My First Edited Vid - Need your comments

[Ali.Q8]

Hi all,

I'v just finished my first diving edited clip. There isn't much material as I took the cam in only one dive out of the 9 dives when I went to the red sea (was busy enjoying the dives instead ).

I'd appreciate your comments. specially the critics as I want to improve on this field.


Thanks

 

[robint]

very nice job for your first video!!! It was a good length, too. Not too long to bore the viewer but long enough to show different aspects of the dive - a bit of topside, a bit of reef, a bit of fish, a bit of divers. It was nicely organized, also.

I do have a couple of comments to help you.
1. Slow down with your movements. Topside and underwater, try to go as slow as you physically can, this takes practice but you will see a big difference. I think this is the hardest thing that about underwater videography and it is what everyone needs to work on.

2. Panning is okay if scene is static, but you don't want to pan when the objects are moving, like people walking, etc. Also, don't pan too much! The first part of the video you pan left, then follow it with a pan right, then a pan left again. That is just too much movement for the viewer's brain and can make them seasick! :shocked2:. Let people walk in or out of the frame instead of you moving the camera. And don't put 2 panning shots back to back. Make sure you have a static shot or two in between.

3. I really liked the shots underwater where you are spinning around the other divers. (Dolly shots) That is a good example of what I was saying about panning - diver stationary but you move.

4. Have fun! You said that you spent most of the time just enjoying the dive and that is GOOD. You don't have to shoot video of every little thing, be a good safe happy diver first, videographer second. That is my rule!

robin

 

[300bar]

Nothing to do with the video but you can embed youtube videos
with this code [yt ][/yt] looks better than a link.

 

[bfisher]

My comments would be about the same as Robin's. Not bad for the first time, but just slow down your camcorder's movements.

I noticed a few of the diver's carrying a spare tank even though they were wearing doubles. The dive didn't seem that deep. Can you explain?

 

[Ali.Q8]

I can't thankyou enough for your kind compliments and observations.. Now that I'v watched a dozen more times, I can see exactly what you all mean ... its really hard to keep the camera steady. I must admit my buoancy is still not at the level I would like. It's a big factor here.

Robin those are very valuable advice. you won't believe how many frames I had to cut out to lose the shakes even though they had beautiful subjects

bfisher, a couple of my friends in that video were doing Advanced Nitrox course, and they were at their decompression stops and SMB deployment training when we (humble recreationists) accidently bumped into them

for your information, I used Sony Vegas Pro 9 editor, Ikelite and ProV8 LEDS, with a Canon HG21 Camcorder. Thinking of adding another LED light coz Kuwait's water visibility is generally bad.

 

[robint]

I just noticed that you don't have very many dives yet... the buoyancy thing comes with time. You might want to do more dives without the camcorder rig for awhile to get that under control, then only take the rig into the water when conditions are good. I started shooting still photography as soon as I got certified and I was fighting with my buoyancy and current and trying to keep up with my buddy, etc. It was rough. I think it took much longer to get comfortable underwater because I refused to leave the camera on the boat. Now looking back I see I should have done that! I was stubborn though and didn't want to miss a single dive shooting.

And wow, I didn't realize we were using the same camcorder!!:shocked2: I just got mine a few months ago. How do you like it??

I will be taking it ocean diving for the first time this weekend. I hope to have some videos to share by next weekend.

 

[Ali.Q8]

Robin, I was trying to ignore the fact that I'm not experienced enough , I only have dived 21 times so far and I did notice that my buoyancy and breathing are improving. Since I was in a diving trip to the red sea I kinda forced myself to bring it down with me just one dive. From now on, I'll be diving as much as possible focusing on control skills.

I've had several (sony and panasonic) compact HD camcorders before (some crashed due to my unusual hobby Q8SkyCam Website - Welcome) . I must say that this Canon HG20 (not HG21 I just checked but same specs) is the best one I'v used in terms of ease and quality of the AVCHD files.

I'm looking forward for your oceanic video

 

[Teamcasa]

Robin is right, slow down.

One more tip: Find a subject, settle in and shoot it. Watch it develop into something the viewer will appreciate. Like a fish playing around or a beautiful piece of coral. Draw the viewer into your world.

Otherwise, nice start!

 

[Ali.Q8]

/me takes a deep breath and chucks away the rig ....

Dave I'v had about 50 minutes of video raw in the camera, sooo much of it was interesting marine activity or simply a nice view. I just had to ditch most of it coz i was shaking so bad and the fact that I was blindly pointing the camera without looking at the view finder (the 45degree angle LCD is such a pain). another fact that I discovered when it was too late was that the case's lens added some zooming factor, so most things were too close.

I just attempted to "Trick" the viewers (spoiled that now) by showing scenes that are "kind-of" stable. You can now imagine the horror in the hidden scenes

 

[300bar]

Ali,

As others said,some was to quick,but still I did like the vid.
Not to long,it just informes the viewer on what you encountered on that day.:thumbs_up:
We all need to learn what we like.