A new video showing Reverse Kick

[danvolker]

I posted this to the Underwater Photography forum, but considering it is an essential skill for Fundies, I thought I should post the link here as well.

YouTube - Great skill for u/w photographers..the Reverse Kick !

I will be doing a series of videos like this with Errol. Our plan is to not just show a GUE technique, but also to show how it could benefit a recreational diver ( or photographer or videographer).

 

[BabyDuck]

that's very nice. thanks for the outreach.

 

[nadwidny]

Nice video but the balance between the music and the narration seems to be out of whack.

 

[danvolker]

Nice video but the balance between the music and the narration seems to be out of whack.

I would be happy to recieve some ideas from you on how it would be better ... Do you mean the music should be pulled down to absolute zero volume during naration?
Maybe you could pm me with some suggestions...though I don't know how I can really change the video now up there....but there will be more coming, and I will use whatever assistance I can get!

 

[SCU5]

Great video and a great idea to show how useful the techniques are!

 

[Hallmac]

My recommendations would be too start with your distance shots as you have them, then move the camera in and frame only his knees to his fin tips once from the sides, and once from the back. A close up shot of one fin as it is positioned for a particular move and follow it through the kick to the recovery position will help as well.

Concentrate on the actual motion as slow as possible, add some red semi-circles with arrow tips to really highlight the rotation, scoop, and flick. You can then add narrative to further assist your audience in identifying what you want them to take away from the images.

When making the instructional segments, it is not necessary to show his actual movement, thus he can over act while making the close up shots to really show the technique. The distance shots will show the positional movement when the technique is applied correctly.

I applaud your efforts to assist and improve. Keep up the good work.

 

[DiverLaura]

Love the idea!!!!!! nice work! nad has good feedback, i'll pm as well

 

[Lobzilla]

Dan,

Great idea and nice video. The timing is excellent for the upcoming Fundies in Florida ;-) Thanks!!!

Depending on whether this is supposed to be a 'sales pitch' to learn proper propulsion techniques or a comprehensive instructional video I have the following suggestions:

For a 'sales pitch' the video could be shortened and the difference between silting and not silting could be made more dramatic by swimming with the cam through the cloud. (Maybe some viewers will feel a twinge of guilt when they see the consequences of their rototiller propulsion; just dreaming...).

For an instructional video I agree with the posts above suggesting different perspectives, slow-mo, and arrows pointing out crucial items like ankle and knee articulation, no jackknifing at the hip joints, etc. Also, after the intro describing the benefits to a photographer, the different techniques (frog, modified frog, helicopter, back-kick) should be covered in individual 'chapters' and then pulled together at the end to reinforce the benefits.

But even if you leave the video as it is, you and Errol have greatly contributed to closing the gap between what the European GUE and UTD aficionados have posted on Youtube and the lack of entries from the US.

 

[Gombessa]

Dan, great video!

I really like the message, that positional and non-silting kicks aren't just for cave divers. I'm not a videographer but I do shoot video of nearly all of my dives, and there literally isn't a single minute of footage that doesn't benefit from using these skills. In addition to the kicks, the ability to maintain neutral buoyancy without having to touch anything helps tremendously in keeping the camera steady, the scene unsilted and the environment unspoiled.

 

[nadwidny]

I would be happy to recieve some ideas from you on how it would be better ... Do you mean the music should be pulled down to absolute zero volume during naration?

The music where there is no narration needs to be pulled down. I started the video and turned the sound down to listenable level. Then the narration came on and I had to turn the sound up to hear the narration, then there came a music interlude and I had to turn the sound down again.