SUMMARY OF DIVING EXPERIENCE
MALCOLM LUDGATE ACS
Malcolm spent his early years as a snorkel diver, purchasing his first scuba set in 1968. As a recreational diver, he worked at Divers Service in Adelaide, South Australia, maintaining their diving equipment and assisting their dive instructors. In 1969 he became a founding member of the original South Australian branch of The British Sub Aqua Club and their diving safety officer. He also embarked on a career as a professional diver for Marine Industries, Aqua Salve and SA Marine Pty Ltd. His work with these companies involved submarine pipeline installation, underwater cutting, under ship maintenance, slipway construction, salvage operations and use of a variety of underwater cameras, airlifts and pneumatic underwater tools.
In 1973, he completed a Federation of Australian Underwater Instructors certificate and in the same year, joined J R McDermott Ltd where he was employed as a mixed gas diver on Australia's North West Shelf oil field on the "Ocean Digger" and "Big John" oilrigs. His work there included underwater photography and submarine maintenance and repair of blow out preventer stacks, to a depth of 200 meters, using mixed gas diving techniques and operating an assortment of sophisticated submersibles, diving bells and recompression chambers.
In 1975, he returned to Adelaide joining Port Stanvac Marine Ltd as a commercial diver and coxswain. At this time he was jointly responsible for boat operations, sub-marine maintenance and underwater installations at Adelaide's deep water oil refinery. He was also commissioned to produce inspection films and underwater photographs of this facility.
In 1976, with some associates, he was instrumental in the formation of Adelaide's Southern Skin Diving Centre, and conducted a complete FAUI diver-training programme for this new venture during the next few years. 1976 was also the year he in which qualified for certification as a Cave Diver.
Since 1977, most of his diving has predominantly involved specialised underwater cinematography, using 35mm and 16mm motion picture cameras, broadcast video production cameras and large format and 35mm stills photography equipment.
In 1979, Malcolm formed his own production company Sea Films Pty Ltd that has become a leading provider of underwater camera technicians and expertise to the film and television industry. He has been the underwater Director of Photography on numerous documentaries, commercials and feature film productions throughout the world. Projects include over 20 white shark filming expeditions, several diving action adventure series, whale shark, southern right whale, sea snake, octopus and seahorse films to name a few.
Other diving ventures include three under-ice diving expeditions to Antarctica where he filmed the ABC wildlife series "The Nature of Australia" and the internationally renowned 70mm Imax film "Antarctica". During this production, he completed more than 70 dives under sea ice and recorded never before seen images, inside the Chaos glacier.
Recent underwater film projects include a six-part series on Europe's largest commercial diving school at Fort Bovisand, Plymouth, covering all aspects of the rigid preparation and training of professional divers for the offshore oil industry: two High Definition television documentaries on shipwrecks and an extraordinary film on the Sea Snakes of Niue.
Currently he holds the Department of Labour & Industry log book (number 28), Commonwealth of Australian Diver accreditation certificate (AS2815.2) number 1035, FAUI advanced diver certification, and Technical Diving International Nitrox diver certificate #2822.
Malcolm is also a member of the Underwater Visual Producer's Association of Australia
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FEATURE: Ice Diving
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