[0]“Flight of the Humpback”
Synopsis:
“Flight of the Humpback” is a one hour documentary and interactive broadband website depicting the desperate battle to save endangered Australian humpback whales and other whales from the imminent threat of Japanese harpoons.
The battle to save these whales will be expressed by a group of passionate activists, musicians and celebrities who sail and interact with the humpbacks on their northern and southern migration along the east coast of Australia, Tonga and the Antarctic.
For the first time in over 30 years and against an outraged world, up to 50 of these majestic humpback whales will be targeted by Japanese whalers when they return to the Antarctic in December 2008 after their northern migration.
These are the same whales that hundreds of thousands of people enjoy and befriend as they migrate along the Australian seaboard every year. This, inter species relationship hosts a thriving 300 million dollar whale watching industry, which is now also under threat due to whaling.
Activists involved in the film will be using non-violent means to stop the Japanese, such as, direct actions, the media, the latest digital technology, celebrities, science, networking and economic boycotts. Various anti whaling protests and daring direct actions are planned throughout the journey, including the International Whaling Commission gathering in Chile, protests in Australian ports, the Japanese Embassy and the Antarctic.
The platform for the “Flight of the Humpback” will be a large 50 foot ocean going catamaran. There will be a small permanent crew for most of the journey and a rotating crew that bring their special energy to the boat and movie for a short time. The aim of the crew and the journey is to raise public awareness to the plight of these endangered humpbacks and inspire people to take action to ensure their continued protection. The catamaran will be an exciting filming platform and an important tool to meet and network with people along the migration route.
The “Flight of the Humpback” will visit many ports on route. Whale films, journey footage, research and up to date action information will be presented to the public along with the humpback whale icon for that port. The Migration Icon Project, initiated in June 2006 is placing known, named humpback whales with dedicated coastal communities.
These visits will generate public awareness of the film and action based website and help galvanise Australian opposition to Japanese whaling. Ongoing media attention at the ports will allow concerned local people, whale watch operators, politicians and celebrities to express their feelings about the escalated illegal whaling by Japan. Highlights of these visits and interviews will be included in the film and website.
The climax and end of the journey and film will be returning with the Sea Shepherds or Greenpeace to the Antarctic to physically confront the Japanese whalers and try to stop them from killing whales.
Rather than being a whale film full of talking heads “Flight of the Humpback” film and website, will be a visual feast, packed with dramatic action, adventure, whales and conviction.
The Journey
Australia (July,August September)
Sail down the Great Barrier Reef to Hervey Bay. Hervey Bay is where the migrating humpbacks, play, mate, rest, fatten up their babies and prepare for the long southern journey back to the Antarctic. Here we meet with researchers Trish and Wally Franklin and hear about their 20 years of work with whales. Here also we invite musicians and celebrities to make music and interact with the humpback in these protected waters. Hervey Bay is also the whale watching capital of Australia and we interview an operator about the sustainability of this $300 million industry in light of Japans intentions to kill these whales.
“Flight of the Humpback” continues to follow the southern migration down the east coast of Australia stopping in at major ports to meet and talk with people and media about Japans intentions to kill Australian humpbacks. People will be encouraged to write to the Japanese government and to Japanese companies.
The “Flight of the Humpback” will visit many ports on route, from Hervey Bay in Queensland to Sydney NSW. Footage will show the boat and crew sailing south with occasional sightings of the migrating whales. Brisbane and Sydney visits will be featured in the film as well as aerial shots of the boat passing well known land icons such as the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and into Sydney Harbour.
The east coast trip will culminate in Sydney. Highlights will go into the film and major sections of the protest will stream directly from the website live.
Tonga
• Meet resident expert underwater camera person and get spectacular close up underwater footage of humpbacks including interaction and responses from key people.
• Briefly look at Tonga’s history with the humpbacks.
Interview people and politicians about the South Pacific Whale Sanctuary proposal and Japans involvement in influencing Tonga’s possible resumption of whaling.
The Antarctic December 2007
The climax and end of the journey and film will be returning with the Sea Shepherds or Greenpeace to the Antarctic with the whales we have grown to love, to witness and possibly be involved in their destiny. While in the Antarctic we will try to identify migration icon whales to notify their adopted towns and the Australian public of their welfare… or peril. The website will be active during this period giving people a forum and lobbying direction to express their feelings. We will continue to make regular video blogs of the journey. Whatever happens a camera pointed at the action and linked to a satellite and website is an important ingredient.
The exact outcome of the Antarctic section of the journey is uncertain. What is reasonably sure is that the Sea Shepherds or Greenpeace will find and confront the Japanese whalers with unmatched conviction. Passions are guaranteed to run high and “Flight of the Humpback” is sure to finish with strong images, emotions and statements.
Interactive broadband
The “Flight of the Humpback” is both a one hour linear documentary and a fully integrated and interactive broadband website production. (A smaller less interactive website is already operating to start building the web presence and attract investors. www.flightofthehumpback.org [1].) People could become “Flight of the Humpback” members and receive special bulletins and feeds and become part of the database. Membership could grow exponentially around the world.
Day events will be edited on board into 2-5 minute mini docs, then sent directly to the website every few days. A satellite dish mounted on the boat will send out a broadband signal of 1-3 mega bites per sec to the website where movies, pictures and information can be downloaded. There will be many elements to the broadband production, many of which will be interactive. People can
• Watch short 2 to 5 minute mini documentaries of the past day’s activities.
• Tune in to the website at certain times every day to listen to live whale or human songs.
• Receive RSS, text, or audio/video-blogs as soon as they appear on the website or warnings when we are about to go live with the whales or people on the boat.
• Watch via a web cam and satellite, live activities on the boat and with the whales.
• Access large amounts of information about whales through a large data base including various links to other whale sites.
• See all the past mini docs which will be stored on the website and be downloadable.
• Send a photo of themselves or their whale experience and write whatever they want about whales. This will be categorised by country.
• Some famous and specific people from various countries will be videoed and asked to give a statement about how they feel about the whales being killed and give suggestions that people can do. These clips will be downloadable.
• Network and contact the people on the site either directly or through the site to leave a comment or correspond further.
• Lobby politicians from various countries or threaten boycotts on offending companies with form or personal letters/petitions.
• Pay to view already made Whale documentaries or buy it online with a credit card.
• Purchase the one hour documentary as a DVD when it is made, online with a credit card or download/view the whole one hour doco.
• Interact with the people on the boat via a web cam and satellite with interactive software
• Download whale songs or movie clips for their ipod, mobile phone or pod cast.
Musicians, Actors and Indigenous representatives
Musicians will bring life to the journey and offer potential viewers more reasons to log on. With the use of an underwater hydrophone, musicians will be able to hear and play music with the whales. This interaction could go live to peoples computers or mobile phones via satellite. These recordings could also be pod cast to people MP3 players. Famous musicians which will be invited and may join the boat would include Michael Franti from Spearhead, Peter Garret from Midnight Oil, John Butler, Julian Lennon, etc. Australian actors such as Nicole Kidman, Kate Blanchet and Hugh Jackman will be invited onto the boat along with Japanese celebrities and politicians. All will be invited to share their feelings with the camera, website and viewers.
Hand held, wide angle, High Definition video cameras will become an unnoticed part of everyday life on the boat. Interviews will tend to be more casual and captured in the moment to give the production a loose type of, being there, feel.
Australian indigenous representatives will join the crew and share their traditional connections with the whales. We will hear the prophecy of Jiddera, the white whale. In fact there is now a white whale know as Migaloo among the Australian humpbacks who has become the icon of the migration. We hear from Sonar experts on the dangers facing sea mammals from navy and ocean explorers using underwater sonar including Migaloos’ role in disrupting War Games at Shoalwater bay in June 2007 due to his presence.
Main characters.
The main characters in the “Flight of the Humpback” will be Dean Jefferys the whale activist/filmmaker/narrator and Sky Bortoli a 15 year old female whale activist and Howie Cooke painter/cetacean activist. Footage will show Sky on the boat with the whales, talking at rallies, to media, schools and use archival footage of Sky at the 2007 International Whaling Commission delivering 16,000 signatures on petitions. “Flight of the Humpback” will also use archival footage of Dean Jefferys at past anti whaling protests.