Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
February 2018 Video Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: A dive in Turkey by Lutfu Tanriover
Winning Video:
Second month of the year gone already. Don’t know about the rest of the world but here in Cornwall in the UK it’s been a long wet winter, and I am looking forward to seeing spring and summer animals come back to our shores.
Time to look at February’s videos:
The Heian Maru – Truk Lagoon – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
What a remarkable wreck and thanks for the excellent written intro. It’s always good to be given background information on the video being shown. Plenty to see on her which all made for very dramatic images. Music was an interesting choice. I’m not sure that for me it was the right tempo or feel for the dramatis personae of the sunken ship. All really well shot with good sharp and well exposed images. Some of the framing was very nice indeed. Your dive model had excellent fin movement.
Shark diving in Truk Lagoon – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
Loved the ‘heartbeat’ sound opening. Reminded me of my first shark dive. Personally I am not a great fan of shark feeding although I understand the attraction and thrill for the holiday or occasional diver. It saddens me that we have to go this route to be able to see many sharks in one place. It’s very artificial. First we kill as many as we can find and then attract the rest into frenetic groups for our entertainment. What a bizarre species we are. All that aside, the video was nicely shot with good camera work.
The Pharaoh Cuttlefish – Henry Hall
Watch Henry’s video here.
Very nice short video. I do like single species films. The camera work was good with steady and well composed images. They were also crispy sharp and well exposed. The rapid zoom transitions you used were very effective but would have become tiresome if the video were any longer. But on this occasion the transitions were used well with the right choice of music. The on screen short bites of information about the cuttlefish worked perfectly. The ending was a bit abrupt and could have finished a little smoother on the music fade.
A dive in Turkey – Lutfu Tanriover
Watch Luftu’s video here.
Very dramatic opening with a good pace of music to support the ambience of the location. I liked the mixture of super wides and close up shots as the video progressed. The lighting was just right and added depth as well as colour to the sequences. It was interesting how the divers gave me the feeling of great care being taken with the wildlife and environment. Although the images throughout went together well, have a think about continuity of colour, even though the shots were taken on different occasions. Have a look at colour balance at the editing stage and see if you can make the water colour a little more constant without compromising the animal colour.
And the Winner is….
Four very good films this month, and having gone through all the criteria I usually use to pick a winner, in the end it came down to the film that made me want to get back into the water and that films was A dive in Turkey by Lutfu Tanriover.
I look forward to your entries in March – good luck to you all.
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Scubaverse.com’s March 2018 Underwater Video Contest is now open! Enter as many as three of your underwater videos here.
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner:
Winning Video:
Hi everyone. Happy Christmas and New Year. Just four videos this month. I felt the Maria Bereozka film ‘Jingle Fish’ had the edge over the others by way of carefully executed shots and editing, which gave a good steady pace to the video.
Looking forward to more films next year.
If you are keen to advance in your film making skills, don’t forget to look at my book and/or take my RAID Action Camera course.
A love story by Ronald Faber
Synthetic voice – Really!!! Didn’t know there was such software in existence. Should have know better really. Nice video though. I don’t get many entries with David doing the narration. Good story and well shot with great steady camera work and lighting. The editing was spot on as was the music choice. The David voice did give it a certain quality that no matter how good or poor the film actually was, the audience automatically assume it has to be professional and thus top quality. It’s a clever trick but not sure I like it.
Jingle Fish by Maria Bereozka
Nice thoughts and excellent images with great quality. All works really well. The video has a real good feel to it and I love the diver/animal shots.
Fish Dance by Maria Bereozka
Ah Maria, Once again it is your narration that lifts the film by 100%. although your camera work is very good with steady well lit shots.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Dives! by Maria Bereozka
Not sure about this one. Didn’t quite work for me. It seemed to be a collection of loose shots put together to the music.
The January competition is now open for entries. You can enter up to three videos by clicking here.
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Sharkydelity by Fredi
Winning Video:
Such good films this month. It took me a while to decide on the winner. I had to watch them all twice. But in the end my choice was Sharkydelity by Fredi. You can seen my comments on this film as well as all the others below.
If you are keen to advance in your film making skills, don’t forget to look at my book https://www.divedup.com/shop/action-camera-underwater-video-basics-the-essential-guide-to-making-underwater-films/
Time to breath by Maria Bereozka
Yep! Love it. So relaxing to watch and I really feel a bond with Turtle. Good camerawork.
Sharkydelity by Fredi
Lovely written intro thanks. Adds so much to the actual film. It’s a great story and stunning images.
A perfect blend of aerial, land and underwater sequences. Your music choice was perfect as was your camera work and lighting which gave wonderful clear, steady, sharp, well exposed and beautiful framed images. I liked your creativity with the editing, especially where you made the most of the music phrases.
Point of view by Maria Bereozka
The written intro was obviously heart felt and moving. It is so good to set up a video in this way. Once again it is your narration combined with your artistic skills and imagination that make your videos so unique.
Underwater Red Sea paradise by Maria Bereozka
Nice feel to the video which was well complimented by the music. My only suggestion is that for general reef shots you try some way to hold the camera steady. It’s not so important with moving subjects like the ray but when there is just coral and background fish the camera must be as steady as possible.
Banda Sea, Seram Sea and Raja Ampat by Daniel French
Sounds like a fantastic trip from your write-up. The on-screen identification captions work really well. I like the slow motion throughout. The slow steady tracking shots and the slow animal movements. It creates a very peaceful feel and the music is perfect. Great camera work and lighting. I also like your camera angle perspective on subjects where you get below the animals.
Maldives Far North Expedition with MantaTrust by ondrejv
Good written intro thanks. I liked the personal on-screen introduction. Wonderful shots of the mantas. What amazing animals they are. Having gone this far though with the shooting and editing I would have loved to have had some information on what you learned about the Mantas especially as you were with the Manta Trust.
Calm Indian ocean by ondrejv
Stunning opening shot of the Sweetlips. Fabulously sharp and well lit. You have captured some excellent wildlife images and the music fits really well. Loved the turtle turning to look at you.
The December competition is now open for entries. You can enter up to three videos by clicking here.
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