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Before the dive, put the housing in the dunk tank or other safe place out of the way of traffic. If you're on a boat, let the crew know where the housing is, and that they should hand it to you after you're safely in the water. Make your very first dive with an empty housing. Just getting used to the housing in your hands while diving is important. Remember what's going on around you. Many divers get so caught up in the videotaping that they forget to dive safely, miss a lot of the dive, go crashing into things (and other divers), or ignore their dive buddy. Take it slow and easy, establish good buoyancy, and relax. You'll probably use more air while videotaping, so be especially aware of your air consumption. Remember, the camera is only a small part of what's important while diving. While still on the surface, remove the color filter and swish out the bubbles that collect on the port and the filter. If you will be videotaping within the first 10 feet or so of the surface, leave the filter off. Put it back on when you go below 10 feet. Check again for bubbles. A few bubbles on the filter can ruin otherwise good video. If somebody is shining a light on your subject, it's probably best to remove the filter. Otherwise the light will show up very red. This is especially true in caves and other low-light situations. Holding the housing with both hands, while looking through the viewfinder works fine on land, but underwater it's usually not the best way to hold the housing. Try not to use the viewfinder more than you really have to. The wide angle lens takes in a wide viewing area, so it's usually not necessary to know exactly where the camera is pointed, unless you're doing a close-up or have zoomed in very tight on a subject. With practice, and review of your video, you'll get a pretty good feel for what's properly framed by the camera without having to look through the viewfinder all of the time. Check the viewfinder periodically to ensure the battery, camera, and tape status.
For the best color and resolution, get your camera close to the subject. Subjects 2-6 feet away from the camera usually result in the best videos-particularly fish or other small moving subjects. Zoom with your fins, not the camera, whenever possible or safe. Move slow and smooth through the water while taping. Big fin kicks and other unnecessary movements will make your video rock and roll-not good in this case. Waving arms and legs will scare away your subjects. A good videographer will often be allowed to get closer to the fish because unlike many other divers, the videographer is not flailing around and scaring away the fish. Proper buoyancy is very important, especially when taping a stationary subject. Try not to grab on to anything living in order to maintain your position in the water. If there's surge, try taping fish that are moving in the surge with you, but watch out for stationary objects. Sometimes a fish allows you to get within 3-5 feet while taping and then starts to swim away. Don't chase the fish-follow it. A fish's instinct is to run when being pursued. Go very slowly and sometimes you'll get an excellent tour of the area with a fish as a tour guide! Snappers, Butterfly fish, and Angelfish are especially good at this. If a fish won't let you get close enough to tape it, try staying in one place. Sometimes the fish will come back to you and then you can tape it. Eels and Snappers are particularly curious about their reflection in the port, and they'll sometimes get within a few inches of the port for some great video! It's not necessary to follow every movement of a swimming fish. Move the camera in small smooth amounts that will keep the fish somewhere in the frame. When you watch the video, it will look much better than lots of jerky movements trying to follow a fish around a small area. Including a diver in some scenes adds interest to the shot, and sometimes a needed size reference. A big grouper looks about the same as a small one with no size reference, but a diver in the background can really make a difference. Taping another diver while swimming parallel to them can be a good shot, especially if the background is interesting. Other good diver shots are; entering/leaving a cave or lava tube, swimming towards the camera and continuing right by it either slightly below, or above the camera, ascending/descending the anchor line, looking at something (be sure to include a shot of what they're looking at), or looking up at a diver as they enter the water (can be a dramatic beginning for a diving video). because you never know what great video subjects you may encounter!
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You will soon find that
having a videotape of your dives adds a whole new
level of enjoyment to scuba diving. Your videos can
be mere records of what you saw underwater, a means
of sharing the fascinating underwater world with
your friends, or help tell the story of your dive
trip. Regardless, you'll want to make the best
videos you can while underwater, and we would like
to share some basic tips with you to help make the
process easier, and possibly reduce your underwater
video "mistakes."
Some professional videographers
hold the housing at arms length directly below
them, and pointed forward, when moving
horizontally. This is particularly useful when
taping something on the reef, or on a sandy bottom.
This allows you to keep a safe distance away from
reef organisms, and/or minimize stirring up
silt.