The ‘Endurance’ Filmmakers on Bringing Ernest Shackleton Back From the Dead With AI

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As a documentary enthusiast who appreciates the intricate blend of words and visual storytelling, I can’t help but admire the dedication and passion that Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin bring to their work. Their collaboration on “The Eagle Huntress” and “Free Solo” showcases their unique ability to capture compelling narratives while venturing into some of the world’s most challenging terrains.

The married duo, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, are renowned for their films that portray extraordinary human resilience against natural elements. They consistently release one movie per year, which is an impressive testament to their unwavering dedication.

Elia and Jimmy Chin have documented thrilling, history-making climbs in the films Meru and the Academy Award-winning documentary Free Solo; the dangerous operation to rescue the trapped Thai soccer team from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system, as seen in The Rescue; and Diana Nyad’s incredible 110 mile swim from Cuba to Florida, which was depicted in last year’s Oscar-nominated film Nyad. Chin also embarked on his own perilous expeditions, including his most recent ascent of Mount Everest where they made a significant finding (details below).

The introduction sets the stage for a new documentary titled “Endurance,” co-directed by Natalie Hewit. This film focuses on the epic 1914-1917 Trans-Antarctic expedition led by polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, famously known as the greatest survival story ever told according to Vasarhelyi. The National Geographic production, airing today on Nat Geo and available on Hulu and Disney+ starting Nov 2, intertwines two remarkable narratives: Shackleton’s courageous 800-mile journey to rescue his 28 crew members stranded at the Earth’s bottom, and a 2022 mission aimed at locating the wreckage of their ship, the three-masted brigantine “Endurance,” which was trapped in the Weddell Sea ice and sank over 3000 meters deep.

In a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chin and Vasarhelyi share their approach for recounting the Shackleton story for modern viewers. They utilized captivating 110-year-old footage of the original expedition, Chin’s personal background as an experienced adventurer, and advanced AI technology to breathe new life into this legendary tale.

As a passionate gamer, I find myself captivated by no character quite like Ernest Shackleton, a polar explorer whose tales echo through history, surpassing the allure of any other explorer I’ve known. His stories have fueled countless books, movies, documentaries, and leadership seminars, yet it’s remarkable that he failed to achieve his main expedition objectives – in this case, crossing the Antarctic continent. So, what keeps us spellbound by his story?

User: I find it incredible, perhaps the most remarkable survival tale ever, and it showcases an intriguing aspect of human nature – the daring ambition to aim high and pursue seemingly impossible goals. At the same time, it requires immense resilience, bravery, determination, and perseverance to succeed. I believe Ernest Shackleton was captivating because he too was an outsider, not a member of the Royal Navy, but the Merchant Marines, from Ireland. His remarkable character allowed him to guide his team through survival, yet it also led him into difficulty. It was this daring spirit that drove him to attempt the impossible when others said he couldn’t, but fate wasn’t on his side and he faced adversity due to his leadership qualities. In the end, it was this same audacity that got him into trouble, but also enabled him to lead through failure.

Jimmy, given your experience as an explorer and expedition leader, I’m curious about your perspective on what might have motivated Shackleton during the Nimrod Expedition of 1907-1909. Can you share your thoughts on why he chose to turn back only 97 nautical miles away from his primary goal, the South Pole?

Chin expresses that Shackleton’s decision to turn back from a climb despite being so close to the summit demonstrates his character, integrity, and dedication to his team. This mindset of prioritizing safety over success was also evident in Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. In Chin’s younger days, he admits that he may not have shared this perspective, but as he has learned from hard experiences and the lessons of friends, he now understands that the top priority on any expedition should be ensuring everyone returns home safely.

You have had to turn back very close to the summit before, no? 

Chin: Often, I agree. This tale appears more familiar in numerous aspects. It’s a narrative about falling short, an experience that many can identify with. The way one responds to failure often reveals more about their character than success ever could.

What makes your movie unique compared to other adaptations of the Shackleton expedition is that it also features a contemporary tale about the quest to find the actual ship in 2022. When did you get involved in this project?

Vasarhelyi: We had cameras on board, with Natalie Hewit overseeing this aspect. Jimmy and I weren’t part of the project from its inception. Instead, we were filming Nyad when National Geographic acquired the rights to the search expedition footage for a planned TV program. We suggested transforming it into a feature film instead, as it would offer a more immersive experience. Jimmy and I have long discussed how to modernize the Shackleton story in 2024 while maintaining authenticity, using only an actual explorer’s perspective. I was keen to hear Jimmy’s thoughts on reinterpreting the Shackleton tale. Additionally, we had the chance to utilize AI Respeecher to reproduce the men’s recordings and recite Shackleton’s words in Shackleton’s own voice, drawing us deeper into the Shackleton stories through his diaries. Furthermore, we had footage from both the original expedition 110 years ago and the 2022 expedition. Seeing the boat’s remains, which lie at a depth of approximately 3,000 meters, is truly surreal. It feels like a technological achievement to be able to view it.

A while back, there was quite a debate about re-creating Anthony Bourdain for the documentary “Roadrunner”. What safety measures ought to be implemented when employing AI in such documentary productions?

Vasarhelyi: I believe there ought to be numerous safeguards in place. It’s essential that everyone is well-informed, transparent about their actions, and open about their methods. While the film doesn’t explicitly highlight specific uses of AI throughout its narrative, it does include a general disclosure in the end credits. For us as historians, this was an innovative approach to storytelling, as we used Shackleton’s own words. Other films have employed Shackleton’s words or had actors interpret them. [AI-assisted technologies] can be intriguing creative tools, but it’s crucial to handle them thoughtfully and ethically.

In your discussion, you brought up the stunningly clear film footage taken by expedition photographer Frank Hurley back then. I can hardly believe it’s 110 years old! Can you tell me about its condition when you found it? Was there any restoration work required on it?

Vasarhelyi: We’ve been incredibly fortunate because the British Film Institute carefully preserved Frank Hurley’s footage, and they even performed a new scan of it several years ago. They had stringent rules regarding color treatments, but when we presented our case for colorizing it, they agreed, finding it intriguing. With that said, adding a touch of drama through the color treatment, subtly enhancing the footage, I believe, also gives it a sense of life. Then, with our traditional techniques of sound mixing and design, you can almost hear the boat creaking, and the dogs whimpering. As a documentarian, I found this process incredibly thrilling. It brought an 110-year-old tale, which was already captivating for us, to life even more vividly.

As a gamer, I too captured reenactments – in Los Angeles and Iceland – that are quite challenging to tell apart from real-life footage. What made them essential?

Vasarhelyi points out a significant challenge in the authentic Shackleton tale: once they launched into the three boats bound for Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean, there are no existing videos or photos documenting their journey. Consequently, anyone retelling the story has had to imaginatively recreate this part. In our film, Burberry replicated the original expedition outfits by following the same designs and using identical leather samples as the originals. They were able to produce these for us.

I enjoy working with words and making edits, which is why I handled the majority of the interviews and played a significant role during the editing process. However, I didn’t plan on going to Iceland for filming the reenactments. Instead, Jimmy graciously agreed to go to Iceland for us.

As a Gamer: I recruited some rugged fellows straight from the Icelandic mountains for this project, no need for fancy makeovers since they already fit the bill perfectly. [Laughs] We filmed a good chunk of it in Iceland itself, using water tanks, hoses, and massive fans. It was freezing cold, as we were shooting at night, so the water sprayed froze solid on their Burberry suits! I was bundled up in a huge down jacket from the Himalayas, so the backstage shots are priceless.

Jimmy, it was right when your documentary “Endurance” was set to debut in London that National Geographic shared pictures from your latest expedition to Mount Everest. In these photos, you stumbled upon the long-lost remains of Andrew Irvine, a member of the 1924 Mallory party. Could you share some insights about what led you there and how this discovery unfolded?

Chin: We were working on an unannounced documentary, and during this project, we trekked between two camps situated high up on the central Khumbu glacier, which lies beneath Mount Everest in its northern slope. While there, we stumbled upon a few artifacts, one of them being an old oxygen bottle from 1933. Given that the 1933 British expedition was the successor to George Mallory and Irvine’s failed attempt in 1924, we believed that the artifact may have originated from the North Ridge during that era. Although we didn’t anticipate finding Irvine himself, we did discuss the possibility. I even jokingly suggested to my team that if the oxygen bottle had landed there, it was plausible that Irvine might have fallen nearby. During our subsequent journey between these locations, we spent extra time searching for any signs of him. It was then that we discovered a foot, which upon closer examination bore an uncanny resemblance to a photograph I had taken earlier at the Royal Geographic Society in London, of Mallory’s boot from the 1924 expedition. Upon further investigation, I noticed a label inside the sock, and it read “AC Irvine,” confirming our suspicion that this could potentially be Andy’s foot.

Jimmy, is it something you might think about having Chai join you on an expedition sometime? At the moment, she appears to be declining.

Chin: I don’t know how that would work out,

Vasarhelyi: We do go skiing together. 

Chin: I believe you might find it unexpected, but I’m confident she could handle herself quite capably in that situation if necessary.

Vasarhelyi: I’m steadfast and full of perseverance. Additionally, I think it might be necessary for one of us to remain on solid ground since we have two little ones to look after.

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2024-11-01 18:59