Underwater Filming

Here is how this works in practice. We provide underwater filming services for productions working in the Czech Republic, supplying dive-trained camera ops, housed cinema cameras, underwater lighting and the safety divers and supervisors that water work needs. Because the country is landlocked, dive shooting here is freshwater and controlled-set work: the Vltava and Elbe rivers, the Lipno and Orlík reservoirs, the South Bohemian fishpond network and the flooded quarries that the Czech diving community uses for training each offer different visibility, depth and access. Our teams advise during prep on which body of water suits a scene, plan dive schedules around the Central-European climate that drives water temperature, and set up underwater and surface camera work so the footage cuts together cleanly.

Here is the short of it. For sequences that need full control of water clarity, depth and lighting, we shoot in tank facilities at Barrandov Studios in Prague, where global productions such as 'Snowpiercer' have used the studio's built environments. Tank work lets our underwater crews light precisely, repeat takes reliably and keep talent safe, and we set up the camera, housing and support divers as a single unit. Open-water filming needs permits arranged through regional authorities and the relevant water-management bodies.

Here is the breakdown. Shoots in protected areas need conditions agreed with site-level authorities. Productions drawn here by the Czech Film Fund's 20% cash rebate, administered by the Státní fond kinematografie, gain crews skilled in both the rules and the country's freshwater environments. We supply full dive insurance and risk records, and budget the work in Czech koruna with 21% VAT.