Sony launches the world’s first Octographer at Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium via FCB NZ

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Octographer-and-camera.jpgOctopuses have long been known as creatures of the deep, mythical and mysterious beings found in the darkest oceans… Who knew all they wanted you to do was say cheese?

 

Sony, Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium, animal trainer Mark Vette and FCB New Zealand have come together to give the world its first Octographer – an octopus that has been taught to take photos on a Sony TX30 underwater camera in New Zealand.

The Octographer currently lives at Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand where visitors will be able to make a $2 donation at scheduled times and have their photo taken live by the cephalopod.

 

Sam Duncan, general manager at Sony says its TX30 camera is the perfect camera for the Octopus to use.

 

Says Duncan: “The TX30 is a high quality camera for underwater photography – it is shock, dust and water resistant and we wanted to show it off.”

 

He adds there was a method to the madness of giving it to an octopus, rather than a professional photographer.

 

Says Duncan: “We wanted to show that quality under water photos could be taken by anybody because the TX30 is so easy to use. As unusual as it sounded at first, giving it to an octopus just seemed to make sense.”

 

Vette from Animals on Q, says working with an octopus for a task like this has been an invaluable learning experience.

 

Says Vette: “Nothing like this has ever been done before, we did a lot of observing of the octopus in her habitat before we started, because it is all new.

“When we first tried to get her to take a photo, it only took three attempts for her to understand the process, that’s faster than a dog, actually it’s faster than a human in some instances.”

 

Curator at Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium Andrew Christie says octopuses have a high level of intelligence that makes them ideal for these sorts of tasks.

 

Says Christie: “Octopuses rank highly on the scale of animal intelligence. Investigating their environment and learning tasks come very naturally to them. Something like this fits perfectly with our goal of enriching the lives of our animals.

 

“Through this process we have been able to provide a positive experience for both Rambo and for the public, who will hopefully learn something new about octopuses as result.”

Vette will be taking photos with the octopus at Kelly Tarlton’s on Friday 10 April. Attendees will be invited to make a donation with all proceeds going back to the Sea Life Conservation Fund, an organisation dedicated to the protection of marine wildlife and conservation.

Client: Peter Buckton

Agency: FCB New Zealand

Regional Executive Creative Director: James Mok

Executive Creative Director: Tony Clewett

Executive Creative Director: Regan Grafton

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Group Account Director: Toby Sellers

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Lead Behavourist: Animals on Q – Mark Vette

Assistant Handlers: Animals on Q – Jazmin Vette dal Bello and Rosie Miles

 

Curator Kelly Tarlton’s SEA LIFE Aquarium: Andrew Christie

Marketing Manager: Claire Wheeler Kelly Tarlton’s SEA LIFE Aquarium

 

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