Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
March 2018 Video Contest Winner and Review

WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Ghosts of Truk Lagoon by Craig Beasley
Winning Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=T1LYFPYXhEk
Very varied subjects and styles this month but all excellent films. As ever I have made comments on each individual film so please read all comments just in case you are able to apply my thoughts to your own work.
Here are March’s videos:
Ghosts of Truk Lagoon – Craig Beasley
Watch Craig’s video here.
Not a lot to say about this film except brilliant. The written introduction was excellent and very moving. Loved the flickering opening and the music choice was perfect. The slow camera moves and the lighting enhanced the whole mood of the film. However there was just one small hiccup for me with the sound track. The transition from the two music tracks was a little abrupt and messy for both sound and vision. For future reference, as the second track was quite short I think I would have just used my best shots on the first tune and left the second part out all together as it broke the mood for me.
Underwater Marriage Proposal in the Maldives with Photobombers! – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
That was really nice. What a fabulous memory. Glad she said yes……
Crazy Shark Dive! – Richard Stevens
Watch Richard’s video here.
Hi Richard. What a perfect site. Thanks for the written intro, it really does make a difference to the enjoyment of the film to know what’s going on. The schooling Triggerfish were a great addition.
Thailand Hin Daeng and Hin Muang – Dave Weeks
Watch Dave’s video here.
Hi Dave, Unfortunately I could not get the sound to work. The images looked good but it was hard to judge your entry without the sound. Please could you look at the problem and enter again next month.
Channel Islands, CA – Abe Male
Watch Abe’s video here.
What a stunning place. Love Sea Lions. You captured them really well and the music was perfect with a good upbeat feel. The night time Sea Lions were a real treat and the onscreen text was a nice touch. You certainly captured a whole batch of wonderful animals. Not sure the music change worked for me as it totally altered the tempo of the film and became a distraction. Perhaps it would have been better as two films or one shorter one. I know the temptations. Been there. So many good shots that you don’t want to leave any out and it becomes frustrating when the music track is too short to accommodate all the images. But, often less is more as they say.
The Mad World of Lembeh – Betsy Beasley
Watch Betsy’s video here.
Wow, standards are certainly high this month. Your camera work is excellent with good clean, well lit and steady macro. Not easy to do. You got some fantastic critters in there. There is always the possibility of portrait macro films becoming repetitive but you have avoided that by capturing some really interesting behaviour. So many species I personally haven’t seen before. I was enthralled. Music worked well too.
Emperor Virgo Liveaboard – Scuba Diving in the Maldives – Deep South Shark Trip – Feb 2018 – Daniel French
Watch Daniel’s video here.
I liked the story beginning which gave a real feel of the trip. Music is good and the camera work throughout is extremely good with clear sharp, well composed and lit images. The Whip ray shot was really nice. I do like the identification graphics for the different species, easier than narration but just as effective. There were so many shots I liked in this film, too many to mention, but the puffer and the sweetlips were great and the shoaling Bannerfish were a real treat as were the rays in the ‘fish soup’. Not so long ago all reefs used to be like this. The above-water footage was well thought out and a pleasure to watch.
Diving in Istanbul – Lutfu Tanriover
Watch Luftu’s video here.
Very nice opening feel to the video with the jellyfish and music which continued and was very relaxing to watch. Liked the goby eating the worm, don’t see that often. You have some great close up shots, especially the crabs and anemones where you framed the images well and held the camera extremely steady. The blennies next to the starfish leg was really nice. Lighting was spot on. My only word of caution is please be careful where you kneel on the bottom so as not to damage fauna and flora. I’m sure you were careful but just wanted to mention it.
Mediterraneo – Robert Caballero
Watch Robert’s video here.
Nice opening but had to laugh at the sea hare being dropped into shot by the diver, at least that’s what it looked liked to me. Other than that it was a good video that had a ‘real’ feel to it, especially with the torch lighting. The Morays were nice. Have to say though that the rough handling of the jelly fish was uncomfortable. I know they get worse than that in a storm but it did send the wrong message to other divers. Good camera work throughout and the music fitted really well.
And the Winner is….
There were two films that stood out for me this month, and they were Ghosts of Truk Lagoon and The Mad World of Lembeh. This by no means suggest the other were not good, because they were.
The winner this month is Ghosts of Truk Lagoon by Craig Beasley. It was a film that had a lot of style and impact in that it left me thinking about war wrecks for quite a while after the film concluded. Well done Craig.
I look forward to your entries in April – good luck to you all.
Scubaverse.com’s April 2018 Underwater Video Contest is now open! Enter as many as three of your underwater videos here.
Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
June 2022 Video Contest Winner and Review

WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: French Polynesia by Olivier Bourgeois
Winning Video:
Exciting entries this month which once again make me wish the impossible of being everywhere at once to witness the amazing marine life we have on this planet. But, just seeing your entries makes me glad to know it is out there. Keep it safe, look after it. Spread the word.
This month’s winner is French Polynesia by Olivier Bourgeois. Not only stunning images but a lot of thought has gone into the production with clever editing and great music choice to set the mood.
Love the end question from the turtle.
Just some Hammer Heads living the life by Megan Ratnam
Great experience and what a perfect way to spend a dive.
Meet the reef Egypt by Domenico Pertschi
Lovely images. Clear and crisp with excellent colour. Very steady camerawork especially on the close ups. Good music choice.
French Polynesia by Olivier Bourgeois
Stunning opening with the blue aerial and then the magnificent underwater shoaling fish. The music and the speed of the action throughout was perfect and produced a wonderful dream like quality that kept my full attention right to the end. Beautiful film, well filmed and edited.
Falmouth Bay, Cornwall, May 2022 by Graeme Parker
Liked the opening. Good to see so many happy divers. The transition from the surface was well thought out but I have to say that I was glad you changed the music at that point as I felt the opening score was a bit too manic for the pace of the shots. However, once underwater it all worked perfectly. Lovely wildlife shots with good camerawork and nice lighting. I think a gentle and informative script/narration would well be worth thinking about.
Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth, Cornwall, May 2022 by Graeme Parker
Lovely opening with stunning scenery and perfect music choice. The colours are wonderful. You did well with the dogfish, keeping it perfectly in frame as well as very steady. The spider crabs are excellent. Good idea to put in a short shot of yourself.
Philippines Reef Fish by Dave Weeks
Great title shot and very nice transition to the underwater sequences. Good steady, well lit shots of a lovely variety of marine life. The music was a good choice but did become a little soporific after awhile. Perhaps you could think of some narration to explain what we are looking at which would add another dimension to the film. Maybe try a few extended shots of just one animal and shoot it in a variety of ways, wide angle, mid shot and close up. Love the Turtle shot, Excellent quality.
A story about human… by Maria Bereozka
Thank you for the full and emotive written intro. It’s an important story to tell. I was greatly saddened to see that boats still tie up to coral. They are mad, stupid, short sighted and must be stopped.
In search of the best shots with GoPro by Maria Bereozka
Good message in your written introduction. Beautiful long developing shot. You get great stuff freediving. Nice commentary and very good music. Is that you in shot?
Scuba diving in Tiran island with Go Pro by Maria Bereozka
Whole new ball game, filming wildlife with scuba tanks and not free diving. New disciplines to master in camerawork, lighting and editing. This was a nice film that showed the delight of just being underwater.
The July competition is now open for entries. You can enter up to three videos by clicking here.
Winners - Underwater Videography Contests
May 2022 Video Contest Winner and Review

WINNER CHOSEN AND REVIEW BY SCUBAVERSE.COM’S EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND RESIDENT UNDERWATER VIDEOGRAPHY EXPERT JEFF GOODMAN
Winner: Baja California – Socorro : Diving in size XXL by Noemie Stroh
Winning Video:
Hi all. So many good places in the world to dive and so good to see them being filmed and appreciated. However we are too close to loosing it all with overfishing, pollution and climate change so lets not be complacent and make sure we all do our best to protect and conserve.
Five entries this month and the winner is Baja California – Socorro : Diving in size XXL by Noemie Stroh. I do realise that not everyone has access to such amazing marine life and so I always look at filming skills as well as the actual species. But in this case Noenie has capture incredible images of incredible wildlife and edited them together in a thoughtful and exiting way.
Underwater birds by Maria Bereozka
The video shots you get by free diving are so good. No bubbles to worry wildlife. Beautiful ray and good music choice. I think I have said it all before on your previous films. Great and really nice to watch.
Scuba diving changed my life! by Maria Bereozka
Love the written intro. It was Cousteau who inspired me to explore the undersea world although perhaps a few generations before. Nice to see a different style of film from you. Lovely sentiment and very well shot with a perfectly slow pace. A simple film but with good impact. Have a look again at your opening narration as your words were a bit quite and lost behind the music. Love the long shots.
Meet the reef Egypt by Domenico Pertschi
Hi Domenico. Lovely images of some fabulous marine life. All sharp, steady, well framed and well lit. Good music choice too which kept a nice pace to the video. Red Sea – fabulous place to dive.
Tiran Island: scuba diving with Go pro 9 by Maria Bereozka
We are going to need to change this monthly competition name to the ‘Maria Bereozka show’. You have more entries than anyone else I know. Excellent. Keep sending them in. Nice pre-dive sequence which really captured the feel of Red Sea boat diving. Good underwater images and the music fitted well. As you are now getting into the scuba aspect of underwater filming and finding much more to film, have a think about some sort of narration or story line.
Baja California – Socorro : Diving in size XXL by Noemie Stroh
Fabulous drone shots to open the film. It’s a wonderful location. The link from the surface shot of the Sea lion to the underwater was great and the following images were stunning. I loved the shot of the diver under the massive shoal of fish. Your camera work is very good as is your lighting. The dolphin squeaks under the music was a simple touch but very effective. Well done. So many good images. The puffer fish and the ray made me smile. My only negative thought was the music, while starting well it eventually became a bit monotonous.
The June competition is now open for entries. You can enter up to three videos by clicking here.
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