Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
July 2021 Video Contest Winner and Review
WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Black & White Underwater by Hank H
Winning Video:
Hi all, hope you are getting in some enjoyable diving and videography. The seasons have become very unpredictable the last few years and are taking a toll on all animal life that cannot adapt quickly enough. This is especially noticeable on land with birds and insects but is also happening underwater with animals that rely on predictable sea temperatures to breed and feed successfully. Help fight climate change or sooner than later we will all be searching for things to film that may have been in abundance just a few years ago.
Great films this month and the winner for me is Black & White Underwater by Hank H. The images were quite magical, and the very effective slow motion was enhanced by the black and white treatment.
See you next month.
Open big mouth of Frogfish by Steven_taiwan
Beautiful opening shots. What a wonderful animal. Liked the music, made me quite sleepy and relaxed as I watched. Nice ending too. Well shot with very good lighting enjoyed the simplicity of the video.
Baby of crown fish and tiny creatures by Steven_taiwan
Love the images of the eggs. Looked like a crowd of tall ghostly people looking at me. Great lighting and picture framing. As with the frogfish video, this was very relaxing and enjoyable to watch. The cuttlefish was magical. There seemed to be a slight issue with the music volume changing in a few places.
Fearless mantis shrimp by Steven_taiwan
That was so good. The music was perfect. It gave the Mantis Shrimp real attitude. Loved the way you just held the shot and let it develop. Nice lighting.
Deep dive in Dauin by divejackdive
Well done.Nice to have that educational feel to the narration. Having started with narration it would have been good to go a little further and tell us a bit more about the animals behaviour. The music worked well but there seemed to be a background noise throughout. I couldn’t guess what it was but I assume it wasn’t part of the music track. It sounded a bit like the cameras auto focus working overtime. You have some lovely images on the video which were all well shot and lit. Your camera work is very steady.
Black & White Underwater by Hank H
Yes indeed, black and white images can be very dramatic but is often used just to try and do something different and is not as effective as one might have hoped. But you really made it work. I thought the Ray swimming with the sand falling off it’s back in slow motion was particularly spectacular. You gave the images a wonderful surreal feeling with the music. Great film.
Deep Dive 2 by divejackdive
Hi Jack. As in your other film you have captured some stunning images but as with the other film, I felt I wanted to hear more narration with more facts about behaviour. The background noise was there again……..
Ornate Ghost Pipefish by divejackdive
What a stunning animal. Very nicely filmed and framed. As you are now part way down the road to narrating your films, have a good look at some TV clips or even wildlife films on YouTube. See how narration is woven into a film and when done well, delivers a wealth of interesting information and so can make even a long film more enjoyable to watch.
Ocellarios Clownfiah with eggs by Nus Lobbu
I do enjoy these long developing shots. Lots going on in frame giving the audience time to see the fish in action. The following egg shots were lovely. Very steady macro camera work and very well lit.
Camouflage by Nus Lobbu
Remarkable camouflage. You did well to spot them in the first place. Perfect steady shots. What a tragedy though that it was with a plastic bag and not natural reef. The pictures spoke for themselves but it would have been good to have had just a little background information.
Seapen crab with eggs by Nus Lobbu
Your macro shots really are excellent. Once again, so nice to watch a single developing shot.
The August 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:
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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