front of the camera.


They found two little pearls.
Mark, Scott, Ralph, the stills photographer and I boarded the speed boat to race the setting sun and get some wide shots of the Dhow.

I was so excited that I waved at the Qataris on the other boat not realizing that they would probably wave back and ruin the take.
Thank god none of the crew noticed. Although I'm sure they will when they start the editing process.
As I was the only tag along on the shoot, I knew that they were worried and expecting that I would be a hassle.
I never would have been allowed on the shoot if it wasn't for my association with another film director here. He connected them with me because they were in need of some research on the subject which I had. In return, I asked to accompany the shoot.


By the time the filming was over, everyone had what they wanted, including myself.
I was pretty freaking overwhelmed with everything I saw and experienced on this shoot.
After leaving the dock I went to the beach at the Sheraton hotel and retired my tired self under the (almost) full moon. Pretty great.