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

Winner: Hawksbill Turtle – Eretmochelys imbricata by Christian Llewellyn

Winning Video:

Good quality entries again this month and so well done everybody for producing very good videos.

Taking video is not really that difficult; taking good and watchable video on the other hand is very different. There are many diving skills that have to come into play when doing underwater filming and the story doesn’t end there. Editing is a crucial part of the video making process and bad editing can easily ruin what would otherwise have been very good images. There is a lot of work involved when making underwater videos and so should be fully appreciated when looking at these high quality entries.

Please do read the comments I have made for each film as they may well help to guide you in the future.

Hawksbill Turtle – Eretmochelys imbricata – Christian Llewellyn

Watch Christian’s video here.

I really like the fact you spent the entire dive with the turtle. Most people take a few shots and then move on which means they miss a great deal in both behaviour as well as interaction. Good facts written at the bottom of the screen but the type was a little small for the speed at which I had to read before it disappeared. Perhaps with so much to say, a spoken narration may have been better. The message you put across was so important and so well done for that. Looking forward to your next video.

A Whale Shark encounter on a Solo Dive – Lara Dakers

Watch Lara’s video here.

Hi Lara, What a wonderful encounter and very well filmed too. Although the entire video was excellent, a few of the images were quite superb. The presence of so many Remora really added a whole new dimension, especially one particular shot where the whale sweeps its tail in front of the camera as it dives. Good music to create the drama and mood.

Dreaming of Puerto Galera – Marc Eeckhaut

Watch Marc’s video here.

Great beginning Marc. Very novel and quite inspiring and good use of titles. Might copy it one day.

Excellent images and very nice well fitting music. You are obviously a very competent cameraman and editor so allow me to make just a few suggestions. I am now half way through your film and am slightly distracted by two things. First off the use of mixes, which is generally not a bad thing, but when one of the images is very static and the other has a slight wobble then the two do not mix together well. The second thing was the music change. You faded out of one track into the other over the same image and I couldn’t see the reason except that the first track might have been coming to an end. When you change music tracks have a think about making that change a very definite event, so perhaps a change of mood or animal.

A short video about how is best friendships are begin! They fall in love after the first second! – Istvan Zoboki

Watch Istvan’s video here.

Fantastic. I just smiled all the way through it. Even if this doesn’t win thank you for posting it. Please share it on our Facebook page.

Crocs of Chinchorro – Tomas Jansson | scubasite.nu

Watch Tomas’ video here.

So prehistoric. I have dived with crocs before in Mexico and found they were quite cautious. Great experience though. Nice video Tomas. Have a think about the possibility of adding some facts in a narration.

Sharks of the Azores – Tomas Jansson | scubasite.nu

Watch Tomas’ video here.

Wonderful images of sharks and I did like the very gentle nose contact from the guide. It once again illustrates that sharks are not rampant killing machines. Once again though Tomas, have a think about narration to tell a story.

Palau Diving Adventures – Tomas Jansson | scubasite.nu

Watch Tomas’ video here.

I always like aerial openings to a video where you can get a true sense of place. The underwater images all had a good feel to them and were well shot. Sharp, good exposure and well framed. It was good to see some of the wartime land images relating to the underwater plane wreck. This kept up a good story line. What happened to the ending though? It just abruptly stopped.

Dusky Grouper / Mero Madeira Sealife – gogoimage

Watch gogoimage’s video here.

Nice. Your treatment of the video was very good. All very well shot and excellent narration.

200 bars – gogoimage

Watch gogoimage’s video here.

Great concept and so good to see someone experimenting with underwater video. Underwater timelapse is so undeveloped and has much to offer. The music fitted the images well and added to the mood and feel of the film. The last shot was quite stunning.

Giant Manta Ray / Manta – gogoimage

Watch gogoimage’s video here.

Another good film from you. I like the feel you give to your videos. The music was haunting and fitted well with the words of your narration. It was good to hear sound biological facts about the manta as well as the ever invasive threat by man. The narration was clear and well spoken but as you are putting up sub titles as well, I would suggest you slow down in your delivery. What’s happening at the moment, is for those who only speak English, the sub titles are a distraction from the images as there is very little time to read them. Hence English speaking audiences either miss much of your excellent images or parts of the subtitle information.

And the Winner is….

The winner this month is Hawksbill Turtle – Eretmochelys imbricata by Christian Llewellyn. I felt it had a slight edge over the others in its outlook and compelling message.

Congratulations to all of you for some great videos this month – looking forward to what you come up with next month.