Winners – Underwater Videography Contests

December 2016 Video Contest Winner And Review

Published 9 years agoon January 2, 2017

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

Winner: The Sea by Ronald Faber

Winning Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVgk7lTMp0

Last video competition of 2016 and all entries were very good to watch. Making videos is quite a complex art and discipline and it is good to see so many of you having a go. Getting all elements together in one video can often be time consuming and frustrating. Continuity, colour balance, exposure, camera moves, framing, script, storyline and so on are all part of the process. But, don’t let these factors put you off trying your skills at video making. Quite often the simplest of videos with only a few dramatic shots are the most enjoyable.

Creatures of the Philippine Sea #2 Kalinga ornata – Tony Exall

Watch Tony’s video here.

Lovely. So simple in it’s structure and narration and very watchable. Beautifully shot with sharp well exposed images. A short video lasting around a minute and a half and entertaining all the way through.

Dessat 2016 – Peter Salvatore

Watch Peter’s video here.

Nice beginning with the crab confrontation, followed by some good wildlife images. Although the images were sharp and well framed, there was an issue with colour. Have a look at colour balance adjustment on your edit software and try to make all the images and sequences in the video the same general colour. Good music.

Anemonefish aka Clownfish – Henry Hall

Watch Henry’s video here.

Excellent opening camera move. Really good to see some graphic information titles through the video which gave the images themselves a solid purpose and kept my attention right thought to the end. Music fitted well but was looped a few too many times and became a little repetitive. Good video though.

Sardine Run – Milton Westy

Watch Milton’s video here.

Very exciting diving. So good to see so much life in one shot. Music working well to enhance the images. Well edited and shot.

Closed Circuit with the Sharks of Nelson Bay – Jared Simcox

Watch Jared’s video here.

Excellent images of the sharks. Well filmed with good steady images, well exposed and framed. The re-breather and lack of bubbles certainly give a feeling of tranquillity which is reflected nicely by the soft music.

The Sea – Ronald Faber

Watch Ronald’s video here.

Just the opening shot said to me ‘this is going to be a good video’ and it was. It’s a story of the sea, beautifully scripted and narrated and very well shot. It is also well thought out and conceived. Although the wildlife images are slow and unremarkable, accompanied by the narration and music, they take on a dreamlike quality that makes you take another look at the seas that support us and give us life.

And the Winner is….

After much deliberation I felt the overall winner this month was The Sea by Ronald Faber. It was simply an all round good video that kept my full attention right to the end.

Happy New Year everyone and look forward to seeing your entries in 2017. And look out for the winner of Video of the Year 2016, which we will be announcing on the site in the coming weeks.

Good diving.

Jeff

Jeff Goodman

Jeff is a multiple award winning, freelance TV cameraman/film maker and author. Having made both terrestrial and marine films, it is the world's oceans and their conservation that hold his passion with over 10.000 dives in his career. Having filmed for international television companies around the world and author of two books on underwater filming, Jeff is Author/Programme Specialist for the 'Underwater Action Camera' course for the RAID training agency. Jeff has experienced the rapid advances in technology for diving as well as camera equipment and has also experienced much of our planet’s marine life, witnessing, first hand, many of the changes that have occurred to the wildlife and environment during that time. Jeff runs bespoke underwater video and editing workshops for the complete beginner up to the budding professional.