Big Pacific

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Narrator

Filming so close to the delicate nest the weight from their fins could destroy it. They build an A-frame rig they can use as a sturdy and safe camera position, well clear of the pufferfish and its creation. Quite a contraption. But first we have to figure out how we put it up there. We needed a way to get above the nest and looking straight down and have the camera rock solid. So, we had to build this elaborate A-frame of pipes and it actually worked pretty well. -

Narrator

Building what might be the world's largest camera tripod creates its own challenge, how to get it out to sea. Basically just threw it all in the boat, took it out there, tied it to a line, and kind of chucked it overboard. We dropped it in a place where we weren't gonna land on any nests, so we had to be careful about that. Then we had to get it from there to the nests. (upbeat music) -

Narrator

Walking underwater is tricky. Ankle weights help Ernie to keep from floating away. (upbeat music) We found the nest pretty shallow so we were only about 45 feet deep, so when the sun's out there's a lot of light coming down from above. You know, it's a beautiful convoluted nest and all its beautiful ridges but you can't see in normal light so we brought down some high-powered battery lights when all of a sudden what just looked like this flat circle, it pops, its beautiful ridges and yeah, makes all the difference. -

Narrator

The A-frame gives the guys the top shot of the nest they need but they also want to film the tiny fish that makes it. That means getting as low as possible for close ups, so Peter puts another camera rig together. To make this sequence with pufferfish look different we wanted to use different and new tools. The slider allowed us to take the camera and move it down really close to the ground so the ridges would appear in the foreground of the frame. So, you have an outer focus foreground and then you have the pufferfish doing their thing in the background. -

Narrator

Working tirelessly, the pufferfish uses different parts of his body to sculp the sand. His attention to detail is astonishing. I've filmed underwater for over 15 years and I've need seen a three-inch fish build a 70-inch big nest, perfectly round, perfectly patterned all the way around. It's hard to imagine how this little thing can undertake something of this size.