Independent Filmmaker

Bill Macdonald

Bill Macdonald is an independent filmmaker and speaker. He is the owner of the film production enterprise Macdonald Productions, which has a primary focus of providing and producing filmography from the aquatic world.

From 1975 to 1980, Macdonald was a member of the Cousteau dive and film team. He had the opportunity to work with Philippe Cousteau on a number of projects. He was also an environmental spokesman responsible for giving over 350 lectures to different universities around America on behalf of The Cousteau Society.

In 1976, he was working for The Cousteau Society as their Marine Awareness Director. Jacques Cousteau assigned him a project requiring Bill to create a visual representation of aquatic wildlife for the vocal rock group Crosby, Stills and Nash. The video would be used to accompany the group’s song “Wind on the Water.” He created the film by using video clips from the Cousteau Society archives. The focus of the video included dolphins and whales in their natural habitat. This visual representation was used by the group for over 30 years during their live concerts.

Macdonald has also worked with sports and aquatics. In 1982, he was involved in filming and producing a sports series for Comcast Cablevision. Set in Southern California, the 10-episode series involved filming various water and action sports ranging from outrigger canoe racing and surfing to scuba diving and ballooning. Each episode was 30 minutes long and hosted by Macdonald.

In 1983, Macdonald Productions created “Diving California’s Channel Islands” for Truth Aquatics. Filmed in the California Channel Islands, located off the coast near Santa Barbara, this video has been commercially distributed to numerous sports diving groups in the USA and internationally.

In 1984, scuba diving and physical disability became a focal point for Macdonald Productions with the film “Freedom in Depth.” Hosted by co-producer Jean-Michel Cousteau, the film explored the relationship between physically disabled individuals and the freedom they found through aquatic adventure.

Bill also served as associate producer for “Tarawa and Big Cats,” created for Burrud Productions in 1988. During this project, he contributed both as producer and cameraman. Macdonald also worked on the “Treasure” series as supervising producer for the episode “Treasure of San Felipe,” and later as cameraman in episodes featuring cave diving and exploration.

Environmental awareness has always been a key element of Macdonald’s films. Another major contribution was the film “Synthetic Sea,” which focused on raising awareness of the enormous amounts of debris accumulating in the ocean. The International Documentary Association promoted the film, which has been translated into Spanish and Japanese.

In 1996, while working with his wife Susan, he produced “Secrets of California Waters.” This film revealed rare encounters with aquatic life, such as elephant seal harems and basking sharks, highlighting the unpredictability and richness of the underwater world.

In 1999, Macdonald expanded the series with “More Secrets of California Waters,” which focused on the kelp environment. The Discovery Channel later used footage from this film to produce a one-hour special on the Channel Islands.

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