Career in Underwater Video

[drbill]

Do you have any footage available for public viewing ?

I don't do any streaming video from my web site due to the performance constraints
of being at one end of an island bottleneck. I will have a number of DVD products for sale fairly soon. "Munching & Mating in the Macrocystis" has received some very nice reviews from California divers who have seen its earlier incarnations. "Great White Sharks of Guadalupe" has some good footage and stills are available in my gallery here and on my web site.

By the time I get "Sharks and Rays of the Californias," "Sea of Cortez Invertebrates/Vertebrates;" "Belize Invertebrates" and "Belize Vertebrates: Fish and Turtles" out later this year I should start making something other than pocket change.

Dr. Bill

 

[MikeC]

As long as your editing the raw footage in digital, there should be no breakdown. Aty least until you start applying corrections. That's the beauty of digital, a copy is the same as the original, otherwise when you copied your software it wouldn't run. As soon as you have a change (a 0 becomes a 1 or vice versa) it's junk.
However, starting with the highest quality you can always makes sense.

Depending on the compression ratio used picture quality can really suffer. Heavily compressed video can look like garbage quickly. Even if you maintain a digital path.

In broadcast there are two terms used "copy" and "clone", they aren't the same. I can copy a video, but not use the same recording format or compression ratio. A clone is a 100% exact bit by bit duplicate.

 

[ronrosa]

I don't do any streaming video from my web site due to the performance constraints
of being at one end of an island bottleneck. I will have a number of DVD products for sale fairly soon. "Munching & Mating in the Macrocystis" has received some very nice reviews from California divers who have seen its earlier incarnations. "Great White Sharks of Guadalupe" has some good footage and stills are available in my gallery here and on my web site.

By the time I get "Sharks and Rays of the Californias," "Sea of Cortez Invertebrates/Vertebrates;" "Belize Invertebrates" and "Belize Vertebrates: Fish and Turtles" out later this year I should start making something other than pocket change.

Dr. Bill

Doc:

I think some of your comments were a little insulting to Zept. I'm sure you were not intending on insulting him, but it did seem a little harsh.

Have you seen any of his footage ?

Could you whip up a little 60 second preview clip of one of your full length videos ? It shouldn't take up much room on your server and might help create a little buzz to assist future sales.

As far a videographer as a career, I think we all agree it's a tough battle. But, if someone wants to give it a try they have to start somewhere and shooting "vacation videos" for tourists is a logical place to start.

Any success you have is not purely due to your skills as an underwater videographer. Your educational background and professional work experience add instant credibility. I bet when someone hires you for a shoot or buys one of your videos it's not just for your camera skills.

I'm not trying to start an argument, but saying Zept is not a "real" videographer is a bit unfair. Especially if you haven't seen any of his work and most of us haven't seen any of yours.

Just my honest opinion.

 

[drbill]

RonRosa- Zept's footage could be outstanding, but I know many divers who take good footage but can't make a career of it. Don't mean to insult Zept at all, just inject a little reality re: careers.

My LDS is going to stream some of the video footage from my "Munching and Mating in the Macrocystis" DVD. Hmmm, I should also give him some of my Guadalupe great white footage for his web site. I'll let people know when it is on-line.

My "credentials" certainly are a factor in any success I might have. I hear that many divers with good footage have trouble getting their foot in the door. I don't know what Zept's qualifications are, but that actually may compound his "problem." I don't think I actually said Zept isn't a real videographer so much as that he hasn't become a career videographer in terms of the thread's title.

Of course I'm a strong believer that people who "follow their bliss" often will meet with success because of their passion for what they are doing- it is a strong "selling point."

Dr. Bill

 

[Zept]

I don't know what Zept's qualifications are, but that actually may compound his "problem."

At the risk of sounding like an alcoholic... I don't have a problem! I worked as an underwater videographer for a while, and then I moved on.

We seem to be arguing over who can call themself a videographer and what constitutes a career. I'm not sure it's profitable to debate those issues... one person's career is another person's dead-end job. To me, the real issues are:

1) A lot of diving jobs pay very poorly. Jobs involving underwater video are no different... a lot of them pay very poorly.

2) The ability to produce good footage is a necessary condition for a career in underwater video, but not a sufficient one. Being able to sell yourself, and/or your product, can be just as important... maybe even more important. I've sold some terrible video, and I've had people pass on great footage. It would be nice to think it's all about skill, but it isn't.

Z

 

[Groundhog246]

Depending on the compression ratio used picture quality can really suffer. Heavily compressed video can look like garbage quickly. Even if you maintain a digital path.

In broadcast there are two terms used "copy" and "clone", they aren't the same. I can copy a video, but not use the same recording format or compression ratio. A clone is a 100% exact bit by bit duplicate.

Gotcha and agree. Note: I said 'as long as your editing RAW video". Yes as soon as you add compression, you start to lose. Majority of people don't realize how low the quality is on a 'standard' colour TV. At 525 lines and hardly more than half of those with actual video information (the rest used for sync), it's not as good as early 640x480 SVGA computer monitors.

 

[drbill]

Zept- we are in agreement on that last one. Glad you have no "problem," I was just referring to what I sensed was some frustration at not being able to make a career out of your effort.

Let's all dive!

Dr. Bill