Experimental Video From World’s First Eight-Armed Filmmaker
When photographer Victor Huang tried to catch some video of an octopus off the coast of New Zealand, his results were far different than he expected. The silly cephalopod grabbed the shiny camera and swam off with it while it was still recording, inadvertently creating a short film unlike any other.
Victor chased the octopus to retrieve his camera, catching up with it after a five-minute swim. He placed his spear gun under the animal to dislodge it from his digital camera, prompting it to grab the spear gun with all eight legs. The unlikely duo went for a short swim, both seeming to enjoy the impromptu friendship that had unexepectedly developed from a sudden act of underwater thievery.
The short amount of footage captured by the octopus while it was holding the camera is strangely artistic and serene, though it consists mostly of the octopus’ own folded limbs. It is an unequaled look into the life of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates – perhaps the first experimental film ever made by a sea creature.
