Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
July 2015 Video Contest Winner And Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EDITOR JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: ‘Aliwal Dream’ by Kael Place
Winning Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qchjQq4UqE
Gets harder and harder to pick a winner. It was obvious and a pleasure to see all the fun and hard work that went into each film.
In many ways my first choice would have been the seal film PADI sunglasses get the seal of approval – Immerse School of Diving, Telford, Shropshire. But… the seals were really doing all the work. How can you fail with such charasmatic animals? In the end I looked at the film which gave me the most pleasure to watch and it was Aliwal Dream which just had that extra ingredient. It flowed well as a film with a good beginning, middle and end.
For those of you using GoPros, do have a look at the possibilities of shooting with more manual control, as in using the protune settings as well as the exposure compensation control.
Please do have a look at the comments made to each individual film as they may be of use to your own future productions.
Great story beginning. Got me wanting to watch right away. Good music too. The reef shots were OK. I would have kept them a little shorter and made more of the great shark images at the end.
Molasses Reef dive trip by Doug C
Very good quality images. Can I assume a Gopro4? All edited to a good pace with the music but towards the end I felt you were a little desperate to keep images going for the full length of the music. The video did capture the joy of diving as all the people looked to be having good time.
The subject alone makes people want to watch. But on top of that it was all really well shot with sharp clear images, good exposure and framing.
Vobster Santa Charity Dive by Tony
Quite surreal but interesting. Probably better as two films rather than the combination. Less is more, as they say. Nice images and the Gopro timelapse sequences were really effective. Good choice of music but perhaps on the next video consider some script and narration to tell audiences what is going on.
Fun at NDAC Chepstow by Andy Kent
Great opening with a lot of energy. Zimmer frame made me smile. Nicely cut to music which kept the pace going. As you seem to have got the hang of editing, think about going the next stage and shooting in RAW or Protune with Flat or native colour balance which will give you more control over colour balance and exposure. Nice feel – good ending with very happy divers.
Congratulations to all for sending in really nice films and I look forward to seeing August’s entries.
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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