Underwater Videography
A few months ago, I created a JoeScuba Blogsite with the hope that I could build a community of enthusiastic divers exchanging ideas about SCUBA diving equipment, dive travel, diving safety, vintage SCUBA, diving news, and anything else of interest to divers.
You can even log your dives on the site!
Anyone can join for free. Just click the create an account link on the right side of the page. It's new so please tell everyone you know.
Shooting & Editing Underwater Video
Reno Video Production
Diving is itself a great reward. Being able to bring your underwater experiences back to your living room is even better! Most divers I talk to are interested in shooting underwater video, but are unsure how to begin. A PADI Underwater Video Specialty Course is an obvoius place to start. But, the important thing is to get out and start shooting.
Shooting video underwater is not all that different than taking pictures underwater
Ask almost any great photographer how they approach a shot and you'll most likely learn two things. The first is that they'll generally compose a shot by breaking it into thirds; placing the subject off center horizontally, vertically or both. Second, great photographers put at least as much emphasis into composing the background of a shot as they do the subject.
Of course, creativity with lighting, depth of field and other factors are used to bring life to a subject, but the thirds rule and careful attention to the background represent two major leaps in the path toward becoming a great photographer.
Video, at it's most basic level, is simply moving pictures. While there are dozens of ways to set up a shot, transition between scenes, etc., the basic elements of composition are the same as those used in still photography.
In my videography classes, we explore composition in great detail. It's a lot of fun to shoot and edit scenes and explore the different approaches students take to portray similar subjects.
Video Editing Software
Final Cut Pro
Say what you want about Mac vs. PC, the reality is that whatever you spend on buying a Mac, if you use the Final Cut Studio, you save that and a lot more by not having to buy dozens of plugins to get the same functionality.
I'm not going to get into details about shooting and editing underwater video right now just because it's such a huge topic. If you're new to underwater video, probably your best bet is to simply get out and shoot. Just about any editing suite or program you choose will do what you need. Color grading and motion graphics, video codecs and the rest can wait. Later, I'll set up a blog so we can tap into the advice of experts the world over, so check back soon for that.
Underwater Video Equipment - What I Use
Before I get into gear arguements, let me premis this with some background. My full time job is in marketing. I am the president of iPutty/MPR LLC an ad agency in Reno, NV. I personally shoot and edit video for television commercials, corporate presentations--you name it.
Topside, we use completely different stuff including a range of HD Panasonic and Canon cameras, lighting rigs, booms, mics, reflectors and everything else. My underwtaer gear is different. I do shoot HD, but there's no way I could travel with the cameras we use for TV, let alone the housings, and still be able to bring gobs of dive gear, still cameras and the rest to remote locations. So, what I'm offering here is not information about how National Geographic would handle a location shoot, but rather how to get really great underwater video with the tools that are in reach of mere mortals.
Video Housing
Video Lights
Video Camera