Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
June 2015 Video Contest Winner And Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EDITOR JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: ‘Project Shark’ by Tony Reed
Winning Video:
Congratulations to all those who entered their videos – all of them were good to watch. Making an underwater video does take a little time and patience both while underwater and during the editing stage. It’s always nice to see thought going into sequence structure and music choice. Quality of the video images is important but even if the individual shots are not technically perfect, a great film can be produced by creating a good mood of excitement, drama, tranquillity, and so on. Interesting information about what the film is about always makes a difference, be it in the form of graphics or spoken narration.
Difficult to choose a winner this month but in the end I picked Project Shark by Tony Reed. Technically good shots both sharp and well exposed and the story line was interesting.
Please do look at the comments I have made about each film below and consider any issues in your next videos. I’m looking forward to seeing next month’s entries.
Diving Portland with Scuba Teks May 2015 by Andy Kent
Great beginning and really got me keen to watch it through. Good images and pacey music. Loved the scallop in the shallows. The pace continued with interesting images and then a break back to the surface kept the pace going. The video certainly showed a love and enthusiasm for diving and made me want to get back into the water. Moving ahead for future videos perhaps it may be worth now trying a few longer and steady shots on the wildlife. Really like the graphics.
Very strong intro with good information on rolling graphics followed by some excellent fast motion surface shots which kept the mood of the video going. This was enhanced with a good music choice creating an exciting intro for the diving still to come. The underwater wildlife shots that followed were very excellent. Clear, sharp and well exposed. But… because of the title and the dramatic intro I was now eager to see hammerheads. They did appear but I was expecting more. A narration would have pulled all this together and kept the audience informed on what was happening. The wildlife that makes up the habitat of the sharks – the difficulty in finding them – a little bit about their biology, and then of course the sheer excitment of seeing them.
Keep all the footage you have and on the next Project Shark dive simply add more shark images to those you already have.
Nice timelapse opening. Good music and straight into lovely wildlife. The video has a good pace and certainly shows how rich Cornish diving can be.
Mariettas Dive June 2014 by SKuba Steve Krausse
Well done on creating an excellent ‘feel good’ video. Reminded me of many of the joys of diving.
So congratulations to Tony for being this month’s winner. July’s Video Contest is open now, so get filming!
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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