Frank Gromling, owner and publisher of Ocean Publishing in Flagler Beach, will present a talk at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit in Monterrey, Calif., on Sep. 25, entitled “Films to Books, How to Do It Without the Pain.”
BLUE is a high-energy seven-day festival showcasing the world’s finest ocean films and award winning marine photography, and featuring a filmmakers marketplace, science and conservation seminars, international policy discussions and an ocean-media industry conference.
That conference provides educational and networking opportunities for underwater and ocean related productions. Seminars and workshops offer mentoring from esteemed professionals from media technology, underwater film-making, marine photography, ocean conservation, deep sea exploration, marine sciences, project funding, television programming, feature film production and content distribution.
Gromling, a noted speaker on conservation and publishing issues and FlaglerLive’s Coastal View columnist, recognizes that some might be confused by his talk’s title because usually the transition is from books to films. But he believes there are many films or videos which, if properly done, would make excellent books, thereby bringing the films’ subjects to the reading public in a way that complements the films and allows readers to gain a greater knowledge that films can’t provide.
Gromling cites a current Ocean Publishing project as an example. Ocean protector Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society produced “America’s Underwater Treasures,” about the National Marine Sanctuaries, for PBS television. The program was seen by an audience of millions across the country. Yet millions more don’t know anything about the sanctuaries. The lack of awareness convinced Gromling to suggest to Cousteau that they work together to produce a series of affordable, full-color books that would introduce the sanctuaries to readers throughout the country and abroad. The result is Ocean Publishing’s book series, “Explore the National Marine Sanctuaries with Jean-Michel Cousteau.”
Working with video, scripts, photographs, outtakes, and journals, Ocean Publishing crafted a four-book series that introduces readers to the beauty and importance of the sanctuaries in what the publishing industry calls an “accessible” product. Simply put, this means that the books put any scientific information into language understandable by most adult audiences.
The first two books are published and have won awards. The third and fourth books will be released this fall. Jean-Michel Cousteau will sign copies of his series, along with his biography about his father, Jacques Cousteau, after his presentation at the BLUE conference on Sept. 25.
