WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN

Winner: Secrets of a Trash Filled Harbor by Rowan Hannaway

Winning Video:

Making films for a non commercial market does allow the film maker great latitude and freedom of expression. And that’s what we get this month with such a variety of film styles and techniques. So what makes a good, or not so good, film? Assuming the technical quality is there then the rest is totally subjective and thus it is hard to judge one against another. But this is a competition and I have to pick one. At first I was going to have two winners this month but then as I watched all the films I realised that they were all really good. So, back to one winner. ‘Secrets of a trash filled harbour’ by Rowan Hannaway. Extremely well filmed, scripted and narrated. A stark reminder of what we are doing to the marine world.

Secrets of a trash filled harbour by Rowan Hannaway

Excellent video. Very good narration and script. Such an important storey to tell and a stark reminder of what we are doing to the oceans. Tragic images and ones we should all be thoroughly ashamed of. The surviving wildlife in your film was good to see but oh so much lost. Loved the fact you shot this on your phone camera. Very steady camera work where all the images are sharp, well exposed and very steady. Just goes to show you don’t need expensive cameras to make great videos. The music was perfect.

Deep Dive 6 by divejackdive

Excellent educational video. Would be perfect for schools. Lots of lovely information and stunning wildlife images. All beautifully filmed and edited. The cuttlefish was really nice.

The Colours Of Life by Catrin Pichler

You certainly delivered on the title. Amazing colours of the life in our beautiful oceans. The music fitted perfectly. Crystal clear and well lit images. A visual treat with some fantastic creatures. Your videography is exceptional.

Deep Dive 3 by divejackdive

Same comments as with Deep Dive 6. I assume these are all part of a series and really do feel you could use them for education in schools. Might be a good market for you there.

Deep Dive 4 by divejackdive

Same comments as with Deep Dive 6.and 3.

Unconditional love and hope of life by Steven Taiwan

I just love big close up images of clown fish eggs. Hundreds of little eyes looking up into a new world. Fabulous close up of the adult coming into frame to blow on and air the eggs. So delicate. A real treat to watch. Your macro shots are extremely steady, sharp and well exposed. Liked the underlying music. Great sequence. Well done.

Heal The Ocean by Milena Margaritova

The baby fish in front of the divers mask was just charming and made me smile. The song is perfect. Often if you get the sentiment and the message right then audiences don’t see good or poor images, they just get carried along by the feel of the film. Having said that, I thought your images were really good. Lovely film.

Marine Creatures | Scuba Diving Memoirs – Dahab, Egypt by Milena Margaritova

You used my favourite shot again. Excellent. I enjoyed the various octopus clips. They are such a joy to see and film. All of the reef animals were great. The walking scorpionfish was really in sync with the music. Well done for capturing some good animal behaviour rather that just all portrait shots.

Bangka Island – North Sulawesi by Pim van Schendel

I did like your editing style with the music. Really kept my attention and your sequence structure was extremely good with some fabulous wildlife images, all steady, sharp, well lit and framed.

How to Swim with Turtles by Pete Bucknell

Hi Pete. Such a good film and such an important story to tell. Thank you. Great script and narration. Made me laugh out loud an occasion. Brilliant. The music fitted well and helped to sustain the feel of the narration. Liked the film on the turtle comment……….

The Cave of the Sleeping Sharks by Pete Bucknell

I think your tongue in cheek narration is good fun and turns normal (but good) footage into a memorable story. Good music and nicely edited. The sleeping shark was a nice find. They are usually good tempered when resting up and I was glad to see you didn’t harass it at all to get footage.

Behind the Scenes: The Deepest Man by Pete Bucknell

That was different. Nice to see a behind the scenes film. I know a lot of novice photographers and videographers will love to watch this. One of the secrets of filming these kind of projects is to have a good team with you and it sounds as if that’s just what you had. Very talented model. Great camera work Pete with some stunning images.

The September competition is now open for entries. You can enter up to three videos by clicking here.