Taking Better Video - Advice

[bighiller]

Hi,

I've been taking video now for a few months, but I'm still looking to improve my footage and I'm hoping fellow SB'ers can chime in with some advice.

First, what I'm running:

Canon HFS100
Iklite housing
2x 21W HIDs
Adobe Premiere
Adobe After Effects

1.Steady shots

Being in a dry suit I find it difficult to remain still enough to get macro footage on a wall. My guess is that there is no real way to do this cleanly. I have very good buoyancy, but even the few inches of motion are enough to cause a shaky shot. What I'd like to know is how other people get nice close-up macro video that's not on the bottom. I'm planning on getting a tripod for steady shots on the sea-floor, but haven't figured out how to steady up shots on walls or places that require absolute stillness. Am I SOL on this?

2.Colors

I've found that for macro stuff a flat port and my HID lights work great. I have to add better diffusers and longer video arms as there is a fair amount of overexposure that is too hard to adjust UW with this housing. The lights I find aren't very useful when the viz is crap or the subject is at a distance (duh.). Does anyone use manual white balance often? I was thinking of buying some lock-lines and attach a white slate to one end and the other end to the housing, but I find doing manual white balance quite tricky with this housing and while hovering. Nevertheless, is this my only real option for getting better color? I know that for the macro stuff the white balance is set to auto because of the lights, but for more distance shots, when I will only use natural lighting, is manual white balance my best option?

3.Finning techniques

As I don't have the cash for a scooter, I need to find out a good way/technique to get a fluid shot without the jerkiness of finning. Any ideas? I try to frog-kick, but still.....

Thanks for anything that might help out!

A couple vids (comments welcomed!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4rSdH4Is4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4GYETp0NlU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM1Lc9snVXY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWxaKpuGDO0

 

[sansky]

I am not an expert on video; I shoot photos, but if you go the custom white balance, you have to do it at each depth you are shooting. A videographer on one of my trips had a white slate zip-tied to his fins, which made it easier for him set the white balance. For wide angle, you are correct in having the strobes further away from the lens to prevent backscatter and if the viz is crap, then lights are best turned off for shooting ambient light. If possible, always have the sun behind your back. Get close and if you think are close enough, get closer. On Macro, one strobe is enough if you can put it close to the lens and center above the lens.

Is it possible to add sharpness and color saturation in Adobe Premier? I use Photoshop CS for photos and tweak them in Photoshop - it is amazing what one can do with a dull shot!

I watched your first video listed and I think you did quite well being smooth on your shots. Your focus was good - no jerkiness - no backscatter or particles in the water - a little more red and sharpness and I think you would be there.

Sometimes it does not matter how still you are, or how close you are, or how correct your settings are, Mother Nature takes over and you have no control - currents, viz, etc.

Good luck!

 

[jridg]

I think you are fine with regard to steady - no issues on my end - if you look at my videos it's the same. I use a Sanyo HD-1 in Epoque housing - this is a small system and I do find it has far better stability on the tray with the lights attached (2x Nocturnal SLX-800). The more weight you end up with, the less the movement will be 'jerky'. I try to take much more footage than I know I will require (at least 10 seconds per subject) so I can work out any issues post.

Manual White Balance! I use APS Mantaray white fins so I always have something to shoot a balance on. I even shoot a white balance with the lights to get it spot on when I can. It is certainly not an exact science - but when I dive without lights, i try to take a MWB every few feet of depth or when the vis changes.

Finning is what works best for you - frog kick/etc - try to get where you need to be and get your buoyancy dialed in and then take the shot.

You're doing well so far!

 

[bighiller]

I am not an expert on video; I shoot photos, but if you go the custom white balance, you have to do it at each depth you are shooting. A videographer on one of my trips had a white slate zip-tied to his fins, which made it easier for him set the white balance.

Yeah, my thought is that I'm going to have to use the Loc-Line to make this feasible.
Loc-Line
I think I'll just need to improve my housing control skills to make this go more smoothly as I find I end up spending like 5min damn minutes to to the MWB. Problem is the controls. The pressure makes it hard to control the buttons and often I find I have inadverntently altered something else or gone to a different menu. I think I may be able to fix this issue with practice.

Is it possible to add sharpness and color saturation in Adobe Premier?

I'm sure it is. I think I just need to place around a bit with it more.

I watched your first video listed and I think you did quite well being smooth on your shots. Your focus was good - no jerkiness - no backscatter or particles in the water - a little more red and sharpness and I think you would be there.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[bighiller]

I think you are fine with regard to steady - no issues on my end - if you look at my videos it's the same. I use a Sanyo HD-1 in Epoque housing - this is a small system and I do find it has far better stability on the tray with the lights attached (2x Nocturnal SLX-800). The more weight you end up with, the less the movement will be 'jerky'.

Hmmm...I built almost everything myself, save the camera and housing and I made it about .5lbs negative. Should I add more weight? Might help keep the camera down during macro shots. Just don't want it too negative.

I try to take much more footage than I know I will require (at least 10 seconds per subject) so I can work out any issues post.

Same here. I have on occasion just recorded the entire dive. I have found when I do a macro shot that when I look at the footage later I notice tiny little creatures in the shot. I had a great shot of a hermit crab, then got home and noticed tiny juvenile crabs scurrying around the large hermit. Neat-O!

 

[ronscuba]

I can't do macro on a wall either. I don't have the skill. I only shoot macro when I can set the housing down on something.

Manual white balance is a big help with colors. My Canon HV10 and Ikelite housing, setting MWB is not easy, but practice topside and underwater helps.

Moving shots is not easy either. A wide angle lens will help.

Making videos is fun, but not everyone will like them. Musical tastes, editing style, shooting style, it's tough to please everyone. Look at the Hollywood movie industry with their multimillion dollar budgets. Most movies are not popular enough to make a profit.

You can learn a lot by watching other people's videos. Paying attention to what you like and don't like and applying that to your own video.

 

[seacreatures]

They make a filter for "Pacific Green" that can help unless you know someone who can process the video for you in a program that does Gamma adjustments. Try to capture face on shots and once you have the focus turn off auto. The best shots are face on and up as shooting down is a no no in both Still and Video. Buoyancy is the hardest thing to master with a camera in your hands. The frog kick will give you the smoothest result and push the glide. Remember two things Slower is better and 7 second rule and even action shots should be kept as short as possible.

You got a lot of good advice above and good luck, if you want to take it to the next level just keep slugging away.

Most important do your own thing and what makes you happy, art is individual and no artist worth a damn does or tries to please anyone but themselves

The major problem in production is capturing enough drama to make it interesting to a wider audience than just divers. What is your story? Learn to story board and have a logical sequence that will tell it. Try your work on non-diving friends and listen to what they really have to say. Always remember less is more.

 

[Drewski]

Hey Bighiller, NICE work!

Like you, I'm learning. I've been at it for nearly 3 years now. Some of what I've learned lately:

Light ALWAYS works better than ambient MWB because of the red shift. Here's a video from about a year ago. MWB using a slate like you describe, about 80 FT, clear water:

[vimeo]6156158[/vimeo]

Now here's a more recent video with a MWB done using a small cutting board with a weight, placed in a dark section of the wreck, with both my lights shining on it, my camera about 5 ft away and zoomed in then MWB. No red shift on the board with a lighted MWB. Then I keep the same setting and shoot the entire wreck. I use an F stop setting one click more open than usual (maybe 4.7 instead of 5.6, or higher depending how clear) and adjust more blue in post. If it's to bright, I use a shutter of 90 instead of 60. Same camera, housing and almost same settings, just better use of light:

[vimeo]12935171[/vimeo]

Distance to subject is also VERY important when using light, especially combined with the correct F stop settings. I have the advantage of a SWP which makes it easier. I too need to figure out diffusion of my 15W HIDs, as you can see the headlights on the approach of the shark.

The only way I've found to do steady shots is to brace against structure or the bottom. I throw 20+ years of buoyancy control out the window when I pick up the video camera, lol...

Good luck and keep sharing!

Andy

 

[kanonfodr]

Wow...BC here I come!!

I think you are doing just fine, bighiller. We always find faults in ourselves and strive to do better, the mark of someone who likes to be good. But for the little stuff, most people can't spot the faults we do, and they just enjoy the show. I'd say that, if you want to improve, go diving more (and take more video, of course ). Oh yeah, and post up more vids for us to ogle.

Edit: Finally got your vid of the HMCS Saskatchewan viewed...I kinda see what you are talking about. I'm gonna put down 3 gripes, but these are only my opinion, and I still wanna go diving in BC because you make it look GREAT! I hope you can take these in the slightly humorous tone that I intend.

1.) SLOW DOWN!! I'm working on this one too, but I find it a bit unnerving because too much motion can leave your audience feeling a bit nauseous :yuck: . Also, the faster you are intending to move means that you are becoming that much more unstable. Instead of doing the "flying" shots, try panning across an area instead, and go slow doing it. I find that I can be more stable in panning than swimming, because I'm moving a lot less of my body. But if a "flying" shot is called for, aim the camera at a fixed point in the distance and let the world fly by, don't go flying through the world (clear as mud?)

2.) Focus. Pick a subject and shoot it, try to avoid "flying" as honestly that's more stuff for you to edit later (Laziness can be a positive trait ). It also makes the video feel confused (and thus, confuses the audience) because there is nothing to get our attention. Also, there are subjects within a subject. The subject of the video itself is of course, the majesty of the ship and the beauty of the flora and fauna inhabiting it; but the details are important too. Focus on those details, like you did with those freaky Jellyfish hiding in the metridiums (excellent shooting, BTW.)

3.) Shoot like your audience is retarded :shiner: . We don't have the benefit of actors to follow a script, we're making this masterpiece on the fly. But we can still have a storyline. I personally treat my videos as a documentary of the dive itself: "Here we are going down the line, here we are surveying the deck, here we are whatever." I can hear the british narrator's voice in my head sometimes, especially when I'm editing. I find it helps the audience follow along with what we are doing and understand everything a bit clearer.

Hope my advice is pretty constructive, and that it doesn't come across as demeaning. I'm looking forward to more videos .

Peace,
Greg

 

[bighiller]

1.) SLOW DOWN!! I'm working on this one too, but I find it a bit unnerving because too much motion can leave your audience feeling a bit nauseous :yuck: . Also, the faster you are intending to move means that you are becoming that much more unstable. Instead of doing the "flying" shots, try panning across an area instead, and go slow doing it. I find that I can be more stable in panning than swimming, because I'm moving a lot less of my body. But if a "flying" shot is called for, aim the camera at a fixed point in the distance and let the world fly by, don't go flying through the world (clear as mud?)

I'm 100% with you on this. When I normally film I do it as slow as I can, otherwise the focus is crap. But for the HMCS Saskatchewan I sped the video up almost 50% because it was long and not super exciting. It was meant for the guys that were on the trip with me and I felt no one wanted to see 15min of slowly going around the reef. Might be my own opinion, but I found it a wee bit boring, hence the speed. Funny you mention getting nauseous because my gf said the same thing!

2.) Focus. Pick a subject and shoot it, try to avoid "flying" as honestly that's more stuff for you to edit later (Laziness can be a positive trait ). It also makes the video feel confused (and thus, confuses the audience) because there is nothing to get our attention. Also, there are subjects within a subject. The subject of the video itself is of course, the majesty of the ship and the beauty of the flora and fauna inhabiting it; but the details are important too. Focus on those details, like you did with those freaky Jellyfish hiding in the metridiums (excellent shooting, BTW.)

I am trying to get more of a story when I go out now, it's just that was my first trip to that reef. I think it would have been better to, as you say, focus on the neater details of the ship. Next time...next time...

3.) Shoot like your audience is retarded :shiner: . We don't have the benefit of actors to follow a script, we're making this masterpiece on the fly. But we can still have a storyline. I personally treat my videos as a documentary of the dive itself: "Here we are going down the line, here we are surveying the deck, here we are whatever." I can hear the british narrator's voice in my head sometimes, especially when I'm editing. I find it helps the audience follow along with what we are doing and understand everything a bit clearer.

This is what I have really been learning lately, in that a story plays a big roll in what you are shooting. Makes it flow and more enjoyable/entertaining.

Now if only my sprained ankle would heal faster, I'd be set to get MORE video!! (out another month)

Thanks for the adivce Greg! Every little bit helps get me to the place I want to be, which wicked video for the people to enjoy!