The Hydrous, Silverback Films, and Submersa Studios Partner to Transform how Audiences Experience the Ocean
World-leading ocean science innovators, natural history filmmakers, and media creators join forces to create next-generation immersive ocean experiences
SAN FRANCISCO, US / BRISTOL, UK — The Hydrous, a nonprofit ocean science and education organization pioneering immersive experiences that deepen understanding of the ocean and inspire conservation action, announces a new partnership with Silverback Films, the world-leading natural history production company, and Submersa Studios, an immersive production studio that crafts awe-inspiring experiences for headsets, domes, exhibits, and 360° spaces.
The partnership combines Silverback’s acclaimed natural history filmmaking and underwater cinematography and Submersa’s experience creating immersive content for a range of platforms and venues with The Hydrous’s ocean science expertise and over a decade of experimentation and research into how immersive and interactive digital experiences generate ocean understanding and connection, especially for people that don’t have opportunities, abilities, or resources to access marine environments firsthand.
Together, the organizations are developing a new generation of ocean experiences designed to move beyond the traditional screen, from virtual reality (VR) and spatial computing to large-scale LED environments, museums, aquariums, and interactive installations.
“Imagine taking the cinematic language and extraordinary underwater storytelling in Ocean with David Attenborough and placing audiences inside the story itself,” says Dr. Erika Woolsey, Chief Scientist & CEO of The Hydrous. “Immersive technology gives us the opportunity to bring people closer to the ocean than ever before, experiencing its scale, beauty, and complexity as if they were there. Together with Silverback Films and Submersa, we want to make the ocean more accessible, inspiring, and emotionally meaningful to audiences around the world, and explore what might be possible when impactful storytelling moves beyond a rectangular screen.”
From the Ocean Depths to Immersive Worlds
The Hydrous, Silverback, and Submersa are developing a multi-platform model that brings together original immersive ocean content, exhibitions, and digital learning experiences. Each experience will be grounded in a marine science learning framework, designed with measurable learning objectives and outcomes.
This new initiative builds on The Hydrous’s work, which has reached 2.75 million “virtual divers” through immersive ocean experiences and contributed 12 peer-reviewed publications to the fields of marine education, extended reality (XR) technologies, and social science, with collaboration and recognition from organizations including National Geographic, the Smithsonian, Stanford University, Meta, Lenovo, Autodesk, Adobe, and the United Nations.
Dr. Erika Woolsey diving at Orpheus Island in the Great Barrier Reef (image credit: Tom Bridge).
For Silverback, the partnership extends its long-standing mission of connecting audiences with the natural world.
Jeff Hester of Submersa Studios shooting in the Channel Islands with the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera and Gates housing (image credit: Alex Warham / Submersa Studios).
“The plight of the world’s oceans is the most important subject of our time,” says Jeff Wilson, series producer at Silverback Films. “We at Silverback feel a deep responsibility to educate, inform, and inspire as many people as we can because we know that without humanity stepping forward and taking custodial responsibility for our ocean, the future is bleak. We also know that humanity won’t save something they don’t love. Our responsibility is to help our audiences fall in love with the ocean the way we at Silverback and our partners at The Hydrous have done. That is the starting point. Our ultimate goal is to create a new generation of nature advocates in every field across art, science, and film.”
To accomplish this, underwater filmmaker and immersive media specialist Jeff Hester of Submersa Studios has been capturing new ocean footage using the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera with a Gates underwater housing. This system captures stereoscopic 8K imagery, enabling an unprecedented level of visual detail and spatial depth for immersive storytelling.
“What excites me most is how immersive media can put viewers in places they may never get to go themselves,” says Hester. “I hear it over and over from people: "It feels like I was really there." This kind of work gives people a genuine understanding, appreciation, and sense of care toward these environments.”
The Hydrous’s Next Chapter
For The Hydrous, this partnership marks the next chapter in a decade-long exploration of how science, storytelling, and technology can change the way people understand, care about, and protect the ocean. As this mission continues, The Hydrous is expanding their organization and welcoming new members to the Board of Directors and Science & Technology Advisory Council, made up of leaders in research, immersive media, and business development.
“As we move into this next phase, we’re focused on scaling our impact through multimodal, evidence-based experiences that invite audiences into beautiful and threatened marine environments around the world,” says Woolsey. “The ocean touches every person and every community on the planet. The opportunity now is to use the power of immersive storytelling so people can feel and understand that connection for themselves.”
The first proof of concept will debut at the inaugural California Ocean Summit in Santa Barbara this December, featuring never-before-seen footage of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary captured by Hester. The experience will combine virtual reality with large-scale projection storytelling to offer audiences, including policymakers, investors, and researchers, a new way to explore and share marine environments.
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About Silverback Films
Silverback Films is a world-leading producer of landmark natural history series and feature films for television, streaming platforms and cinema. Founded in 2012 by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, Silverback combines world-class cinematography with powerful storytelling to create groundbreaking productions that inspire audiences worldwide. Its acclaimed work includes Our Planet (Netflix), David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Netflix), The Dinosaurs (Netflix), ten Disneynature feature films, Wild Isles (BBC), Secrets of the Bees (National Geographic) and Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic). Based in Bristol, Silverback Films is part of the media and entertainment group Banijay Entertainment.
About Submersa Studios
Submersa Studios is an immersive production studio with experience across fulldome, 360° and spherical installations, headset experiences, and giant-screen productions. Founded by immersive director and underwater cinematographer Jeff Hester and producer Alex Warham, Submersa combines world-class natural history production with expertise across immersive formats to create science-driven stories designed for how audiences actually experience each medium, with credits including Postcard From Earth for Sphere, Ocean with David Attenborough for National Geographic, Our Oceans for Netflix, and projects with aquariums, museums, and other venues worldwide.