February 2016 Video Contest Winner And Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EDITOR JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Dallas Staheli
Winning Video:
Thanks to all who entered and all the hard work you have obviously put into each film. I hope you have enjoyed watching the videos this month; please do read the comments I have made on each film as they may help you with your own future underwater video projects.
This is why I scuba dive! – Matthias Lebo
Watch Matthais’ video here.
Another most excellent video from Mattias. Well planned and shot. Supported by wonderful aerial drone images and very emotive music. The video has a good mixture of close ups as well as general reef shots. The video only lasts for two minutes which is perfect as it leaves any audience wanting to see more rather than getting bored.
Crazy Nemo 33 – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
What a great dive/training venue. Well shot and edited, but I really would have liked to have had some facts on what divers do there. This could be either written on the screen or narrated. Good steady camera work which was both sharp and well exposed. I realise this was meant to be just a glimpse of a nice day day out, but with a little more shot planning and editing the film could easily have jumped up a level. Perhaps you would like to think about joining a course one day as I think you would enjoy learning more film making skills.
Try Dive Session – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
Hi again Richard. Much better on the planning side. You had an interesting introduction and the music fitted well. Good steady camera work with nice framing. I would imagine the video was well liked by all the people who were in it but as someone who wasn’t there, I found it became repetitive and went on far too long. As with your other film, some narration or facts would have kept my interest. When making a video that relies solely on the bare images and music sound track, the images have to be emotive in some way. Either very moody or bright and active. I only say all this as I hope it will encourage you to do more rather than put you off. One last thing, don’t forget the occasional close-up.
The Mighty SS Thistlegorm – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
Nice one Richard. Your video certainly gave a good feel of the wreck and made me want to dive it again. Loved the ray in the cargo hold which was well lit and sharp and the colour of the ray certainly stood out from the background. Nice image mix too into the next shot. A few moments later you caught it feeding but for some reason never made more of that. All in all though a great video with good framing and lighting. It also had a nice thread going along and through the wreck, finishing nicely with the surfacing divers. No need for narration on this one, as the pictures were interesting enough on their own supported by good music.
Maldive Magic – Phil Medcalf
Watch Phil’s video here.
Good film Phil. Pacey opening with exciting shots and good supportive music. Looking at all the wildlife in the video, you must have had a great trip. The night material was particularly good.
Stuart Cove’s Shark Dive Of A Lifetime – Dallas Staheli
Watch Dallas’ video here.
Excellent. Nice use of the graphics for the opening. When the music track started I was afraid it wasn’t going to work but in fact it all fitted together really well. You set up a pace for the film and kept it going right through with very good camera work and some great artistic framing. With so many sharks in the frame, continuity wasn’t a problem, but even so you kept the story concise and immediate. Perfect ending too.
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As usual it was difficult to pick a winner for the month but in the end it had to be Stuart Cove’s Shark Dive Of A Lifetime by Dallas Staheli. The video was very well shot with great camera work, a bit of pre-dive planning and very good editing. I personally am sceptical about shark feeding but even so, the video was very well made.
Thanks again to all who entered – I look forward to watching your entries in next month’s contest!
Scubaverse.com’s March 2016 Underwater Video Contest is now open! You have until midnight on Friday 25th March to enter up to 3 of your best underwater videos. Enter here.
