Over the summer Netflix released the documentary “Chasing Coral,” which discussed the current environmental issue of the death of coral reefs around the world. Although this documentary is science based, it also appeals to people who are interested in film and the documentation of science. The people who filmed “Chasing Coral” also did the documentary “Chasing Ice,” which shows the melting of glaciers using time lapse photography.

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As hoped for, the film had lots of shots of breathtaking underwater scenes with bright coral and fish swimming. The opening scenes of the documentary captured the audience with these images, but quickly the main point of the film is explored. The coral reefs of the world are not only beautiful: they are also very important to life both underwater and on land.

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Currently coral reefs around the world are turning white and dying at an alarming rate. Scientists are scrambling to figure out how to solve this issue by both preventing the bleaching and replacing reefs that are already dead. To solve big issues, many people must contribute in little ways, including this film.

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The coral reef bleaching is a problem that is going to have to be stopped on a large scale, so the filmmakers used this as their central point of focus. To do show this, the film went through the process of making special cameras that could stay underwater and do time lapse photography of the reefs. The cameras did not end up being successful, so the team had to dive on the same sites day after day in order to capture the images they needed. Through the process of making this film, the team came to see this issue as more than just a project. They saw first hand the destruction that is happening in our oceans.

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Travel was also a large component of this film. The bleaching of the coral reefs is happening all over the world, so the film team had to travel to capture this event. This may seem counterproductive because of the carbon dioxide released during travel, but I would argue that the good caused by capturing these images offsets the carbon emissions. The environmental cost of traveling and film production is a common argument that is used to try and negate arguments made in the documentaries.

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Although this film captured the big picture of this global issue, it also focused on the individual people working to make things better. One of the people it focused on was Zack Rago, an underwater camera technician. Although Rago’s main contribution to the film was his camera skills, his passion for coral reefs was a major point of the film. Rago was able to meet one of his role models, Charlie Vernon, a coral reef specialist, during the documentary. Although based in science, “Chasing Coral” was able to keep my attention with the more human aspects of the film.

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As an environmental science major, I am interested in the science behind the death of the coral reefs. I also deal with the question of how to get people to care about this issue. “Chasing Coral” is a compelling example of using film to capture and keep an audience. Not only does it tell the story with words, but the visual aspect of seeing the destruction over a short period of time really hits you in the gut. Words are powerful, but a picture truly is worth a thousand words.