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Hi guys,

Love to hear your thoughts on my first underwater video: shot on Canon XH-G1, Equinox Pro 10 housing, edited on FCP and graded in Apple Color.

I've only got it on YouTube at the moment, so please forgive the compression quality.

It was filmed in Bonaire, and is intended as a travelogue so there is some above ground stuff too.

Ben

That makes it easier...

Looks like an official tourist video. Well done. Only things I'd change would maybe cut out a few scenes, and the scrawl at the bottom at the end which goes by to fast to be legible.

Nice work.

the scrawl at the bottom at the end which goes by to fast to be legible

Yes, I realise it is too quick, but trying to make it as unobtrusive as possible - while being there theoretically there (if you want to freeze frame for reference). Still working on that one.

Was originally cut to nicer music, but couldn't get rights so had to use royalty free which drastically reduces the quality...

Thanks for the comment PerroneFord, and good luck with the grading!

Sun,dancing, (squid) sex and beach... all the ingredients of a great video... too bad you had diving in it.

Sorry kidding. It's a nice travelogue video except at the start where there's a lack of reference of a beginning. Starting with a driving sequence without arrival, unpacking etc, it's difficult to understand what the the couple is doing. The drive sequences are also a bit long.

For credits, instead of putting inside the video put it at the end with scrolling titles and final frame your website contact.

I would also throw out that wide shot of the wreck. It's like a big blur on youtube.

I liked it, but agree there could be a little bit more intro. I really liked the the silhouette of the diver / wreck shot.

But why oh why you shot it with a fantastic camera and then stuck it on you tube, why not stick it on Vimeo or such so that the quality is better, or why not stick it on Wags HDV underwater site.

Jon

Nice work Ben, you made me want to go to Bonaire. Very steady underwater camera work. Nice smooth pans at just the right speed.

I wish the seahorses we have over here were that easy to spot.

The better quality version is here (but look how blocky that wreck is):

(add &fmt=18 to many youtube urls and you'll get a higher quality version)

What format did you upload to youtube in? It looks a little over-saturated.

Thats pretty good for your first go.

I liked the back seat car scenes.

Did you have the camera mounted something.

Thanks all for comments/critique...

wagsy - A neat little rig in the back of the Suzuki Samurai. Tripod fully splayed and tied off so it was rock solid (no pics sorry). Camera was bagged, unfortunately I had no optical flat filter so had to risk the WA lens being scratched, but it was kind of in the lee.

nic - haha that sea horse was as big as your fist and bright orange! Uploaded QT H.264 @ 800Mbps. Probably looks a little too saturated (duly noted) cos I was heavy handed in Color, but still within broadcast safe IRE levels.

jonny - youtube quality a shame indeed, but thats where the people look. (The DVD looks great ) Looking at better quality video hosting atm. Perhaps I can get away with a larger source file.

drew - I hate those mundane airport arrival / assembly of equipment sequences, but will look for an interesting "establishing" alternative in the future. Agreed - three cuts to the the driving shot is too much (although you do spend a lot of time driving on Bonaire).The wreck WS is NG when compressed, pity cos it looks great at full res.

Next time I will put the credits at the end rather than the scroll. What do people think of leaving a 5-10 second freeze frame at the end of the video?

Happy shooting everyone!!!

Great stuff Ben and I really enjoyed it. It looked like you had a lot of fun in Bonaire!!

Cheers, Simon

Ben

An intro doesn't mean it has to start with gear assembly ... car/sky shot, turn of ignition key... anything really to give an idea of what's going on.

As for shots that look crap out youtube, this lesson should be for all who plan to do low res hosting on any site, EDIT FOR THE LOW COMPRESSION. Avoid busy scenes or monochromic scenes that will just be blocked out in compression. Keep the edit full of big subjects that require little detail and motion. This is especially if you are hosting the video yourself and want to control bandwidth usage.