Meet the team

We've spent our careers producing content that tries to make people feel something about the natural world. For a long time, the tools available, however beautiful, kept audiences at a distance. A screen is a window. Immersive media is a door.

The research backs up what we've experienced firsthand: immersive environments generate measurably stronger empathy responses than conventional video. Audiences who have been inside an environment report higher behavioral intention to protect it. Fulldome formats drive retention of scientific information beyond what any classroom delivery achieves. These are documented effects, and they matter.

We started Submersa because we wanted to build a studio that worked at this intersection full-time, pairing natural world access with intentional immersive craft, and distributing the results to the venues where they can do the most good: dome theaters, aquariums, museums, headset platforms, and any screen large enough to get out of the way and let the environment speak for itself.

Who we are

Founder, Director & Director of Photography

Jeff has spent years working at the leading edge of immersive production, long enough to have shot across nearly every format the industry has developed. His credits span giant screen theatrical, 360° spherical installation work for Igloo, headset delivery for Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro, and fulldome. He has worked regularly with Immotion on location-based immersive experiences deployed at aquariums, zoos, and museums worldwide, and served as Underwater DP on PostcardFrom Earth for Sphere. He has worked with a broad range of production companies and venues on content that reaches audiences across all major immersive platforms.

Jeff brings that cross-format fluency into every Submersa production. When he frames a shot, he's already thinking about how it will feel on a 50-foot dome ceiling, inside a headset at arm's length, and on a wall-sized screen. That discipline, starting from the end deliverable and working backward through every creative and technical decision, is the foundation of how Submersa operates.

Jeff Hester

FOUNDER, Director & PRODUCER

Alex comes to Submersa with a body of work that spans some of the most significant natural world productions of the past decade. His credits include Ocean with David Attenborough (National Geographic), Our Oceans for Netflix, Into the Bayou (IMAX), and Lasting Hope with Dr. Sylvia Earle for Wildpath. These are projects built at scale, with complex logistics, scientific collaborators, and audiences in the millions.

At Submersa, Alex brings that same production rigor to immersive-native storytelling, managing the human relationships, logistical complexity, and creative vision that allow ambitious projects to get made and land well.

Alex Warham

What we do

End-to-End Immersive Production

Submersa is a full production studio. We develop original stories, work with partners to identify the best immersive approach for their subject matter, and carry projects from concept through to mastered deliverable.

We always start with the end format. The camera position, movement, frame rate, and lighting approach for a fulldome production are fundamentally different from those for an Apple Vision Pro 180° experience. Getting those decisions right at the shoot stage is what separates immersive content that works from immersive content that technically exists. We bring that format literacy to every stage of production.

For teams coming to immersive for the first time, we can serve as the dedicated immersive creative unit, advising on what to capture, how close to get, what to avoid, and how to structure a story that uses the medium rather than fighting it.

Post Production Partners

For post, we work with a trusted network of specialists matched to each project's format and deliverables:

  • Spatial Unlimited — immersive finishing, app development

  • LightSail VR — VR/XR post and interactive delivery

  • Moonraker VFX — visual effects and compositing for immersive formats

Initiate Your Project

Please submit the brief form below, and the team will respond promptly to facilitate a comprehensive consultation.