Training!! I Need Training!!!

[adutto]

Are you/can you white balance underwater? That purpleish hue to the water at about 1:00 on the Helma Hooker clip is pretty distinctive of a red filter without white balancing. If you can, you should be white balancing with any significant depth changes - more often in shallow water, less often in deeper water. Also your shots need to be slower and more stable- which is the problem with about 99% of people that shoot underwater.

As far as classes, if you can't find someone that has something pre-packaged, find your favorite videographer and ask them how much it would cost to do a video course. I have asked a few great cave photographers (Becky Kagan-Schott and Jill Heinerth for example) about doing a cave photo class and all were more than happy to schedule one for a reasonable day-rate. I haven't had a chance to follow up with anyone for an actual class, but it is just a matter of making it a priority on my part.

-Chris

Excellent tips and course ideas! I'll most certainly work on them and will start reaching out to videographers as well! (that was a great idea trully)

 

[adutto]

Are you/can you white balance underwater? That purpleish hue to the water at about 1:00 on the Helma Hooker clip is pretty distinctive of a red filter without white balancing.

-Chris

I can do white balance, somehow I'm never clicking with it... I'm sure I'm not using the propper background to balance. What do you normally use? a slate?

 

[sealark]

I like them also. It's underwater not topside. Unless you have big money to put into it I think they look just fine. I'm also not a video freak and surely a pro can find some improvements.

 

[adutto]

I like them also. It's underwater not topside. Unless you have big money to put into it I think they look just fine. I'm also not a video freak and surely a pro can find some improvements.

Thanks @sealark ! obviously I'm not a PRO... but self-critic person hehehe

 

[sealark]

Practice makes perfect, Or is it, a professional.

 

[bmorescuba]

I don't see any major issues overall, but since you asked for tips, here are a few things I would consider (coming from someone who mostly shoots stills):

Think about the illumination range and pattern of your lights. It's usually less than you think. Even with 2x Sola 2500 video lights, they're probably most effective if the subject is about 1m away. They're probably not very effective at all past 2m. This, combined with the general rule of "closer is better" for underwater photography, means that, to me, some of the most appealing shots are very close, like in the beginning of the salt pier video. I also agree with GJC - a filter is fine for a wide, distant shot (turn lights off), but take off the filter whenever the lights are on. And think about medium shots, where you might be too far for the light to truly illuminate, but too close for a filter to work well - do you want those?

The other thing to consider is motion of the camera. This is something I struggle with all the time, since our natural instinct is to follow the action. But look at professional videos, and don't look at the subject, but look at the frame to see how much the camera is moving. Usually, it moves very little. If it does move, the movement is slow, deliberate, and it keeps the subject in the frame at all times. You could also try shooting in 60p, since the Sony can do that, then slowing things down in post. This can help steady camera movement.

Just a few things to think about - not criticisms at all. Your videos are great - and you've got the editing down, which is often harder for people to learn than the shooting...

 

[ronscuba]

Everyone has different tastes and styles of video editing/viewing. For example, I generally like a quicker paced video with good flow. I also like coloring to look more commercial and vivid than what my eyes saw during the dive. Others say they want a more natural look to make the video closely follow what the diver sees on the dive.

Is there a video made by someone else that you like and want to emulate ? If you could post it, that would help people make suggestions on how to achieve something similar.

 

[adutto]

I don't see any major issues overall, but since you asked for tips, here are a few things I would consider (coming from someone who mostly shoots stills):

Think about the illumination range and pattern of your lights. It's usually less than you think. Even with 2x Sola 2500 video lights, they're probably most effective if the subject is about 1m away. They're probably not very effective at all past 2m. This, combined with the general rule of "closer is better" for underwater photography, means that, to me, some of the most appealing shots are very close, like in the beginning of the salt pier video. I also agree with GJC - a filter is fine for a wide, distant shot (turn lights off), but take off the filter whenever the lights are on. And think about medium shots, where you might be too far for the light to truly illuminate, but too close for a filter to work well - do you want those?

The other thing to consider is motion of the camera. This is something I struggle with all the time, since our natural instinct is to follow the action. But look at professional videos, and don't look at the subject, but look at the frame to see how much the camera is moving. Usually, it moves very little. If it does move, the movement is slow, deliberate, and it keeps the subject in the frame at all times. You could also try shooting in 60p, since the Sony can do that, then slowing things down in post. This can help steady camera movement.

Just a few things to think about - not criticisms at all. Your videos are great - and you've got the editing down, which is often harder for people to learn than the shooting...

Great tips!! I'll use them!!

 

[adutto]

Is there a video made by someone else that you like and want to emulate ? If you could post it, that would help people make suggestions on how to achieve something similar.

Great question... I haven't thought about it... let me get around it and I'll give you some examples.

 

[sea_ledford]

I can do white balance, somehow I'm never clicking with it... I'm sure I'm not using the propper background to balance. What do you normally use? a slate?

You actually need a grey card, at least for stills. I can't imagine why video would be any different, physics is physics.

Find something flat-ish in a medium gray color (18% gray if you want to be picky) and use that. B&H sells plastic Vello white balance card sets here:
Vello White Balance Card Set for Digital Photography WB-CS B&H

Looks like they would work pretty well underwater, you only need the gray one. There are tons out there, but most of them are cardboard.

-Chris