Howard Hall Productions is a natural history film production company specializing in marine wildlife and marine conservation films for television and large format theater. The company is owned and operated by Howard and Michele Hall.
Howard and Michele Hall are perhaps best known for their underwater IMAX films. In 1994 Howard directed the first underwater IMAX 3D feature, Into the Deep. In 1998 Michele produced and Howard directed the IMAX feature Island of the Sharks. In 2005 they returned to the IMAX 3D format by directing and producing Deep Sea 3D which was awarded Best Picture at the Giant Screen Cinema Association Conference and Best Large Format Film at Wildscreen 2006. In 2009 the Hall’s released Under the Sea 3D. This film won best cinematography at the Giant Screen Cinema Association Conference in 2009 and Best Documentary at the International 3D Society in 2010. Howard was director of underwater cinematography for Primesco Productions’ Lost Worlds, MacGillivray Freeman Films’ The Living Sea, the IMAX 3D feature Return to Hubble, and was underwater cinematographer for MacGillivray Freeman’s Journey Into Amazing Caves. In 2002 Howard was underwater sequence director and Michele was location manager for MacGillivray Freeman’s IMAX feature Coral Reef Adventure, a film in which both are featured on camera. The Hall’s latest IMAX film, Secrets of the Sea 3D, was released in 2022 and was a coproduction between Howard Hall Productions and Oceanic Research.
Of the five highest grossing 3D films produced by IMAX Corporation, two were directed by Howard Hall. Into the Deep has earned box office receipts of over $70 million and Deep Sea 3D has earned over $96 million.
Between them, Howard and Michele have won seven Emmy Awards. Howard has produced and/or directed many award winning natural history television films including a National Geographic Special which he co-produced with Michele, and four episodes of the PBS series Nature. Howard also directed and Michele produced the award winning five-hour series Secrets of the Ocean Realm for PBS. The Hall’s most recent film, Soul of the Ocean, is a 78-minute feature length film that was finished in 2022.
Howard holds a BS degree in zoology from San Diego State University. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Michele is a Registered Nurse and holds a B.S. degree in Health Sciences. She is a member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Women Divers Hall of Fame.
