I just in Florida shooting video with a new HD Sony camera. Everything came out very green even with the underwater filter off. Now with my old camera I probably would have gotten nothing but can anyone tell me if this green effect (instead of the brown I was actually seeing) is not the result of something I did wrong? Thanks
video in low vis
- Thread starter shmuggy
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sharksdelight
Contributor
I am never in the water without video lights whether I am using them or not, I have the option. I do have some L & M HID lights for sale that I am not using.
Steve
Steve
scubawheels
Registered
If you have or have access to video editing software, some programs allow you to color correct the footage. Adjusting the white balance will help, lights will help, but color correction afterwards is a great cheat.
sharksdelight
Contributor
The worst attitude to take is to film with the thought of "I'll fix it in post'. White balance with your lights in the water and everytime your light changes position. Do it correctly in the first place and you will save yourself a ton of time in post production which can only go so far.
Steve
Steve
Totally agree. Especially if you are shooting a consumer camcorder.
Consumer camcorders are recording footage into a compressed file such as AVCHD, HDV, MP4, etc.. These compressed files are limited in how much they can be altered in editing. Kind of equivalent to jpeg vs raw for still cameras.
White balancing is key to any video shoot, but more so for underwater due to the constantly changing degree of light on the reef or wreck. There are several white cards you can bring down with you (even a slate will do in a pinch).
Another thing to remember is you can't always use a red filter. Red filters are good in "blue water" conditions, but not so good in the "green water" conditions we get from time to time here in Florida. I have both a Red (blue water) and a Pink (green water) filter for just that reason and I carry them both with me on each dive.
That being said, filtering is not the cure all, but rather filtering attempts to restore color and sometimes a small increase in visibility. Filtering helps, but it's not perfect. Proper lighting is also key and in conditions of low viz, I usually concentrate on wide-angle closeups and wait for the next time when the viz is better.
I agree with the others that shooting to "fix in post" is not the best way to go about it, but there are times when you can't avoid it. I have fixed a few video pieces here and there in post when I thought I had done everything correctly during the shoot.
Hope these tidbits helped. You can reach me anytime via email: doug@videodudeproductions.com if you have any other questions I may be able to help you with.
Another thing to remember is you can't always use a red filter. Red filters are good in "blue water" conditions, but not so good in the "green water" conditions we get from time to time here in Florida. I have both a Red (blue water) and a Pink (green water) filter for just that reason and I carry them both with me on each dive.
That being said, filtering is not the cure all, but rather filtering attempts to restore color and sometimes a small increase in visibility. Filtering helps, but it's not perfect. Proper lighting is also key and in conditions of low viz, I usually concentrate on wide-angle closeups and wait for the next time when the viz is better.
I agree with the others that shooting to "fix in post" is not the best way to go about it, but there are times when you can't avoid it. I have fixed a few video pieces here and there in post when I thought I had done everything correctly during the shoot.
Hope these tidbits helped. You can reach me anytime via email: doug@videodudeproductions.com if you have any other questions I may be able to help you with.
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