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# The jellyfish room
- URL: https://reel.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/the-jellyfish-room/
- Published: 2026-07-28T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-28T16:00:00.000Z
- Description: Two hours alone in the aquarium before opening, lens pressed to the glass.
- Author: Lina Farouk
- Tags: Water, Wildlife, #dur 0:15, #Import 2026-10-02 15:59

There is a room in the city aquarium where the lights are off and the only thing to see is a tall tank of jellyfish, lit from below. Children press their faces to the glass. Adults go quiet. We asked if we could film there before opening time, and they said yes.

0:00 

/0:15 

1× 

Jellyfish in the dark tank, filmed through the glass before the aquarium opened.

## Chapters

- 0:00 One jellyfish
- 0:06 The tank fills
- 0:11 Drifting up

## Filming through glass

Glass causes two problems: reflections and dirt. We solved the first by turning off every light in the room except the tank's own, and wearing dark clothes so we would not reflect. The second we solved with a cloth and some patience; the glass had a thousand small handprints from the day before.

We put the lens right against the glass, wrapped in a soft rubber hood, so that no light could leak between them.

![The jellyfish room during opening hours. Before nine o'clock, we had it to ourselves.](https://reel.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/jelly-tank-1.jpg)

The jellyfish room during opening hours. Before nine o'clock, we had it to ourselves.

## Colour

The pink is real. The tank is lit with coloured lights that change slowly through the day, from blue to purple to pink. We filmed for an hour and chose the pink section, because it made the jellyfish look warm instead of cold.

## Movement

Jellyfish move slowly and smoothly, which makes them perfect for film. We did not move the camera at all. Everything in the film moves because the animals move: pulsing, drifting up, turning in the current. A still camera lets you notice that.

> A still camera in front of moving things is the most peaceful shot in film.  
>  
> **Lina Farouk**

## The sound

There is no sound in an aquarium tank that a microphone can record well. Lina made the sound from two recordings: the low hum of the aquarium's pumps, slowed down, and a soft recording of water in a bath. Together they sound like being inside the tank.

## Focus through water

Water bends light, and a thick wall of glass bends it again. The camera's autofocus struggled, jumping between the glass, the water and the animals. We switched to manual focus and set it on the middle of the tank, then used a small aperture so that jellyfish in front of and behind that point stayed reasonably sharp. Any jellyfish that drifted too close to the glass went soft, and we kept those moments out of the edit.

## Thank you

The aquarium staff let us in at seven and left us alone for two hours. They asked for nothing in return except a copy of the film, which now plays on a screen next to the tank.

🪼

If you film in an aquarium, ask first and go early. Most are happy to help, and morning is the only quiet time.

#### Are the jellyfish harmed by the lights?

No. The aquarium chooses lights that are safe for them, and we used none of our own.