First video from James Cameron dive released (CBS/AP) Footage from James Cameron's dive to the deepest known point of the ocean has been released in a video from expedition sponsor National Geographic. The footage, which starts at 1:09 in the above YouTube video, shows an empty ocean floor, devoid of life. The "Avatar" director described the scene as "desolate" in a conference call Monday with reporters following his return to the surface. Cameron spent three hours at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, nearly 7 miles down. Cameron also said he had hoped to see some strange deep sea monster like a creature that would excite the storyteller in him and seem like out of his movies, but he didn't. He is the only person to dive there solo, using a sub he helped design - the Deepsea Challenger. Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard made the only other visit 52 years ago. His return aboard his 12-ton, lime-green sub was a "faster-than-expected 70-minute ascent," according to National Geographic, which sponsored the expedition.