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CNN Live At Daybreak

Filmmakers Ventured Where Few Have Gone Before

Aired November 24, 2003 - 05:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, filmmakers ventured where few have gone before to capture images of creatures that appear to be out of this world.
CNN science correspondent Ann Kellan gives us a spectacular look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN KELLAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an adventure like no other, 12,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to mountain ranges, volcanoes and thermal vents that emit steaming hot minerals called black smokers. And creatures, some never seen before. All featured in a new Imax film called "Volcanoes of the Deep."

LUTZ, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Literally every creature that you would see in that film was unknown to science just a quarter of a century ago.

STEPHEN LOW, FILM DIRECTOR: It's extremely cold down there. It's very, very near freezing, with an occasional jet of incredibly hot water that could burn a hole in your sub.

KELLAN: At these depths, it's dark and dangerous. The film was shot through the window of a small submersible called Alvin.

LOW: The volcanoes are scary because if one them blows, you know, you're toast, basically.

KELLAN: Ten years in the making. Director Stephen Low loaded Alvin with a high res camera and 4,000 watts of lights.

LOW: We're looting huge areas, the size of a, you know, football field so people can see the spectacle down there for the first time.

KELLAN: The undersea creatures thrive in what we would consider a toxic wasteland.

LUTZ: There are fish, there are mussels, there are clams and all of those organisms are living off bacteria that are ultimately getting their energy from chemicals, hydrogen sulfide, on the bottom.

KELLAN: And thanks to the film, we get the first glimpse of this octopus, appropriately nicknamed Dumbo. The fact creatures like this can thrive in these conditions makes you wonder whether life forms exist in outer space, too.

Ann Kellan, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 24, 2003 - 05:57   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, filmmakers ventured where few have gone before to capture images of creatures that appear to be out of this world.
CNN science correspondent Ann Kellan gives us a spectacular look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANN KELLAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an adventure like no other, 12,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to mountain ranges, volcanoes and thermal vents that emit steaming hot minerals called black smokers. And creatures, some never seen before. All featured in a new Imax film called "Volcanoes of the Deep."

LUTZ, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Literally every creature that you would see in that film was unknown to science just a quarter of a century ago.

STEPHEN LOW, FILM DIRECTOR: It's extremely cold down there. It's very, very near freezing, with an occasional jet of incredibly hot water that could burn a hole in your sub.

KELLAN: At these depths, it's dark and dangerous. The film was shot through the window of a small submersible called Alvin.

LOW: The volcanoes are scary because if one them blows, you know, you're toast, basically.

KELLAN: Ten years in the making. Director Stephen Low loaded Alvin with a high res camera and 4,000 watts of lights.

LOW: We're looting huge areas, the size of a, you know, football field so people can see the spectacle down there for the first time.

KELLAN: The undersea creatures thrive in what we would consider a toxic wasteland.

LUTZ: There are fish, there are mussels, there are clams and all of those organisms are living off bacteria that are ultimately getting their energy from chemicals, hydrogen sulfide, on the bottom.

KELLAN: And thanks to the film, we get the first glimpse of this octopus, appropriately nicknamed Dumbo. The fact creatures like this can thrive in these conditions makes you wonder whether life forms exist in outer space, too.

Ann Kellan, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com