Black Water

Endeavor III

Endeavor III is composed of two sections. The first section was filmed by Jenny, and the second section was taken from the perspective of the camera that Allen was holding. As a whole, the film was edited and compiled by Jenny, but the majority of the footage remains raw and untouched. The first segment, labeled as "Preparation" by Jenny, begins with the new diving crew arriving at the Lodge. At the top right hand corner of the screen, viewers can see that it is 6:44 AM, as evidenced by the clock.

The first person who enters the Lodge is 31 year old Aaron Wintergreen, a technical diving instructor and deep diver, who has over 1,000 dives underneath his belt. The second person is 38 year old Ioeuri Lipske, an Israeli-iranian diving expert, who specializes in body recovery and underwater bomb disarmament. Both of them are part-time workers for Allen's investigation company, since their experience in diving can only be applied in very particular scenarios. They bring three DPVs (diver propulsion vehicles) with them, as well as their own personalized gear.

After a hastily-made introduction, Allen and the rest of the team head out to the well. Jenny follows, carrying a cheap hand-held Nicon camera to continue the video. Surprisingly, Jared is not seen anywhere - his absence is never explained at any point in the film.

At the well, Allen goes through an equipment check to see what everyone is carrying. Every diver is carrying three air tanks, each filled with trimix. They all have professionally-built rebreathers, as well as regulators that come with microphones for speech. This time, Allen makes the decision to have each diver bring their own guideline with them, to avoid a scenario similar to what happened previously. While Allen has a DVS-100 underwater night vision goggle set, his two colleagues come with their own custom-built headsets, which include cameras for each of them. Jerry installs underground sensors around the well once again, and measures the depth of the well to be 210 feet. He sets up a communications tent right next to the well, with six laptops running at the same time - Jenny provides us with an appreciative view of the setup he has. Three of the laptops are linked to cameras - one to Allen's hand-held camera, and the other two to Aaron and Ioeuri's headset cameras. The other three are to collect data and keep track of the divers' statuses.

While the three divers are setting up, Aaron and Ioeuri are frustratingly relaxed. Allen straps on his three tanks of trimix, and appears to even consider a fourth tank, while his two fellow divers seem to take the entire thing as a joke. Ioeuri even asks if he could only take two tanks, to which Allen bluntly refuses. Jenny focuses on their conversation in the film - she is almost trying to emphasize the immaturity of the two newcomers to viewers. For so many days, the original investigation team has had time to get used to the strange properties of the well. But Aaron and Ioeuri are completely unexposed to them. They are going in without any forethought - without any type of caution whatsoever.

Of course, Allen and Jerry both try to warn the divers of what they would find at the bottom. And their description certainly catches their attention - after all, it's not common to find a massive cavern underneath a well which constantly changes depth. But even so, they still seem relaxed.

"Alright," says Jerry after about thirty minutes of preparation, "Allen, you're going to head in first. Aaron goes after him, and Ioeuri goes last. Use your scooters to descend quickly. There will be safety stops at 90 feet, 140 feet, and 180 feet. Do not begin your descent until we establish communications. Okay?"

Allen replies with a brisk nod. The other two divers reply with confirmation.

The frame tilts slightly as Jenny moves to the other side of the well - she lines up her camera with the divers, who begin to drop into the black water one by one. Allen goes in without question or hesitation - at this point, he is used to going down the well. After being handed his DPV, he deflates his suit and disappears from sight.