Beneath the Surface: Amplifying the Voices of Divers
- Lavanya Neti
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Wharton School
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Student Creative Production Grant
Video still: Roatán shark. Courtesy of the artist
Beneath the Surface: Amplifying the Voices of Divers is an immersive 360-degree mini-documentary that highlights the impacts of climate change on marine life and the livelihoods of diving communities, specifically smaller island communities. Over the course of 6 weeks, Neti will travel to diving communities in different regions to conduct interviews and capture footage of the local marine life and communities that depend on dive tourism. Working with local dive centers, she plans to interview divers, support staff (such as boaters, administrative staff, and conservationists), and local residents whose livelihoods are impacted by dive tourism. An Insta360 X4 action camera will be used to film coral reefs and the visible effects of climate change, such as coral bleaching and the degradation of marine ecosystems. The final product – a mini-documentary including both the human effects of climate change (told through personal stories from the interviews) and captivating 360-degree underwater footage of the marine environment – will be shared with members of the Penn community.