Ian Seabrook Takes A Deep Dive Into Visual Storytelling with Last Breath

Ian Seabrook’s work as an underwater director of photography has taken him across the globe, from deep-sea dives to high-budget film sets. Last Breath, a fact-based thriller directed by Alex Parkinson, took Seabrook’s unique skillset to a new level. The harrowing true story of courage and determination gave Seabrook an opportunity  to use his unique skills to take the audience on an adventure.

“I came at this from still photography,” Seabrook says. “I learned in the darkroom, learned celluloid camera work, and then after my mom passed away, I traveled to Australia and got certified on the Great Barrier Reef. At the dive shop, they had a small plexiglass Instamatic camera you could rent, so I took it out. I was the only one who did and I still have the photos. It was mostly just decaying reef, but I was learning.” Seabrook’s entry into the industry came through traditional camera assistant work, working as clapper-loader in Los Angeles.  “At the same time, I was doing a lot of dive excursions,”  Seabrook says. “I was learning how to seal camera housings, deal with O-rings, and manage equipment in saltwater.” That hands-on experience gave him the expertise needed to transition into underwater cinematography.

“You have to be incredibly precise with exposure and composition because once you start stirring up sediment, it becomes like shooting in a snowstorm.”

Seabrook’s work in The Rescue, the National Geographic documentary about the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, won him the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Cinematography. Seabrook has also shot second-unit underwater sequences for films such as I, Robot, Man of Steel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Jungle Cruise, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, to name just a few. When Last Breath came along, it was an opportunity to move from second unit to main unity photography. The film tells the true story of a team of saturation divers working in the North Sea. When diver Chris Lemons (Finn Cole) becomes stranded 100 meters underwater with his air supply cut off, his crewmates — played by Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu — race against time to save him. The film employed two directors of photography: Nick Remy Matthews handled the sequences above water and in the diving bell, while Seabrook focused on the action under the ocean, though Seabrook would ultimately lens the opening and closing sequences in Scotland as well. As the film’s underwater director of photography, Seabrook was responsible for capturing the harrowing sequences in a way that was both visually striking, authentic and meshed with the look that Matthews had established. “Every project that I do, I always strive to use the same equipment that the surface DP is shooting,” Seabrook says. “Like on Indiana Jones — when I spoke with (director of photography) Phedon Papamichael, I knew he was gonna be shooting the Alexa LF and the Mini LF from Arri, and also Panavision T series lenses. So all of that fits in with my system.”

Despite Seabrook’s  extensive experience, Last Breath presented unique challenges. The film’s most critical scenes take place in near-total darkness at the ocean floor, where a wrong move could mean disaster. “There’s no natural light down there,” Seabrook says. “It’s all artificial, coming from the divers’ helmets or the submersibles. That means you have to be incredibly precise with exposure and composition because once you start stirring up sediment, it becomes like shooting in a snowstorm.”

“Your skill as an assistant has to be even greater underwater, because the equipment is expensive, and there’s no room for error. You’re not just jumping in the water with a camera and hoping for the best — there’s a real skill set involved.”

Beyond the technical difficulties, Seabrook had to consider the physical demands of shooting action sequences underwater. “One of the biggest challenges is staying ahead of the actors while maintaining stability,” Seabrook says. “In one of the key scenes, I had to swim faster than Finn Cole to get the movement of him coming toward me, then let him exit the frame. But that’s tricky because you’re in a full dive rig, managing your own buoyancy, keeping the camera steady, and making sure you don’t kick up too much debris.” For this, Seabrook credits Salt Lake City based nutritionist Erin Blevins, who has worked on films such as Batman v. Superman and Justice League, and who managed his caloric intake to keep up with rigorous demands of the shoot. “I was under water for such long hours,” Seabrook says. “It’s basically like you’re running an ultra marathon each day.” 

Despite the grueling conditions of underwater filmmaking, Seabrook thrives on the challenge. “You have to be incredibly disciplined,” he says. “Your skill as an assistant has to be even greater underwater, because the equipment is expensive, and there’s no room for error. You’re not just jumping in the water with a camera and hoping for the best — there’s a real skill set involved.”

Seabrook’s journey from shooting a Bud Light commercial to lensing major Hollywood productions has been a steady progression. “The first feature film I shot was a Hellraiser sequel,” Seabrook says. “Low-budget horror films are a common entry point for a lot of people in the industry. The risks are lower and you learn to hone your craft.” For Last Breath, that experience paid off in creating some of the film’s most suspenseful moments. The underwater sequences are integral to the film’s tension, putting audiences inside action as the crew races against time to save Lemons’ life. Seabrook’s cinematography plays a crucial role in making those scenes feel immersive and visceral.

Now that Last Breath is set to hit theaters, Seabrook is already onto his next projects, with work lined up on Disney’s live action Moana and multiple high-profile productions. But no matter where he’s filming — whether it’s the depths of the ocean or a Hollywood soundstage — his goal remains the same: to help audiences dive into an unforgettable experience.

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