Deep Focus: An Exclusive Interview with Emmy-Winning Cinematographer Maxwel Hohn

Maxwel Hohn is not your average underwater photographer. An Emmy Award-winning cinematographer for giants like Netflix and National Geographic, Maxwel combines the disciplined expertise of a commercial diver with the artistic ambition of a natural history filmmaker. He is a master of the craft, swapping a compact camera for a high-end RED cinema camera to capture the unseen stories of the ocean.

Inside Scuba sat down with Maxwel Hohn (MH) to dive into his unique career path, the differences between shooting a still versus a cinematic sequence, and the critical role of technical diving in landing a big production gig.

Part I: The Mindset Shift from Stills to Cinema

Maxwel’s career path is a testament to blending passion with professional rigor, moving from teaching scuba in the Caribbean to building complex camera systems for global documentaries.

IS: What’s it like being a professional underwater cinematographer, working with such high-end gear?

MH: It's exciting, challenging, and incredibly rewarding. Filming with RED cinema cameras underwater requires a level of specialized skills, equipment, and training that I've had to acquire over the years. The challenge of shooting a specific species, behaviors, or ecosystems changes with each job—that's the exciting part; you never know what will happen. Ultimately though, seeing your work broadcast as part of a larger project is an incredible feeling and something I'll never get tired of. My background as a commercial diver has prepared me for anything a production can throw at me!

IS: You started with a compact camera and now film with a RED 8K V-Raptor. What is the mindset shift, and what specialized skills do you need to move to your current system?

MH: You might see pictures of my big rig, and it's huge, very big and intimidating. But honestly, it's actually a lot easier to use than some of my smaller systems. It’s very archaic: there's no autofocus—it's all manual—and the settings are easier to navigate than Canon or Sony. It’s the right tool for the right job. Productions want the highest standards of footage possible, so I use the RED. For myself, I often just take a Canon R5 Mark II because it's a lot more portable and easier to travel with.

IS: That’s a massive transition. How did you get that first big cinematography gig?

MH: That came from working on a short film I put out about six years ago called 'Tadpoles: A Big Little Migration.' It was a passion project that I filmed in my backyard, Vancouver Island, about tadpoles. We thought maybe a thousand people would watch it, but it literally went viral overnight. Suddenly, we had production companies calling us to work on different shows. That got my foot in the door with BBC, Netflix, Disney, and Nat Geo.

IS: What’s the biggest difference in how you approach the subject when shooting cinematography versus a still?

MH: With a still, you're after a moment—the perfect moment. With film, you have to think about a story and the different cutting points for the editors.

For example, if a sea lion is playing with a starfish, you need a shot of the starfish alone, the sea lion coming in, sniffing it, picking it up, and then playing with it. For a still, you might aim for the perfect moment of the starfish in the sea lion's mouth, but for video, you must film all those little pieces to build the whole narrative.

IS: What is it about diving that gives you the passion for this work?

MH: There’s nothing else in the world that gives me the same feeling that diving does. When you take a walk in a forest most animals flee before you are even aware of their presence, underwater though, marine life allows you to get close and sometimes even comes to see you! The amount of life in a small area underwater can exceed what we see on land, it's always a new experience.

IS: Do you do research first by just watching the behavior without a camera?

MH: Quite often, it's doing a lot of research by talking to local biologists or experts who have spent a lot of time with that subject. On big productions, I have a team that comes up with a whole storyboard, and they give me the assignment. However, you can’t really dictate wildlife; it does whatever it wants. It’s just about spending as much time in the water as possible to maximize the opportunity.

Part II: The Technical Edge and Essential Gear

The Journey to the Dive Pro

IS: Diving is clearly a lifelong passion. How long have you been diving, and what first inspired you?

MH: I started freediving in 1996 and got certified as a scuba diver in 2004. At 18, in 2005, I was certified as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor—most of my life has been spent in the water. I was very fortunate to have parents who supported my decision to travel at a young age. When I was 17 I left home to backpack in Honduras and took my open water course in the Bay Islands.

MH: My instructor was a Kiwi named Orlando who seemed to have life all figured out! Living on a tropical island, teaching scuba diving... what could be better? He not only inspired me to become a diver but also to become an instructor. The next 8 years I spent traveling and working all over the world as a scuba instructor. Back then I would never have thought I would eventually become a certified commercial diving instructor, rebreather diver, full cave diver, ice diver, and freediver. It's been quite the journey!

IS: Can you run through some of your high-level certifications, as they demonstrate your technical depth?

MH: Absolutely. Beyond my initial instructor rating, I hold:

• DCBC Unrestricted Surface Supply Instructor

• DCBC Unrestricted Occupational Scuba Instructor

• TDI Decompression Procedures Instructor

• TDI Ice Diver

• TDI Full Cave Diver

• TDI Rebreather Full Cave Diver

• Liberty Rebreather Helitrox Diver

• Prism 2 Rebreather Diver

The Commercial Diver Advantage

IS: You've mentioned your background as a commercial diver. Beyond being a way to initially fund your career, what skills did that training provide that are crucial to your work as an underwater cinematographer, and why is that certification so important to productions?

MH: Commercial diving improved my knowledge of overall construction, rigging, complex operations, and crane operations—all things that come into play with the film world. These days, almost all productions will only hire underwater cinematographers who are commercially certified, due to liability.

The skillset is also vital for the creative side. As we delve more into natural history, we often need to figure out new ways to film behavior that hasn't been done before. This requires us to build different types of underwater sets, like sliders or complex time-lapse rigs, and having the commercial diving skillset helps immensely with being able to build these setups. Furthermore, having worked in zero visibility so much, I have an overall comfort underwater; I’m used to 'seeing' with my hands.

IS: Speaking of visibility, what are the biggest challenges you face when working underwater?

MH: The biggest challenge is water temperature. I mostly dive in Canada and the water temperature ranges from 1°C (34°F) to 14°C (57°F). Nothing is worse than being cold underwater, so having a good drysuit and excellent thermals is key to being comfortable. Visibility is also a challenge. Being a commercial diver I’ve been exposed to zero visibility diving conditions regularly. I’ve dived in mud, effluent, and many other materials most people wouldn’t dream of going near (even liquid cheese!). Learning to feel with your "ten eyes" (fingers) is critical, and always keeping an orientation to your direction in the water is a must.

IS: How important is safety, given those challenges?

MH: Safety is the most important part of any dive. Underwater can be a hostile and unforgiving place, and there's no sense in being a hero and diving in dangerous conditions. My extensive commercial diving background and experience has made me a safer diver in a wide range of environments and conditions.

IS: You’re also a rebreather diver. Can you talk about the advantages of a Closed-Circuit Rebreather (CCR) for cinematography?

MH: With a rebreather , it just allows you to stay in the water longer and get a lot closer to marine life. It keeps you warmer because you’re recycling your air. But the biggest advantage is the proximity to marine life. For example, when filming cyclones of salmon, you can get right into the swarm with a CCR because you are more stealthy—it's the bubbles that really scare a lot of the marine life.

Cold Water & Specialized Lenses

IS: You dove in warm water before coming home to Vancouver Island. What is your advice for underwater photographers who aren’t used to diving in cold water?

MH: I went from Open Water to Instructor in the Caribbean, and coming home was a shock—it’s a lot more gear. The key to enjoying cold water diving is having a good, reliable drysuit that's custom-fit to your size. A lot of people make the mistake of going with a cheaper secondhand drysuit that isn't their size, and they don't have an enjoyable experience. For me, I use dry gloves (marigolds over wool liners) and a heated vest for longer, stationary dives. From a photography standpoint, you have a whole new level of buoyancy with a drysuit, so you must master your drysuit buoyancy before taking a camera.

IS: You use highly specialized lenses like the Laowa probe and the EMWL. Where do you use each?

MH: I've got both, and they both have their place. The Laowa Probe is incredible, but it's very finicky with focus, and you need a lot of light. Its advantage is that the tip is waterproof, so I might use it in a muckier environment where I don't want the headache of possible particles getting in between the lens elements. The EMWL has the flexibility of different lens tips (60mm, 100mm, etc.) that you can switch out underwater.

IS: Did you use the EMWL for a specific shot in a recent series?

MH: I used it in Secrets of the Octopus to get into tight and confined areas and achieve some unique angles. It allows you to get very, very low to the bottom substrate, which is useful when the housing for the RED is so big.

Part III: DOP and Dream Shots

IS: On a show like Secrets of the Octopus, are you also the Director of Photography (DOP)?

MH: The nice thing with filming underwater is that position is almost always a DOP role. I get to call the shots and make the decisions on lighting, angles, and depths. I really like having that control and freedom to focus on what I want to shoot, because there is less pressure and more creative freedom than topside filming.

IS: You won an Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for Island of the Sea Wolves. What’s the most memorable shot or sequence you contributed?

MH: It was one of the first series I ever worked on, so winning was a huge highlight. It was special because it's my home, Vancouver Island, and I was the only local filming on that series. The memorable sequence that got me noticed was filming sea otters in a way that hadn't really been done before. I came up with an idea for filming them differently, and the producers loved it. It was about trying to think outside of the box and apply that mindset to the entire series.

IS: You say on your website that your ambition is to go to Antarctica. What do you want to film there?

MH: I really want to film leopard seals. Seals and sea lions are one of my favorite marine creatures to be in the water with. I've been fortunate to see sea lions on almost every continent, so Antarctica is the final one—that’s my mission. I'd love to do an assignment where I can be there for a couple of months to really capture those behaviors.

IS: Thanks for your time Maxwel.

MH: My pleasure.