Q & A: Deep Look's Josh Cassidy (Patreon)

Our lead producer and cinematographer, Josh Cassidy, was really excited to answer so many of your questions about his career and Deep Look. We hope you enjoy learning more about him!

How did you first get into microscopy and everything tiny?

My dad was a microbiologist, and my mom always encouraged my interest in wildlife. I got comfortable using microscopes in my various biology classes during my undergraduate years. But most of my experience with them comes from filming Deep Look. Many of the researchers have microscopes that I can attach my camera to, and we often film in a microscope lab at the University of California, Berkeley.

How was your very first experience with insects?

As a kid, I loved searching for animals in the woods near my house. Used to flip over rocks and logs in the woods to see what I could find. When I first started making wildlife films, I figured I’d be filming cheetahs and wolves, but I went back to my childhood interest in tiny creatures instead.

What is the first thing that you're looking for when choosing a new topic or animal to feature in a new video?

The main concept of the show is that we zoom in to find out something new about nature. A good example of this is the crickets episode where we zoom in to the structures on the undersides of their wings that allow them to make their signature chirp. Our most popular stories are usually the ones where we reveal something new about animals that people are familiar with like mosquitoes and hummingbirds.

How do you find the right insect?

We work with researchers and other experts who are already studying subjects we’re interested in filming. A big part of our pre-production is finding the right people who know just when and where to find the creature’s we’re seeking. We typically send out our scripts and video edits to a few experts to catch any errors before the audience sees it.

I am using the videos with my students. We truly enjoy your amazing work and information. Are you going to be making a video about acorn barnacles (Balanomorpha)?

Thank you very much and for sharing Deep Look. I’ve been thinking about a barnacles episode, but I haven't focused on acorn barnacles so far. I’ll look into them, thanks! I’ve had some trouble finding barnacle experts.

What's the longest time you have ever spent making a 2-minute video?

I think the episode that took the longest was the hungry caterpillar episode since we had to wait for them to undergo metamorphosis. It took a couple weeks, but most of the time I was just setting up a shot and letting it run, so I wasn’t concentrating on it all day. It took four days to film the mantis episode, and much of the action didn’t happen until the end of the last day. We typically schedule two days to film an episode.

Any advice for filming macro photos and videos?

The important thing with macro video is to keep the camera rock solid. I use a tripod or place the camera on a pad on the ground to keep it steady. Cloudy days provide nice light. Use an external monitor and “peaking” to help you focus. Better to focus too close to the lens than too far away. Stop down the iris ~f/8-10 to help increase depth of field.

What would be your suggestions for people who want to try macro filming equipment-wise?

I shot my first film (called Life by the Tide) with a regular old standard definition (SD) video camera and some close-up filters. If you already have a camera, you may be able to get some (relatively) inexpensive close-up filters that you can screw onto the front of your lens to allow you to focus closer. If you’re serious about it, I suggest getting a proper macro lens. If you’re not sure, you may be able to rent one.

For Deep Look, I mostly use the Canon 100mm f2.8L macro lens. For the really close up shots, I use the Canon MPE-65. The MPE is a really wild lens. While the 100mm can do a respectable 1:1 macro, the MPE can do 5:1. That’s the difference between filming a bee and filming a bee’s eye. I’d start with the 100mm first. The Canon 100mm went up in price recently, but there are alternatives like the Tamron 90mm macro. Happy shooting!

Do you have any tips for pulling focus? I'm photographing/filming jumping spiders at the moment.

I use “peaking” to help me catch focus, but the most helpful thing is to have an external monitor so you can really see what you’re shooting and magnify the image to make sure the focus is crisp. Mostly though, it just comes down to muscle-memory, and there’s only one way to get that: practice!

How do you light your shots –– underwater in the wild, for instance, or in a naturally dark area of the woods –– without disturbing the animals you're trying to shoot?

I use LED lights because they don’t heat up and risk cooking the animals I’m filming. They don’t use much power, so I can run them off batteries in the field. A great deal of the underwater shots in Deep Look are actually filmed in a tank, so I just have my LED lights pointed down into it. The challenge is not scaring the animals, many of whom avoid light.

The best light by far is natural light. It almost always looks the prettiest. My favorite is the light on cloudy days, because the whole sky acts like a diffuser and it creates a nice, soft, even light that the camera seems to like.

What percentage of what is shot is filmed in a studio environment?

This really depends on the episode. The mantis video was filmed entirely in the field, whereas the sea urchins episode was filmed completely in the lab. The challenge is making the transition between nature and a lab look seamless.

How do you capture the image of the animal if you're not using an enclosure?

I try to film the wider shots in nature. For the fast-moving animals, we often put them in an enclosure to get the really close shots.

What's the best shot you've captured by accident?

One of my all-time favorite shots was the oyster mushroom releasing spores in the death cap mushrooms episode (around 1:42). I was filming with my colleague, producer Gabriela Quirós, who pointed it out to me. We just happened to be at the perfect angle where you could really see the spores floating out.

How do you find ways to personally stylize your work or possibly add a signature? What’s your trademark?

I don’t really think about adding a signature, but I learned to film by myself so I think that caused me to develop a personal style. I like to focus on eyes, but that’s not uncommon. I guess my style is just to light subjects softly, zoom in as much as possible and to try to really nail the focus.

I want to learn how to make wildlife documentaries, but there are no teachers or mentors of this topic in my area. What would be your advice for me to get started?

The best thing you can do to become a filmmaker is to make films. You don’t have to start out big, just make a short on a subject that’s easy to do. Just make sure it’s something achievable. When it’s done, look at it critically and figure out what you could do to make the next one better. Don’t treat your first projects like they are too precious, or it might slow you down.  It also helps train you to take critique and improve.

I suggest that people who want to make films start by making a film about making a cup of tea because it’s easy to film and has a clear beginning, middle and end. Once you have your first film done, you’re ready for something a little more challenging. If you’d like, I’d be happy to take a look at your first short when it’s ready and provide constructive criticism.

What's your favorite episode?

I’m terrible at picking a single favorite, so here are a few. I really like the sea urchin episode because it has an otherworldly look and has a theme about finding your place in the world that I think most people can relate to. I like the pygmy seahorse episode because it’s so sweet –– and for nostalgia reasons because it was the very first episode of Deep Look. I’m especially proud of the sand episode, because I was able to film a whole episode with nothing but a few vials of different sand. I think the jumping spiders episode is hilarious and cute. I like the turret spiders episode, because it’s my only scary episode (the original music is a nod to the film Aliens (1986). Lastly, I like the mosquito episode because it has some particularly cool macro shots and animation, and it’s our biggest hit –– so it helps bring new audiences to Deep Look.

I'm aware you've studied these animals before, but I'm curious: Is there ever a moment while filming these creatures where they fascinate you to another level, as if "textbook them" is not in any way compared to a deep look into their existence? It happens to me all the time, so I wondered!

Absolutely, that’s my favorite part of the job. I can always tell when we’re going to have a cool episode, because you can hear me gasp at something mind-blowing or groan at something gross from behind the camera in the raw footage. Those moments are really what I look forward to in life.

With so many microcosms, is there one that you feel may be so elusive that it's made you wonder if you should even try? Or maybe tried, but it didn't quite produce the expected results?

There are challenges for every topic but definitely some more than others. Lots of animals shy away from light or are only happy when they’re underground or other cover. That makes them really hard to film.

While researching stories for our first season, someone had an idea about some giant worms that live in the sand underwater off the coast of California. They all come out and mate in a big squishy ball when the moon is just right. We figured it would be too hard to plan to be there at the right time and too dangerous to film from a boat near shore at night. The worms spend the rest of their lives buried in sand, so we decided to scrap the story (for now).

Do you think Deep Look would ever make a full-length documentary? Also, do you have a favorite micro/macro creature? Maybe one you find prettiest or one you find most funky-looking?

We’d love to make a full-length version of Deep Look. Hopefully it will happen one day.

I think nudibranchs are kind of cute and hilarious looking. I thought the grunion fish looking out from their transparent eggs in the sand was cute, too. I’ve always found water striders to be amazing, and I didn’t know they were such proficient predators until I filmed them.

What is your favorite animal?

I’m no good with favorites, but I’ve always had a place in my heart for sloths.

Is there anything you're afraid of? Animals? A kind of phobia maybe?

I like fish and I’m fine with snakes, but for some reason –– eels give me the creeps. There’s something about the way they move and breathe. I’d be happy to film them, but I’d be lying if I said they didn’t make me feel a certain way. I’m also not so sure about hyenas, but I’d make an exception if one had a good personality!

Have you been attacked by an animal?

I try to be extremely careful, and I’m not a thrill-seeker –– so thankfully I’ve been able to stay safe so far. I got stung maybe ten times on the blue orchard bees shoot, but they weren’t as bad as a honeybee sting. I did get chased by some angry honeybees on the “bee bread” episode; I was too close to the hive and a few bees slammed into me by accident. When they get hurt (even accidentally), they release a chemical that makes other bees see you as a threat. There I was, running down the dirt road with a swarm of angry bees chasing me like in the cartoons. As I was running, I could see the shadow of the swarm behind me. The only other time was when I let tiny adorable kittens crawl all over me while I was filming them. I got scratches all over my neck, but it was worth it.

Have you always been impervious to the bug "yuk" factor? You are so talented!

It’s funny, I’m pretty desensitized to that kind of thing now –– but I’m still a really jumpy, high-strung person by nature. So if a bee flies towards me, I’ll still flinch even though I’m not scared of bees (usually). My friends make fun of me, because I’ll still jump even after years of filming insects.

Are there any films that you find yourself rewatching or any nature documentaries that changed the way you view wildlife? Any recommendations?

It’s terrible, but since I started working making nature films –– I really haven’t kept up with what other people are making. I used to enjoy wildlife shows for recreation, but now it just makes me think of work. The series that first inspired me was BBC’s The Trials of Life which is basically a precursor to Planet Earth. I typically attend the Jackson Wild Festival, so that’s my chance to catch up on the industry.

Which is your most favorite nature-related book?

Animals Without Backbones by Ralph Buchsbaum and other collaborators prompted my interest in a lot of the subjects we cover on Deep Look. Wildlife Films by Derek Bousé and Reel Nature by Gregg Mitman give some good history of the genre. The Marine Biology Coloring Book by Thomas Niesen and You Will Live Under the Sea by Fred and Marjorie Phleger got me interested in biology as a kid.

Have you taken pics/films from tiny creatures in a cloud forest?

I was recently in Podocarpus National Park in Ecuador, and I was enchanted by its beauty. I would love to, but I’ve never been to a cloud forest before. Maybe I’ll get the chance someday.

Photo: Josh was filming newts mating in the Japanese pond at the University of California Botanical Garden in Berkeley. Credit: Gabriela Quirós/KQED.