Stills or Video

Every time I consider getting involved in video; the main deterrent is time! And who has enough time?

With stills, I can sort my selects in a minute or two, recognize if I have a great shot or two, do some edits in anywhere from a couple of minutes to half hour and I'm done.

How much production time on average would you video guys spend on say a 10 minute video, let's say the best you can do when submitting to a competition?

Yep the bigg problem is TIME in video, difficult to say how long sombody do about a good 10 min video, but for me to have 1O min competion word footage i need to film a few weeks, edeting wil take another few weeks (writing, music, etc)

And so Canon and Nikon listened and came up with ViDSLR.

And so Canon and Nikon listened and came up with ViDSLR.

I had a nasty dose of that..Took antibiotics to shift it....

Dive safe

DeanB

I think that people who shoot video are usually finally disenchanted when they find finished programmes don't drop out of the back of the camera. When I made films (30 second ones) we used to reckon 10 hours post production for every hour on a set. People who make good videos have got to be prepared to put in a lot of time with their footage and it's usually best if someone else with a more detached view does the editing.

Hence the present popularity of video clips. That is all they are - moving snapshots. You can also show a still and there is less time commitment for the viewer. I refuse nowadays to waste my evenings on liveaboards looking at endless sequences of blue fishes!

I agree... I was talking to a friend who works witht the NHU and he was saying it must be really time consuming having to sitdown with stacks of tapes log them, pre edit the footage, narrate, write the music then do the final edit... All he does is shoot the sequences and hand the reel over to the producer..Next time he see's it its on the TV...

I must admit i do love editing (when i can get myself motivated) and im very self-critical and swear at myself for missing things or being a little wobbly etc...If someone would just log all the sequences i'd be alot happier...

Dive safe

DeanB

Hence the present popularity of video clips. That is all they are - moving snapshots. You can also show a still and there is less time commitment for the viewer. I refuse nowadays to waste my evenings on liveaboards looking at endless sequences of blue fishes!

I too refuse to spend endless minutes watching someone show their collection of anemone fish... yet it's the single most popular subject. ZZZZZ

Let's face. A great picture or video conveys things that normal videos and pics don't. That's what grabs our attention. Is it easier to light a scene for stills underwater than video, often yes. Post is an artform in itself.

Both mediums do things the other can never convey. The Doug Perrine shot of sharks plowing through a baitball is pure raw energy. Yet until the viewer sees a video of a baitball in action, they'll never get the dynamics of such a phenomena.

As for those who think moving pictures are boring, Océans has just wrapped shooting and gone into post. Wait and watch for some of the sequences and see the artistry of the camera men.

I too refuse to spend endless minutes watching someone show their collection of anemone fish... yet it's the single most popular subject. ZZZZZ

Let's face. A great picture or video conveys things that normal videos and pics don't. That's what grabs our attention. Is it easier to light a scene for stills underwater than video, often yes. Post is an artform in itself.

Both mediums do things the other can never convey. The Doug Perrine shot of sharks plowing through a baitball is pure raw energy. Yet until the viewer sees a video of a baitball in action, they'll never get the dynamics of such a phenomena.

As for those who think moving pictures are boring, Océans has just wrapped shooting and gone into post. Wait and watch for some of the sequences and see the artistry of the camera men.

Ask yourself the question: Are art galleries more popular than cinemas? What's the typical budget of an Oceans episode? How much does it cost to shoot a still picture? The problem only arises when people attempt to do the first with the budget of the second! The last underwater video I shot had a post production budget of £32,000. I haven't shot another since! I'm living in reduced circumstances shooting stills!

I agree again (uh oh.. )...

I have Howard Hall visions and ambitions but with a Decorators funding... And the only thing, at the mo, my cameras gathering is dust...

Dive safe

DeanB

Ask yourself the question: Are art galleries more popular than cinemas? What's the typical budget of an Oceans episode? How much does it cost to shoot a still picture? The problem only arises when people attempt to do the first with the budget of the second! The last underwater video I shot had a post production budget of £32,000. I haven't shot another since! I'm living in reduced circumstances shooting stills!

John, I can't say too much but Oceans budget is in the "big" range.

As for great pics or video, the idea is to be at the right place at the right time. With video, having a great sequence is beautiful in itself, depicting behavior and the subjects mobility that seldom stills can match. Stills can convey the atmosphere and feel of a subject and place in one easy shot.

My point is that, to me, the majority of images out there (moving and still) aren't all that special. The stills are either rehashed copies of copies of copies or just plain boring subjects etc etc. (imo) Same for the videos.

John, as you know, spending $£€ on locations to get the special shots is what quite a few pros do. How successful are they in coming out with super duper special shots? I think we all know the answer. Which makes the special shots all the special.

And a big budget doesn't guarantee anything. Look at the IMAX movie Wild Oceans... they failed to get any real baitballs during their 2 year run and resorted to using DV and HD clips bought to fill the gaps. Then they had to use a 7 year old slide film pic and animate it cause they were desperate. This year, Auntie Beeb (at 1/20th of the IMAX budget) were lucky and unlucky. They got some awesome stuff but missed out on some potentially even MORE awesome stuff. I can also list a bunch of big budget failed shoots for many film projects, yet some dude with a P&S was there at the right time and scored big. Such is life

John, I can't say too much but Oceans budget is in the "big" range.

As for great pics or video, the idea is to be at the right place at the right time. With video, having a great sequence is beautiful in itself, depicting behavior and the subjects mobility that seldom stills can match. Stills can convey the atmosphere and feel of a subject and place in one easy shot.

My point is that, to me, the majority of images out there (moving and still) aren't all that special. The stills are either rehashed copies of copies of copies or just plain boring subjects etc etc. (imo) Same for the videos.

John, as you know, spending $£€ on locations to get the special shots is what quite a few pros do. How successful are they in coming out with super duper special shots? I think we all know the answer. Which makes the special shots all the special.

And a big budget doesn't guarantee anything. Look at the IMAX movie Wild Oceans... they failed to get any real baitballs during their 2 year run and resorted to using DV and HD clips bought to fill the gaps. Then they had to use a 7 year old slide film pic and animate it cause they were desperate. This year, Auntie Beeb (at 1/20th of the IMAX budget) were lucky and unlucky. They got some awesome stuff but missed out on some potentially even MORE awesome stuff. I can also list a bunch of big budget failed shoots for many film projects, yet some dude with a P&S was there at the right time and scored big. Such is life

Thing is, there are a lot more to a good film than great shots, unless you're especially interested in – film photography. A huge budget will not guarantee anything. Having a small budget will: a non professional end product, unfortunatelly.

/christian