For movies filmed mostly in or around water, it is the marine
coordinator’s job to help orchestrate all nautical scenes. For Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean”
franchise, that person was Dan Malone. Malone worked on all three of the Pirates
movies, including the most recent installment, “At World’s End,” which opens May
25.
In fact, Malone worked on parts of the second and third installments simultaneously as some of the scenes from those films were shot at the same time.
From Pre to Wrap—the
Whole Nine Yards
Unlike underwater technicians—whose main responsibilities involve
the safety of filming in water—marine coordinators have a more
encompassing role on the set. Malone’s responsibilities had him at the heart of
production for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy and
he was involved in everything from pre-production to wrap. “We interface with
production,” says Malone. “I had a hand in virtually everything that has to do
with floating on the water—from
scouting locations, to working on the construction of the sets.”
Like most production jobs, the first thing a marine
coordinator does is read the script to see how his or her services will be
needed. The first challenge Malone faced when reading the script was the
atypical sets on which he would be working. While some of the “Pirates” movies
were shot in a studio, a great portion of the filming took place “at sea.” The
sets on which Malone was working were actually the two giant ships constructed
for the movies, The Flying Dutchman (which has no motor and had to be towed) and
the Black Pearl (a self-powered ship with its own licensed maritime captain on
board). The ships were then placed in giant water tanks in both the
Bahamas and off the coast of
California.
As marine coordinator, Malone arranged all the smaller
details, like locating the boats that are used both onscreen and off,
negotiating the cost of boat rentals, and hiring local crews. “When you watch
the movie, you might see several actors on a boat; you don’t see the 60 members
of the marine crew and 20 support boats that are also out there in the water,”
explains Malone. The off-screen backup includes camera, shuttle, and
water-safety boats and crews—elements that are essential to creating a scene on
the water.
Batten Down the
Hatches
While scouting, there were many practical issues Malone had
to take into consideration, such as how deep the water had to be to accommodate
the boats, and finding a large enough dock on shore to support the cast, crew
and all the production equipment. In addition, because they were filming on
location, Dan had to think about all possible equipment necessities and
eventualities. The production crew wouldn’t have the luxury of readily available
backup equipment in the middle of the Bahamas. “Our
storage room was like a fully-stocked marine store because we were in such a
remote area.”
It turns out that Malone’s foresight and preparation were key
in completing the shoot on time. Malone braved dozens of storms and a few
hurricanes, including the treacherous Wilma. Malone had prior boating experience
in the Bahamas,
so he was no stranger to the bad weather where they were shooting. But Wilma was
a storm they were not expecting, at least, “not at that magnitude,” according to
Malone. Had they not come prepared, Wilma would have extensively delayed the
shooting schedule.
Hand Over
Fist
Shooting on the water is exponentially harder than shooting
on solid ground. Often, flexibility was intrinsic to getting the right shot.
“We’d improvise almost daily,” says Malone. When filming a close-up on the
water, they would take the longboat that one would see on-screen and put it in
type of motorboat called a Carolina Skiff to film all the close-ups. “We used
them so that you’d have the same rocking motion,” says Dan.
So what is the best part about being a marine coordinator?
According to Malone, it was working with a “great director, a great crew and
some fantastic locations.” After shooting seven days a week for nearly a year on
location, would Malone do it again? Well he gave 411 a hint of a possible fourth
installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” one which he
says, “he would love to work on.”
