1st Time Video - Ft. Lauderdale

[njedrn]

Hey all,

I'm new to U/W videography, and using a canon point/shoot to take the video. Lack of HD video equipment aside, I'd appreciate some feed back so that I can get better. So far on my list of things to do: slow down. Any other hints, tips or tricks to this that you'd be willing to share? Thanks in advance

YouTube - Lighthouse Ledge

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[keithdiver]

Hey all,

I'm new to U/W videography, and using a canon point/shoot to take the video. Lack of HD video equipment aside, I'd appreciate some feed back so that I can get better. So far on my list of things to do: slow down. Any other hints, tips or tricks to this that you'd be willing to share? Thanks in advance

YouTube - Lighthouse Ledge

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Very nice!!!

 

[robint]

Opinions ?????
1. slow down, you know this already
2. edit out all the blurry, shots moving too fast, unstable shots
3. red filter for color definition

It is hard to do a great video with a P&S still shot camera, they just aren't made for video. Also, one of the most important parts of shooting video happens back home - editing! Most of us here who do video spend hours editing a 3 minute video down from an hour or more of footage. (I usually say for 10 minutes of finished video I edited about 10 hours!) I didn't see a single edit point in your video. It looks like you just turned it on and swam around. There was not a single still shot, no closeups of everything, no story being told... I know it is harsh criticism, but I think you are asking for some help as you really do want to get better.

If you really want to get into video, and it sounds like you do, get a video specific camcorder and get some software for editing. Watch the videos by some of the members here, like Ronscuba, Mike Meagher, and Roger Uzun, just to name a few of my favorites. You can learn so much by watching real underwater videographers work!

There are camcorders and housings now that are just as affordable as a P&S camera, under $1000. They will give you much better video quality overall, if that is where you are heading.

Just my 2 cents.
robin

 

[bfisher]

My citique would be like Robin's, almost word for word. When you pan you do it slowly---slowly. When you find a particular subject you need to stop and get set up for the video, much the same as you would for still photos. Hold the camera still and let the critters show the motion.

One of my favorite sayings when I talk to people about doing video is "If you need fins you're going too fast". You don't need to see every hundred yards of a reef. A couple hundred feet is plenty. Slow down and look for what's right in front of you. The slower you go the more you'll see. You'll also learn what peak performance bouyancy is all about.

Editing? WOW, I've only been doing video for a little over two years and what a learning process. With a good computer and a decent editing program you can really atone for some mistakes under water. I'm still learning myself and can say that I spend maybe the same 10 hours of actual editing for 10 minutes of video. My videos cover a week of diving in some Caribbean island so are usually about 40 minutes long and tell a story about the dive trip---to the best of my ability.

I'm really picky about music so may spend 200 hours trying to find the right music to fit into my video. Sorry, but country and western doesn't fit anything underwater, if you get my drift nor most vocals. It's slow and easy down there.

The time spent is justly rewarded by nice comments from fellow divers. Hope you enjoy getting into this rewarding hobby.

 

[njedrn]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips. Any advice on video editing software? I'm heading to the keys for tomorrow... I'm going to put some of that to use.

 

[Drewski]

Hi njedrn:

I don't mean this in a bad way, but do you think your video is like your dive?

What I mean is that when I first started doing video I came to the realization that I was only "seeing" the dive through the lens. Sometimes I was so focused on what I was shooting - and how to improve it - that I didn't "see the dive" until I was editing, lol.

So, is your dive like your video? When I read the comment "slow down," I didn't take it to mean your video, I took it to mean your dive. If you improve how you handle yourself on the dive so that your buoyancy, breathing rate and comfort level improve, your video will improve as well.

So, just a suggestion, leave the camera at the dock a few times, relax and enjoy the dive without worrying about doing video, especially at a first time site. Then go back and video it on the second or third dive, see how it turns out.

Good Luck!

 

[moneysavr]

not bad for a start as said,slow down,,,,,,,, don't go for volume go for quantity in the shot as in stay in one spot and let the critters come to you! hard on a drift dive but Lauder dale not to bad, next Lighting well at 50'FSW no color-do what we did cheat and do the Pompano ledge as we did last week,,the sun broke the clouds and WOW it was a technicolor experience in 15' of water! because lighting is so expensive!
last windows is ok but the pros use Final cut pro,color correction and story boards,tons of terabytes of memory that the pros use! all way too much money for me!!!!!!
I use a old DV camera shoved in a pvc tube and in shallow dives can turn up a few minutes of ocean video that compares to the best,
Otherwise back home on our deep dark and scary wreck dives in the Great lakes we just shoot some video to show the top side folks what lies down on the bottom no documentary stuff!Dive safe and great job!

 

[robint]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips. Any advice on video editing software? I'm heading to the keys for tomorrow... I'm going to put some of that to use.

I am not sure which editing software you can use for a P&S camera. It matters what format the video is saved as on your computer. There are several good ones on the market, all with Pros and Cons, but look to spend about $70-100. I use Pinnacle Ultimate v.12 and some others here use Vegas (don't know which edition).

Are you thinking of switching to a video rig? If you really want to do video, I would highly suggest it. There will be a world of difference in the final product.

robin