Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
November 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: Mediterranean Slow by Lutfu Tanriover
Winning Video:
Well done everyone for your entries into November’s contest. All very good films with a variety of styles and techniques. It’s a real pleasure to see these videos reflecting the wonderful diverse marine wildlife from around the world. Videos of the standard entered over this last year have clearly shown the time and patience given by all.
Let’s take a look at November’s entries:
Bahamas Sharks – Sealife DC2000 – Henry Hall
Watch Henry’s video here.
Not a great fan of feeding stations for tourism but having said that I thought the video was very nicely shot. Good clear steady images with nice colour balance. The editing was also good, with attention paid to cutting transition points to the pace of the music. Also liked the information subtitles. Great.
A little mix from my previous dives on Koh Tao – Istvan Zoboki
Watch Istvan’s video here.
Love the aerial opening shots. Drones seem to be becoming a standard part of the kit now days. Excellent underwater shots, all well filmed and great quality. The variety of wide angle and macro was very good. The whale shark was particularly spectacular, as was the closing jellyfish.
HTMS Sattakut wreck – Istvan Zoboki
Watch Istvan’s video here.
Dramatic opening music which created a great sense of expectation for the coming shots. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. The images that followed were quite normal. Nice, but normal. However, the following shots of the wreck were very good. Black and white was an interesting choice though. All in all it didn’t quite work for me. The use of black and white should have purpose; it needs to emphasise a feeling or statement, and needs to do that in a powerful way. It was a good idea but just needs a bit more thought.
Mediterranean Slow – Lutfu Tanriover
Watch Lutfu’s video here.
Underwater slow motion is an interesting concept where generally many things are slowish anyway. But it actually works really well, especially with the larger animals where it adds a wonderful feeling of power and grace. The Music was a good choice and complimented the action well. The octopus was lovely and the ray out of the sand was quite spectacular. The ctenophora (hope that’s right) at the end was out of place and perhaps should have been taken right out of the video as the ray would have been the perfect ending.
Barracudas Of Malgrats – Kiril Ivanov
Watch Kiril’s video here.
That was nice. I do like short single species videos. It means that you have spent some time with them and looked to tell their story. Very nice images with some lovely close ups. The music was just right. The length for an images only video was good. If it had been any longer then I would have liked to see some information about the Barracudas either as subtitles or narration.
And the Winner is….
The winner this month is Mediterranean Slow by Lutfu Tanriover which held my attention throughout as well as giving me the feeling that I need to get into the water again soon.
Well done to you all. Looking forward to seeing your entries for December!
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Scubaverse.com’s December 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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