Underwater Video Tips

500psi Salt Away protects your housing

2009-04-02T10:45:00.002-04:00

I just found a new product this weekend that I'm going to try on my next dive trip. It's from 500psi and it's called "Salt Away". Now, I have not used this product, but I have had other video pros tell me how great it is. You simply spray it on your camera housing at the end of each day and it helps to remove any salt residue left behind after rinsing. 500psi says it is both bio-degradeable & non-toxic. You can find it at scuba.com, and many other retailers. Check to see if your local dive shop has it.

The Ultimate Field guide to Digital Video - great book

2009-03-22T17:02:00.005-04:00

I just finished National Geographic's "The Ultimate Field Guide to Digital Video" by Richard Olsenius. This is a great book for the video beginner or intermediate. It includes chapters on selecting a camera, tips for shooting better video, capturing and editing, as well as sharing your video online. I especially like the step by step instructions for both Windows Movie Maker & Apple iMovie in the 'Capturing and Editing' section. Of course, these sections won't be 100% current as software is revised, but the basics are definitely there. The chapter on sharing your video online is a bit weak, I think due to the fact that the online sharing space has just exploded since this book was published (2007). And while this book doesn't speak specifically to underwater videographers, it is a great introduction and handbook to the world of shooting & editing video. It's available at Amazon.com.

White Balance

2009-03-10T10:38:00.003-04:00

One topic on which I always see a lot of discussion is white balance. Here I'm going to try to give an overview of what white balance is and why it's important when shooting underwater video.

Generally speaking, the act of white balancing is meant to calibrate your video camera so that it captures color accurately. The theory is that if you can tell the camera which color it sees is actually white, then the electronics in the camera will adjust everything else in the scene to the proper color. We've all seen video that's not been properly white balanced. For instance, you're shooting your kids birthday party in the living room and follow the kids outside as they go to play with their new toys. Everything looks good when you're inside, but as you walk outside with the camera everything outside looks blue. This has to do with color temperature. Basically, sunlight has a high color temperature and incandescent (indoor) light has a low color temperature. To the eye, sunlight looks "cool" or "blue", while indoor light appears "warm" or "orange/red". In this case, the camera was set for indoor white balance, making the outdoor color too blue.

When shooting video underwater, the diver faces even tougher issues. As we all learned in our first scuba classes, water absorbs light. As we descend, more and more of the red end of the spectrum is absorbed by the water. This can really play tricks on your video camera, often resulting in extraordinarily blue footage. There are a number of techniques to help compensate for this color loss; using lights, using filters and white balancing are chief among them. I'm going to stick with white balance here ... lights and filters for another day.

To white balance your camera, if you have a camera and housing that gives you the option to do it manually, you will want to point your camera at a white object (preferably a clean white slate - like this one from Gates), zoom in so the white fills the majority of the screen, and activate the white balance control. If your video camera only has auto white balance, you can often set it by zooming in to the white object, turning the camera off, then turning it back on while still focused on the slate. It should read the white slate as white when it turns on. Other cameras with auto white balance will adjust if you hold steady for a few seconds on the white card. I strongly suggest looking for a camera/housing combination that allows for manual white balance control.

A few things to keep in mind:
1 - If you are going to be shooting at 100 feet, don't white balance at 15 feet and then go shoot. Remember, as you descend there is less and less red light available. Generally, I try to white balance with every ten feet of change in depth.
2 - White balance with your red filter in place. This usually results in the best image, although conditions can vary so much it's worth experimenting.
3 - What if you don't have a white slate available? There are usually a couple of options on any dive. You can zoom in to the sand and white balance. You can use the sun as white. You could even laminate a plain white sheet of paper, have your buddy stick it in her BCD pocket and use that.

As you continue to dive and shoot more underwater video you will need to experiment with different methods of white balancing that work best for your particular camera. Remember, this is part of the fun. Get out there and dive and enjoy your video camera!

Video of Octopus Feeding at Night

2009-03-09T09:03:00.004-04:00

I was just having a conversation with some friends at ZenDiving.com about how cool the octopus is so I thought I would post this video. I shot this in Roatan in 2007, and it's included in our DVD, "Diving Roatan: A Video Guide". I was shooting with our Sony Z1U and using Green Force Squid 50 watt HID lights.

New Promo Video for Sunset House in Grand Cayman

2009-03-08T08:44:00.007-04:00

This is a promo video Hi Def Pictures produced for the dive operation / resort Sunset House, located on Grand Cayman. I shot the majority of this footage, with some additional shooting by Jason Roney. Everything was shot with our Sony Z1U. I edited the piece using Final Cut Pro.

Packing Your Camera & Housing for a Dive Trip

2009-03-07T16:34:00.002-05:00

I've seen a lot of questions lately about how to pack the extras that come along with shooting underwater video. With the luggage restrictions we deal with these days, it's certainly a valid question. Now of course every diver is going to have his/her own way of doing things, but I thought it might be helpful if I share how I do it.

First, let's assume you're going on a one week land based dive vacation. What do you really need to take with you?
1 - clothes for the week (go light, you're never going to wear everything you take)
2 - dive gear
3 - video camera with batteries, charger, tapes and/or media cards
4 - video housing
5 - laptop

Hopefully I haven't overlooked anything here. Some will have more, some less. My goal when packing is to get down to two pieces of checked luggage and one carry one bag. You might need two, depending on your laptop.

In one large suitcase pack your dive gear and most of your clothes.
For the second case select a hard case (like Pelican or Storm Case) that's slightly larger than your housing. Cut it to fit your housing. In here you'll put the housing and the remainder of your clothes. It's a great idea to put your wetsuit in here.
Then you can pack your video camera, laptop, a bathing suit, toiletries & other essentials in the backpack.

A second option (if you're nervous about luggage being lost) would be to put the video camera inside the housing & carry that on. Be sure to remove the O ring! In this case you might be able to get down to one checked bag, but you'd surely need two carry on pieces. Some airlines will allow this, others are being a little picky about it.

The bottom line is just to pack everything carefully and be sure to weigh your bags before you leave your house. You don't want to be at the ticket counter shuffling things from one bag to another to shave a few pounds and avoid the over weight fees.

Consider that you are going to a diving resort/destination. If you should lose/damage/forget any piece of dive gear, chances are you can rent or buy where you're going. Clothes are also easy to replace. It's your video camera/housing/laptop that you really need to be careful with.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your next dive trip.

Take your time ... you'll thank yourself later

2009-02-27T09:54:00.002-05:00

A frequent mistake I see new underwater videographers making is that they aren't thinking about editing while they are shooting. I'll write more later about the connection between shooting and editing, but for now I'll just throw out a couple of tips for the shoot.

First, every shot i.e., every time you point your video camera at something and press the record button, needs to have a beginning and an end. As you raise the camera up and reach for the record button think to yourself, "why am I shooting this"? And always roll more tape than you think you need. A good rule of thumb is to hold the camera steady and roll tape on each shot for the count of 10. Literally, count to ten in your head. This will ensure you have enough of a clean, steady, nice shot to use when you go to the edit suite.

Second, don't chase the fish! There are several reasons for this. Of course, swimming after any marine life is going to stress them out and we don't want to do that. What's worse is the result for you as a videographer - all you get in your lens is a bunch of fish tails. This is not an interesting shot. The best way to appreciate fish and other marine wildlife is to sit still. Let the action come to you. For instance, when you see a reef shark come into your field of view don't swing around wildly with your camera to try to follow it with the camera. Set up a nice shot where the shark swims into the frame, maybe you follow it for a few seconds, then let it swim out of the frame. This is more dynamic and interesting to those who will be watching your scuba movies. It also gives you natural edit points that will make your editing smoother.

Use these two techniques and you will save yourself lots of headaches and time when you start editing your underwater dive videos.

Choosing a video camera and housing

2009-02-26T16:42:00.000-05:00

Probably the most frequently asked question I hear from divers who are new to underwater video is, "what camera and housing should I buy"? This is definitely a loaded question. There are so many options that it's nearly impossible to stay on top of them all. My standard answer is to begin by asking yourself about your budget. Forget about all the camera reviews, forum news and slick magazine ads. You really have to ask yourself how much money you're comfortable spending. Once you've decided on a figure, then you can go shopping. Look for name brands in your price range and you won't be disappointed. Look to Sony, Panasonic, JVC for cameras. Check out Ikelite, Lights & Motion, Gates, etc. for housings. Stay out of the black market, the grey market, internet specials, etc. Buy from reputable big name stores, buy reputable big name brands, and you will do fine. Yes, it's possible you could save a few bucks by looking for a special deal, but the headaches you're inviting far outweigh what you're going to save.

Diving the Spiegel Grove

2009-02-25T10:24:00.000-05:00

Here's a video I shot & edited of the USS Spiegel Grove in Key Largo, Florida. This clip is from the DVD Diving the Florida Keys: A Video Guide