Have The Fish Got Talent?

Turning tiny dancers into big screen stars
In Mexico's Sea of Cortez lies a hidden gem known as the Blenny Ballroom, where the smallest creatures steal the spotlight with their larger-than-life antics. Inka Cresswell, Our Oceans Assistant Producer, and Series DoP Roger Horrocks embarked on a journey to capture this whimsical yet technically demanding dance-off among nature's tiny stars. Despite their minuscule size - the largest barely reaching two inches - these blennies pull off the most extravagant dance moves in pursuit of finding a mate. Filming this flamboyant story came with a surprising challenge - actually finding these tiny critters! Because where their dance moves may be super sized, they themselves are minute! When Roger first saw the blenny he recalls going into a state of panic, he hadn't anticipated them to be SO small - their faces are only the size of half a pea, almost impossible to see when they are tucked into their burrows.
Gaining access to the most exclusive dance venue...
The team worked closely with local dive master Lorenzo Beltran Cota who taught Inka and Roger the tricks of dialing into this macro world. By day 3 of filming, they knew all the secret spots and soon realized that when you're at the right level, in the right location, the entire sea floor bursts to life with these spirited dancers. Throughout the shoot, the team would regularly see tourists passing over the reef who would question what on earth they were filming, unaware of the behavioral spectacle playing out on a miniature scale. Each male would perform a series of dance moves in an attempt to impress a female, setting off a chain reaction across the reef as more and more males join the dance off. Ultimately it's the female's choice, have the boys got the moves to impress her?

FIELD NOTES FROM BLENNY LA LA LAND
To give the smallest creatures a grand Hollywood feel, the team approached this story as if making a feature film, carefully crafting storyboards and using cutting-edge filming techniques, including motion control sliders and probe lenses which gave a blenny-eye view on this surprising spectacle.
“I’ve rarely had more fun with crafting a sequence, borrowing camera moves and techniques from popular dance videos… then applying them to a fish the size of a thimble! It was more Strictly ballroom than classic natural history! The field team did such a great job realizing our bold vision and gave these plucky little fish the platform they deserve.” - Rachel Scott, Pacific Producer
Over three weeks of intense rebreather diving with sessions lasting up to seven hours daily, the team not only captured this enchanting spectacle but also became part of the ocean's scenery. Inka recalls “We regularly had to deal with blennies trying to build a home in our tripod legs and there was even a curious octopus who made himself a regular on set, stopping by almost daily! As he became more comfortable with us his confidence grew a little too much and at one point he even tried to steal the camera controls from Roger!” This story was the perfect opportunity to shine a light on some of the often overlooked marine species, proving that with keen eyes and creative lenses, even the tiniest ocean dweller can shine bright on the big screen!