We spoke to the man behind the lens when it comes to capturing these scenes: Alex Finessi.
An underwater cameraman from Ferrara, Finessi seems to live parallel lives: one on land and the other underwater, among seabeds and extraordinary creatures which look like they’ve jumped off the pages of a book about prehistoric times.
The young Italian’s job has led him on many incredible adventures, many of which stir up mixed emotions of awe and fear among those he recounts them to.
A scuba instructor from the age of 18, Finessi has lived on some of the most beautiful coasts in the world, beginning with the Sardinian coast.
He then moved to Egypt for eight years, working first as an instructor for tourists and then as a cinematographer.
During the years in which he was learning to become an underwater cameraman, Finessi also visited Madagascar, where he lived out his dream of seeing whales.
Not only did he realise this dream, he also had the chance to live deep in the jungle for three months to film the exhumation of bodies in the village of Île Sainte-Marie, a ritual never before documented.
Once his time in Africa had come to an end, Finessi returned to Italy, where he supplied videos for programs such as Alle Falde del Kilimangiaro, Geo&Geo and SuperQuark, before leaving again, this time for Australia.
Finessi owes his current knowledge of marine life to a biologist friend with whom he has ventured underwater many times and who introduced him to the study of marine animals.
After referring to everything from research to encyclopaedias, Finessi now knows and understands the behaviour of many fish and other animals that live in the ocean, among them sharks.
“They’re prehistoric animals which are very timid and have a similar personality to a dog,” Finessi explained.
“If they sense you’re scared, they’ll attack; if not, they’ll go away.”
Finessi has faced many terrifying situations, from finding himself beyond the reefs because he was so concentrated on filming sharks and dolphins, to being forgotten at sea.
Fortunately, he’s always come out the other side unharmed.
In Egypt, the captain of a boat returned to port, leaving Finessi behind in the water.
“I had resigned myself to the fact that the current would’ve taken me to Israel or Jordan in more or less a week,” he says.
“Sharks prey in the dark, and although they don’t like human flesh, they could’ve mistaken me for a turtle or a seal, as I was on the surface.”
Fortunately, after floating around in the middle of the ocean for three and a half hours, Finessi was spotted by a cruise ship, thanks to the last rays of sunlight reflecting off his mask.
In 2012, Finessi decided to move to Australia, but not in pursuit of its many opportunities, like many young Italians.
Instead, his choice was driven by the fact that Australia is “a place not yet well known, especially underwater”, as well as a geographically strategic point, “close to the South Pole, Indonesia and Polynesia”.
Over time, Finessi’s work has won many awards and been lauded at several international festivals.
Finessi’s favourite things to film aren’t specific animals, but rather specific scenes.
“Recently, I documented the migration of spider crabs [giant crabs which are today considered living fossils] near Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula,” he says.
“Every year, between April and June, they rise from the abyss and gather around one kilometre from the beach.
“We’re talking about millions of crabs that gather and shed their shell, triggering different phenomena, including that of cannibalism.”
Prior to speaking with Il Globo, Finessi had finished filming giant squid, which return to the same place each year to reproduce, and seahorses, animals he has been passionate about since he was a child.
One of the difficulties Finessi has faced in his job here is the tendency of biologists and other underwater cameramen to keep certain “secrets” of the ocean and interesting areas to themselves, partly to protect them, partly out of pride.
Finessi’s future projects include filming a documentary series with the aim of showcasing every state in Australia, both on land and underwater.
You can already watch the episode on Victoria (along with more of Finessi’s work) on his website.
