JohnKendall(Offline)

Hi All,

Has anyone got any tips for shooting video in caves? I'm off to france on thursday for a few days of cave diving (WooHoo!!!!) and am taking my Video rig. I've got twin 24w HIDs which I can either mount on the camera, or on buddies.

Thanks

John

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Bob Cooper(Offline)

John

I have been involved in shooting some cave video in Mexico and in France. Although I have spent most of my time in front of the camera and only some of the time behind the camera, I can tell you that it is quite difficult. Caves devour light, even 2x24W HID lights and you need to be really careful with the lighting. We seem to have been most successful when the shots are "staged" i.e. you plan exactly what you are going to shoot in advance and the divers act as "models" for the video. You can't just do a cave dive and video it at the same time, you will end up shooting somebody's ass!

Best way is just to try some "staged" shots and see how they come out. But remember that everything needs to be planned in advance for best results.

Looking forward to a few days of good diving this week. I didn't know you were bringing a camera. We'll have to all sharpen up our skills!

See you tomorrow.

Bob

JohnKendall(Offline)

Yeah, That was the kind of thing I was thinking. Probably a fair amount of Camera off the line, divers following the line type stuff. Maybe a bit of "camera in the cave" then "divers entering the cave" type stuff. Possibly even camera above and divers swim below, and Camera low and divers swim over type shots.

I'm hoping we can get some decent video this week, really looking forward to it now (and Rick and I are borrowing some 18s from AK too)

J

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QBU(Offline)

John,

I don't shoot in caves (not a cave diver), but some of the best "diver" video is staged, or at the very least explained to the divers on the team ahead of time. Entering a scene first or leaving it last. Depending on the environment it means a safety diver who knows videography and how to stay out of the line of fire as well as a boat captain with patience. Shooting divers starting their ascent and deco, means starting yours first. Use that sort of thought process when planning things out and it should help. Then again it may be totally different in a cave environment.

Have a great time on your trip!

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esperanza(Offline)

hi john,

our experience with video work in caves is that there is no such thing as too much light, so it's best you get as much light as possible for shooting. twin 24s on the camera will surely be fine, as long as you've also got video reflectors. normal reflectors, even with the beam turned wide, tend to burn through the picture. in the ojamo mine video clip teppo sent, we had one 24W on the camera, one 18W w/ a normal reflector and 21W w/ a video reflector on the model and i had another 21W for additional lighting. even with this , much of the video is dark, so more light is needed.

as for what bob and qbu said about planning ahead when shooting video, it's a must. without planning filming sequences, placement of camera, lights and models, the chances are slim you'll get decent footage. it would be best if you know the area in advance, that way you can plan the placements and what you want to capture. where possible, it may be a good idea to let the divers do the swimming and have the camera man stay in place, panning and following the divers. as bob said, there are so many butt cam (ie. diver filmed from behind) cave clips available that all other filming angles are a welcome change =)

one more tip is to see to that the divers being filmed are aware of their light beams. when being filmed, the light beams should always be turned away from the camera in order not to burn the picture. a good idea is to turn the lights so that the light up the background, the bottom or whatever lies behind the divers. that way, the perspective works better in the clip.

- e

aki(Offline)

There was an article, with some tips, in the newest Quest about shooting videos in caves.

--
Aki

Rick(Offline)

Eh??

I thought this trip was supposed to be fun??

So to conclude guys...you need a bashfull seriously handsome model who's skills are sh*t hot to go for an oscar??

Shouldn't be a problem!

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JohnKendall(Offline)

Ahh, I knew there'd be an issue

So you sorted getting the dustbins from AK? Getting excited now

J

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Rick(Offline)

You know what they say mate.....If you can't carry it, don't dive it!!

Off to collect them today about 1800hrs, will see you shortly afterwards!

By the way, I was completely calm until Bob, then you called and after speaking to AK....Now I'm a wreck!!

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JohnKendall(Offline)

And we've got a 10hr drive tomorrow to get really excited during

Right, I'm off to get some tins filled

J

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