Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
May 2020 Video Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Bunaken National Park by Pim van Schendel
Winning Video:
As soon as this lockdown is over I am going to find the biggest air tank and sit at 25′ for as long as possible and just soak it up.
Hope you are all well and keeping safe. One thing about lockdown is it has given me the incentive and time, to sort out all my old video material which has been a job long overdue. It’s been fun looking back on all the past years of diving. Here are my thoughts on this month’s video entries:
Floating Freely by Catrin Pichler
Watch Catrin’s video here.
Beautiful images with perfect music. What a stunning experience. Loved all of your shots which were sharp, well framed and nicely exposed all in quite difficult conditions with the viz and current. The Butterfly fish pecking on the black manta were delightful.
Clowning around in Marsa Shagra by Mick Crowley
Watch Mike’s video here.
This little video just goes to show how important the choice of music is to any production. The images of the clownfish on their own are quite simple, although nicely shot, but it is the addition of the soft guitar that creates a tranquil mood that make the viewer relax and enjoy the beauty of the fish. Great film.
Squid Ballet by Catrin Pichler
Watch Catrin’s video here.
First thing to say is how well the music fit the images. The soft piano accentuated the gentle and flowing movements of the squid. Very Science fiction. Loved it. Camera work is spot on with good sharp, steady well framed and exposed shots.
Diving Meno Slope, Gili Meno by Albino Titan Triggerfish – Beat Travels
Watch Beat Travel’s video here.
Nice camera moves in the boat and very nice effective plunge into the water. No messing about. The following underwater images were very well filmed. Clear and sharp. The identification captions at the bottom of the screen were a great touch and added immensely to the overall enjoyment of the film. The Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish was a real treat. The Albino Titan Triggerfish was indeed a good draw to the video but I was slightly disappointed that there was only one shot of it. I was expecting more. On this note, although the film was good to watch, I think it would have benefited from a short story rather than a straight forward catalogue of animal snapshots.
Bunaken National Park by Pim van Schendel
Watch Pim’s video here.
Thanks for the written intro. Makes a big difference to what I am looking at. Excellent pace and tempo to the opening shots with well timed edits to the music. The rest of the video followed in the same way. A real pleasure to watch. Lovely camera work. Steady and well framed. The scorpionfish with the turtle was a great find and the timing for it swimming off was perfect. You captured some brilliant animal behaviour and managed to edit it all in a concise and clever way, The Octopus at the end was amazing.
And the Winner is….
Portrait or snapshot videos can be good and do have a place in any viewing gallery, especially if they are accompanied with suitable and complimentary music. They can also become a little predictable, even if every individual shot is a masterpiece. But if you can go just a step further and do two or three shots of each animal, then you begin to tell a story which can be far more captivating. Bunaken National Park by Pim van Schendel did just this and so is this month’s winner.
Stay safe everyone, Won’t be too long before we are allowed to go diving again.
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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