Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
September 2017 Video Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Close Your Eyes by Mauro Francesconi
Winning Video:
Well done everyone. Another month of good films. I think the one thing I would like to generally comment on this month is music choice. No matter what the images, the style and tempo of the music track will determine the overall mood and feel of the final film. Heavy dramatic music should only be used to emphasise or support dramatic images. Where action is portrayed, or danger is a serious potential. Otherwise the music can easily over shadow hard earned images.
Let’s take a look at this month’s entries:
Turtles & Remoras – A Symbiotic Relationship – Henry Hall
Watch Henry’s video here.
Beautiful opening shot but personally not too sure about the music choice. Good to see a very informative graphic narration. Well filmed with sharp images and good colour. The story was good and I commend you for pulling it all together. Well edited and the overall time was just about right. The lighting was good as was the overall colour balance. There were a few occasions where the turtle looked to be a little harassed by divers.
Feeding a Lobster at Night in Honduras – Henry Hall
Watch Henry’s video here.
Fascinating. I’ve never seen that before. Was it really eating them? It was certainly very active. Better music choice this time. I quite like developing shots like this rather than too much editing. One thing to think about for the future is colour balance. Maybe the two shots could have been more matched. This is easily done at the editing stage.
Hidden beauty of the Oslofjord – Cathrine Jægerud
Watch Cathrine’s video here.
You are absolutely right. The wonders of evolution in the marine world are wherever you look. From pristine coral reefs to mud banks of shallow coastlines, wildlife in its infinite guises will adapt and find a home. Your film was a delight to watch and some of the macro shots were exceptional, well framed, sharp, perfectly exposed and very steady camera. I liked the opening graphics.
Blue sharks of the Azores – Tom Scholtes
Watch Tom’s video here.
Excellent graphic and moving image opening. Nicely filmed with sharp and well exposed steady shots…. although I did find the heavy music more threatening than the sharks themselves, especially as on the whole, the mood of the animals looked very relaxed. What stunning creatures. That must have been a very exciting dive. Loved the close passing shots.
Close Your Eyes – Mauro Francesconi
Watch Mauro’s video here.
Hi Mauro. A very beautiful concept. The underwater images were stunning and the overall sentiment of the film was very good. I personally felt the lady, at times, looked as if she were panicking and drowning, although of course she wasn’t, but my wife tells me I am mistaken and thought the whole film was excellent. The film was well thought out and created and the blend of words to wildlife images was memorable. You obviously have a great passion for the marine world.
And the Winner is….
The winner this month is Close Your Eyes by Mauro Francesconi, a well crafted and emotive film. Well done Mauro.
I look forward to watching your entries in October. Good luck to you all!
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Scubaverse.com’s October 2017 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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