The Sinking of the Lusitania

The date is May 7, 1915, just nine months into World War I.
En route to the Irish port of Queenstown, the Lusitania, luxurious cruise liner and pride of the British fleet steadily inches its way across the Atlantic ocean.
Unbeknownst to the 1,959 people on board, nearly two-thirds are about to die.

The Sinking of the Lusitania: Terror at Sea (also known as Lusitania: Murder on the Atlantic) is a docudrama produced by Darlow Smithson Productions (UK) for BBC1, Discovery US, Channel 4 International and NDR (Germany), and is a dramatization of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat, the U-20.

Filmed in Cape Town with local production company, DO Productions, Sinking the Lusitania, directed by Chris Spencer and starring John Hannah and Kenneth Cranham, explores the controversy and conspiracy theories surrounding the Lusitania’s final deadly voyage..

Though mostly remembered as the catalyst which propelled the United States to join the war, The Sinking of the Lusitania explores the lesser-known historical nuances involved in the tragedy, and sheds new light onto both the British as well as the German perspective at the time.

In this dramatic two-hour special, Discovery Channel brings you the story of the doomed ship and, for the first time, goes inside the cramped, foul-smelling hull of the U-boat that fired the fateful torpedo. The central figures in this epic tale are the two men in command: Captain William Turner of the Lusitania and Kapitanleutnant Walther Schwieger of the U-20.

The film also examines the possibility – impossible to prove – that the Admiralty left the ship deliberately exposed to encourage the US participation in the war.

Shot in a variety of locations in and around the Western Cape and Germany, in speaking to Marlow de Mardt (Executive Producer, DO Production ), the crew faced numerous challenges, including gale-force winds in Strandfontein and other complications due to shooting on a “wet”-set.

To protect the cast from hypothermia due to perpetual exposure to the cold Capetonian sea, special flesh-coloured wetsuits were designed that could be worn under their costumes.
And in order to realistically emulate the death throes of a sinking ship, a portion of the deck was constructed on dry land and mounted on hydraulics, which allowed the crew to tilt at extreme and unnatural angles.

Principal photography took a mere 21 days, in no small part thanks to the choice of filming in HD.

“The choice of filming in HD reflects a growing market trend” said Marius van Straaten, general manager of Visual Impact. “We’re seeing more and more productions utilising HD as a economic solution to tell stories”

Director: Chris Spencer. DOP: Rob Goldre. Grip: Steve Steenerburg. Camera Assistant: Georgia Court.

Bringing this epic drama to life is the Sony TM F900 R camera using HD KLL film style lenses, as well as all the film style accessories like micro force zoom control and chroziel follow focus.

The second camera was a Sony TM 750, which used a Scubacam TM bag for some of the trickier underwater shots.

Mogamat from Visual Impact-Magus worked with the DOP to manipulate the menu and create a desired look that would compliment and amplify the story.

Facing the difficult task of director of Photography was Rob Goldie, an industry veteran with over fifteen years of experience..

“I’m very happy with the service provided by Magus Visual on this movie… as always, they were incredibly friendly, efficient and professional, and I look forward to working with them again in the not too distant future” he said.

With a superb cast and stunning re-creations, SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA: TERROR AT SEA is a must-see.

The Sinking of the Lusitania premiers 13 May on the Discovery Channel.

Visuals Group Technical Department.