DiveFilm HD Video: Recent Episodes
DiveFilm
High Definition videos of the underwater world for your computer, iPad, iPhone 4, and HDTV!
Showcasing some of the best high definition underwater short films being produced today from all over the world. Featuring beautiful images of the underwater world, marine life large and small, interviews with interesting people, and updates on underwater imaging. Produced in association with Wetpixel.com.
Gorgeous highlights of the upcoming 2017 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More info and tickets available at SDUFEX.com !
La Jolla Shores is a fascinating dive site off Southern California. Underwater filmmaker Roger Uzun brings us face to face with some of the critters he encountered on June 9, 2017.
Howard and Michele Hall bring us stunning footage of the rare Dugong. This video was captured in Busuanga Island, Philippines. Dugongs are increasingly rare and finding individuals that are approachable is even more rare. Dugongs are now protected in the Philippines and the Dugong Dive Center in Busuanga regularly takes people out for snorkeling or even scuba encounters. The video was made possible with support from the Dugong Dive Center, El Rio y Mar Resort, and the Philippines Department of Tourism. More info at HowardHall.com
Adorable Antarctica Weddell Seal Pups—Are some of those pups couch potatoes? Scientists want to learn more about this iconic Antarctic Marine Predator. More info at WeddellSealScience.com
Dustin Adamson's short film Stay With Us is an audience favorite and received the “2016 SDUFEX Best of Film Festival” award at the 2016 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition.
Select highlights from entries to the 2016 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More info at http://sdufex.com
What a fantastic time! Experience Little Cayman diving and step into a day-in-the-life of the Digital Shootout -the ultimate vacation for underwater photographers!www.thedigitalshootout.com © Cinematography by Joel Penner - Newmediasoup, LLCwww.newmediasoup.com
Eric Hanauer and Karen Straus bring us the lively colorful sights of Cuba underwater and above. More info on Eric and Karen at Ehanauer.com and Birdbrained.biz
Sometimes the best dives are in the diver’s own backyard. Here, that backyard is San Diego, California in this beautiful short film by Elke Specker. More info on Elke and her work at IN2FocusMedia.com
Montana State University Master's student Kaitlin Macdonald needs to raise funds to continue her study of Weddell seal pups in Antarctica. She is developing a way to weigh seals by taking photographs and using 3D modeling software to determine their weights. This is an easy non-invasive way to get weights on large numbers of Weddell seal moms and pups for her important study. Please help Kaitlin raise the funds she needs to do this! More information at http://tinyurl.com/WeddellFundraiser
Beautiful Ocean Giants! Whales, Mothers and Calves, Whale Sharks, Mantas and more! Gorgeous imagery by Jeffrey Honda of JeffreyHondaPhotography.com.
One of the areas of the world with the widest range of endemic biodiversity remains virtually unknown to many people. Known as Wallacea, it is located in the coral triangle, and includes a group of mainly Indonesian islands. It is home to many unique species both above and below the water. Much of this habitat and the oceans surrounding these areas is increasingly under threat of destruction. This film, which is a short version of “Life on Wallace’s Line”, highlights the biodiversity found in the oceans of Wallacea and the coral triangle, and the efforts of a few individuals to protect this fragile ecosystem and its inhabitants. More info at Spindriftimages.com
Incredibly cool mixture of underwater octopus footage, drawing art, and music make this one amazing award-winning short film. Underwater filming and editing by Dustin Adamson, topside drawing and filming by Nicholas Carro. An audience favorite at the 2015 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More info and videos by Dustin at OceanShutter.com and Facebook.com/oceanshutter
Bob Cranston's spectacular highlights of diving California and Baja California. Shot originally in 5K 3D using a Gates 3D EPIC/Dragon rig that he helped design. Color grading and editing by Mary Lynn Price, with additional footage by Johnny Friday.
Ron Lagerlof's gorgeous short film of sharks, whales, Komodo dragons and other amazing animals that inhabit our Good Planet.
Elke Specker's award winning homage to the beauty of the ocean's reefs and marine life, and the dangers facing their future. Narrated by Bryce. More info at in2focusmedia.com
Rusty Sanoian brings us the gorgeous emerald waters and brilliant colors of the marine life of Monterey, CA.
Gray Whale moms and calves delightfully interacting with people at Campo Cortez, San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California. Great GoPro footage by Johhny Friday, BajaEcoTours.com. Music by Harry Gregson-Williams; Editing by Alfredo Barroso.
Bizarre and beautiful nighttime pelagic creatures. Jeff Leicher takes us on One Night of astounding Pelagic Magic black water diving off the coast of Kona, Hawaii with Jack's Diving Locker.
Shark drama, a little octopus, and more! Leandro Blanco at his comedic best in his new underwater short film.
Sharks, Mantas, Mobulas, and more! Johnny Friday's Baja California like you've never seen it before! More info on Johnny at underwatercinema.com/johnny-friday/.
Sharks, Whales, Dolphins, Nudies, and more! Excerpts from entrants for the 2014 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition (SDUFEX). More info at SDUFEX.com.
Erick Higuera's stunning HD homage to living in harmony with whales, the largest creatures on our planet. More info on Erick and his award winning work at ErickHiguera.com
Gorgeous and strange--the secret world of sea slugs by Nannette Van Antwerp. More info on Nannette and her work at BlueViews.net
Award-winning film on how one group of Pacific Northwest divers dealt with a destructive ghost gill net damaging one of their most beautiful reefs. Great inspiration for other dive communities! Learn more at RendezvousDiving.com.
Squid Run! Life, Love, and Death in the Ocean, filmed by cinematographer Bob Cranston in his hometown waters. More info on Bob and his work at digital3DSea.com. Stereoscopic editing by Mary Lynn Price.
Johnny Friday Diving Silent with Hammerhead Sharks, Whale Sharks, and the giant Mantas of Socorro in Islas Revillagigedo, Mexico. Diving on a silent rebreather gets us up close and personal in this great short video of magnificent big animals. More info on Johnny and his work at BajaProductions.com.
What if you're different and you're a Weddell seal puppy in Antarctica? And what will this difference mean to the future of this southernmost mammal living in the most pristine marine environment on Earth? Featured in this video are interviews on location in Erebus Bay, Antarctica with Montana State University ecologists Jay Rotella, Bob Garrott, Thierry Chambert, and Jesse DeVoe on the B-009 Weddell population project. The video also showcases some truly spectacular underwater footage by Henry Kaiser, courtesy of the Project B-470 Weddell research team. Video editing and production by Mary Lynn Price.
This project video is made possible with funding and support from the National Science Foundation, and the assistance of the United States Antarctic Program. Produced in association with Montana State University. More information on the project, the seals, and the researchers at http://WeddellSealScience.com .
A short film by Shawn Heinrichs and Hannah Fraser, this is the story of a woman who has been deeply betrayed. Believing she will never trust another again, she sinks into depression, severing all connections with her world. Plunging deep into despair, she experiences an unexpected visit by humpback whale calf, a being whose species has suffered the greatest of betrayals.
Over 2 MILLION whales were killed by commercial whalers in the 20th Century, driving most great whale species to the brink of extinction. Finally in 1986, the Internataionl Whaling Commission (IWC) enacted a moratorium on commercial whaling, finally giving whales a reprieve from the mass slaughter, and offering these species a 12th hour chance at survival.
Despite their suffering in the hands of humankind, this whale does the unexpected and invites the woman into its special world. Together they dance and play, shedding their fears and distrust. Discovering she is not alone in her betrayal, the woman is finally able to let go and forgive. She rediscovers joy, hope and love as she experiences a profound connection with this soulful being.
As their time together draws to an close, the calf rejoins its mother and the woman must return to her world. Both the whales and the woman move on, vulnerable but ready to trust.
Will we betray them, again?
Used with permission, Terra Naomi's song I'll Be Waiting, from her album Live & Unplugged: bit.ly/HFummP
More about Shawn and his work at BlueSphereMedia.com
Excerpts from the 14th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition video entries. Editing by Pete Fowler. More info at SDUFEX.com.
Joel Penner's brilliant footage of life below Bonaire's fabled Salt Pier in the southern Caribbean Sea. Footage originated as 4K using a Canon 1DC. More info on the work of Joel and Jen Penner at NewMediaSoup.com.
From Great Hammerhead Sharks to Gentle Giant Mantas, Ron Lagerlof's stunning new short film shot on EPIC digital cinema cameras.
Jeff Honda's incredible fluorescent underwater video work--night critters like you've never seen them! Fluorescent videography makes use of a blue light source to excite fluorescence in subject matter, and a barrier filter to remove all but the fluorescent light. More on Jeff and his work at JeffreyHondaPhotography.com.
Magnificent macro by Chris Parsons shot primarily at Blue Heron Bridge in West Palm Beach, FL in 4K using a Canon EOS 1D C in a Nauticam NA-1DX housing. More info on Chris and his work at ChrisParsons.net.
Peter and Trevor Fulks take us night wreck diving with some great lighting technique. More info at PartialPressureProductions.com.
Whale shark researchers explore mysteries of the giants of the Galapagos in this excerpt from a new documentary by cinematographer Johnny Friday . Learn more about Johnny's work at BajaProductions.com.
Predator oddities portrayed by filmmakers John Boyle and Fionn Howieson in this award winning short film that took Silver at the 2013 Our World Underwater video competition co-sponsored by Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com. More info on the filmmakers at SharkBayFilms.com.
John Boyle's and Fionn Crow Howieson's award-winning film about a rare bond between Whale Sharks and fisherman of Indonesia's Cenderawasih Bay. This film took 1st Place at the 2013 Our World Underwater video competition co-sponsored by Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com. More info on the filmmakers at SharkBayFilms.com
Shawn Heinrichs' and Hannah Fraser's passionate new short film of beautiful dancer Hannah amidst graceful manta rays at night. As the finale of the Manta Ray of Hope Campaign, this video has been released in advance of the CITES meeting in early March, when delegates will vote on whether to protect mantas. A special thank you to Singer/Songwriter Terra Naomi for generously sharing her beautiful song, If I could Stay. Download at iTunes: goo.gl/MiBMJ More information on protecting mantas at BlueSphereMedia.com and MantaRayOfHope.com
Simon Spear's award-winning short film evokes the wonder and beauty of the ocean world, and challenges us to be good stewards of our planet. This video was one of the winning videos at the 2013 Our World Underwater Video Competition, co-sponsored by Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com. More info about Simon at ViewFromTheBlue.me.uk
Ron Lagerlof's magnificent manta footage shot in high frame rate with a RED EPIC digital cinema camera in a Gates DEEP EPIC housing.
Howard Hall's gorgeous underwater footage from Raja Ampat, Indonesia. More at HowardHall.com.
How an Antarctic marine predator fared in a massive iceberg event. Intro to long-running population study of the southernmost mammal on Earth. This short film screened at an event associated with the 2012 Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) gathering in Portland, OR. Edited by Mary Lynn Price, more info at WeddellSealScience.com.
Rick Morris short film with host Sylvia Earle on the hope for our beautiful ocean world. Film produced by Rick Morris, r.e.m films, 2012.
Eric Hanauer's answer to shark week! Official Selection of the 2012 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More info on Eric at ehanauer.com.
Sharks, Mantas, Manatees, and More! Excerpts from videos submitted to the 2012 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More info at SDUFEX.com
Berkley White's stunning underwater cave and cavern footage of the cenotes of Mexico shot with Canon 5DMIII and 5DMII DSLRs, topside shot with GoPro Hero HD. More info at Backscatter.com.
Eric Hanauer's great new film on the Manatees of Florida's Crystal River! More info on Eric and his work at ehanauer.com.
Jeff Honda's hauntingly beautiful fluorescent portrait of underwater life in the ocean. Shot with a Canon 7D, Aquatica Housing, and Nightsea Lights and Filters. Music by Lemongrass, Polar Nights from Hypnosis, used with permission, and available on iTunes. More info on Lemongrass at lemongrassmusic.de
Ashley Chapman breaks No Fins Freediving World Record with this incredible dive to 207 feet (63 m) at Performance Freediving's Deja Blue competition in Grand Cayman May 4, 2012. Video by Ren Chapman, more info at PerformanceFreediving.com.
Rusty Sanoian travels to Komodo, Indonesia for this amazing Canon 5D Mark II underwater footage. More info at Backscatter.com.
Macro master Mike Elliott's latest miniature masterpiece. More info on Mike Elliott and his work at MuckDiver.com.
Shawn Heinrichs' award-winning film about whale sharks and a unique friendship. This extraordinary SharkSavers.org film was one of the winners of the 2012 Our World Underwater video competition, sponsored by Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com.
Edward Snijders' award-winning short film inspired by the 1932 compilation 'With Williamson Beneath the Sea,' a film created by J.E. Williamson. Edward's film won 1st place in the 2012 Our World Underwater video competition sponsored by DivePhotoGuide.com and Wetpixel.com. More info on Edward and his work at submarines.nl
The Oceanic Whitetip Shark. Excerpts from new feature length film coming soon. Directed by Robert Cantrell and George Schellenger. More info at AllFinsOn.com
Simon Spear's basking sharks, dolphins, and seals from the waters off Scotland in this gorgeous short film. More info at ViewFromTheBlue.me.uk
Trolling Tarpon, shoaling scad, Nine Inch Nails. Video by Joel Penner. More info at newmediasoup.com.
Eric Hanauer's playful look at sea lion shenanigans. More info on Eric and his work at ehanauer.com.
Macro master Mike Elliott's squat lobster HD extravaganza! More info about Mike and his work at MuckDiver.com.
Eric Cheng's great imaging of shark diving in French Polynesia. Thank you to Plongeur.com and Wetpixel.com!
Nannette Van Antwerp's beautiful view of strange drifters of the open ocean off Hawaii and California. Official Selection of the 2011 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More info at blueviews.net.
Chuck Nicklin's fanciful portrait of oddities set to an unusual musical score by Cindy Lipthay. More info at ChuckNicklin.com.
Preview of 2011 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, Sept. 9th and 10th. More info at SDUFEX.com. Preview edited by Pete Fowler.
Jim Decker's rockin HD baitball fun in Bonaire with the Canon 7D. More info at backscatter.com.
Mike Elliott's weird mesmerizing world of tiny skeleton shrimp drama. More info at MuckDiver.com.
Berkley White's beautiful HD takes us swimming with wild dolphins and sharks as filmed with the Canon 5D MkII. More info on Berkley and Backscatter at Backscatter.com.
Magnificent Nassau grouper spawning aggregations in the Cayman Islands and the vital need to protect those remaining for the future of this apex predator. More info at Reef.org/GrouperMoonProject.
Documenting the unsustainable shark fin industry that affects one of the ocean's most magnificent animals, here is an excerpt from a new film by co-producers Steve Bowles, Richard Peirce and Simon Spear. More info at TheFinTrail.com.
Great action in this Day 3 highlight video from the 2011 Formula 3 Freediving Grand Prix in Grand Cayman. Great work all! More info at formula3freediving.com and performancefreediving.com. Directed/Edited by: Goh Iromoto. Filmed by Goh Iromoto, Matt Charlton, Ren Chapman.
Fantastic video highlights of freedive scooter racing in Grand Cayman. More info at formula3freediving.com and performancefreediving.com. Filmed by Goh Iromoto, Matt Charlton, Ren Chapman.
Day 1, Formula 3 Freediving Grand Prix in Grand Cayman. PFI and the F3F racers scooting off of Macabuca. Mandy-Rae takes top time. More info at formula3freediving.com and performancefreediving.com.
Western Australia underwater by Paul Wags in this stunning excerpt from his new DVD. Check it out at ExmouthNavyPier.com.
Cavern Scooter Diving Extreme! Rusty Sanoian's incredible underwater Florida cave and cavern video in jaw-dropping DSLR HD. More info on Rusty at rustysanoian.com.
Emma the tiger shark stars in this fantastic trailer for This is Your Ocean: Sharks directed by George Schellenger featuring artists Wyland, Guy Harvey, and shark ambassador Jim Abernethy. Narrated by Sylvia Earle. World premiere April 29 at Newport Beach Film Festival. More info at thisisyourocean.com.
Mike Boom's Monterey, California underwater magic! More info on Mike and his work at laughingeel.com.
Pilot whales, dolphins, and sharks! Eric Hanauer's vivid reminder that the best wildlife imaging comes to those who don't chase the critters! More info at ehanauer.com.
Award-winning short film by Josh Jensen depicting some of the major environmental and ecological threats to the Galapagos Islands. This UnderSea Productions film includes interviews with local experts from WildAid, Conservation International, and Sea Shepherd. More information on Josh and UnderSea Productions at underseaproductions.com.
Mating cuttlefish. Sublime seahorses. Wonderful award-winning film by Edward Snijders about a Dutch estuary in Zeeland and the amazing life beneath the waves. This film took silver in the conservation video competition at 2011 Our World Underwater hosted by Wetpixel.com and DivePhotoGuide.com. More info on Edward Snijders and his work at submarines.nl.
Humpback Whales give hope for our ocean's future in this award-winning short film by Simon Spear. Gold award winner in the Our World Underwater Conservation Video Competition hosted by Wetpixel.com and Divephotoguide.com. More info on filmmaker Simon Spear at Viewfromtheblue.me.uk.
Huge Eels of Larike! Tony Wu's great story of the amazing eels of Larike, Indonesia. More info on Tony and his work at tonywublog.com.
The color and rhythm of Fiji underwater by Pete Fowler. More info on Pete and his underwater imaging at uwvid.com.
Tiny. Strange. Vital. Plankton up close and personal by filmmaker Rick Morris. Rick shot the plankton in this short film during a science cruise in the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, as part of a twelve year long sampling study called the Seward Line.
Ambon's Weird Beauty! Tony Wu brings us Indonesia underwater magic, featuring music performed by Michael Puturuhu. More info at www.tonywublog.com.
Eric Hanauer takes us to Cuba for great diving, cars, and music! More info on Eric Hanauer's imaging and writings at ehanauer.com.
From birth on the Antarctic ice to life underwater, a rare look at the southernmost mammal on Earth. Video Production by Mary Lynn Price. Learn more at http://WeddellSealScience.org .
Bent Jørgensen takes us back to Greenland's Ikka Column Garden in the Ikka Fjord in this new trailer from Chilbal Film Productions. Underwater beneath the ice in the Ikka Fjord located in southwest Greenland can be found tall, fragile columns formed from carbonate minerals and the remarkable Ikait mineral. Recent increases in water temperature in this area threaten the very existence of these rare and wondrous underwater geological structures. To learn more about Chilbal Film Productions please visit the website at www.chilbal.dk
Graceful divers, magnificent animals, unforgettable pups! Working in Antarctica with a research team continuing one of the longest running population studies ever of a long-lived mammal, on the most remote continent on earth. Video production by Mary Lynn Price. More information on the Weddell seal population study at WeddellSealScience.org .
Don't it feel good to be a grouper! Joel Penner's short film shot with a Canon 5DMII. Music by the band Luce, used with permission. More info on Joel's work at newmediasoup.com
Sharks. Teeth. GoPro HD Cameras! Wild action by Eric Cheng of Wetpixel.com. Additional video by Sterling Zumbrunn and Jim Abernethy.
One of the wildest freediving videos ever! Kirk Krack and Erin Magee in an over the top chase scene on the wreck of the Vandenberg. Great soundtrack by Cake, used with permission. Video production by Searen Productions. Produced in association with Performance Freediving and Evolve Freediving. More info at PerformanceFreediving.com.
Colorful Ocean Predators of Indonesia. Roger Uzun's beautifully filmed look at tropical predators and their fascinating behavior.
Howard Hall. Cocos Island Submersible. Stunning RED One footage. Howard and Michele Hall explore Cocos Island by deep sea submersible for an unforgettable experience of this famed Pacific island off Costa Rica. More info on Howard Hall Productions at HowardHall.com
Ocean catfish yearning to be free. Mike Elliott's playful look at a sunken car full of daydreaming critters. More info on Mike at MuckDiver.com
Scooters. Wreck diving. 5D Mark II. The Backscatter folks take us scooter imaging with the Canon 5D Mark II in beautiful blue Caribbean water, and talk about how they got the shots. More info at Backscatter.com. Music by Luce. More info at LuceBand.com.
Danish seas. Spectacular marine life. Bent Jørgensen of Chilbal Film presents a glimpse of a new three part Danish television education series on the underwater world beneath the waters of Denmark. More info on Chilbal Film at chilbal.dk
Cave diving. Big Sharks. Australia. Jon Shaw's fastpaced visual tour of Fish Rock Cave, New South Wales, Australia. More info on Jon at ginclearfilm.com
Tony Wu's rare glimpse with Capt. Craig DeWit of extreme remote PNG diving. More info at tonywublog.com
Simon Spear on our deep connection to the ocean world. More info at viewfromtheblue.me.uk
Leandro Blanco's playful homage to Nat Geo's 1952 Book of Fishes, narrated by David Doubilet.
Rare sights from the sea to benefit ocean conservation! More info at SensationalSeas.com.
Renowned imager Tony Wu brings us Lembeh Strait, Indonesia at its beautiful best. More on Tony, his wonderful work and travel at tony-wu.com and tonywublog.com.
Stunning underwater imaging of our ocean world by photographer Joe Dovala. More on Joe at jcdovala.com.
Underwater HD filmed entirely on a compact camera diving in the Philippines by Huw Jenkins. More info on filmmaker Huw Jenkins at huwjenkins.com.
From Giant Pacific Octopus to brilliant blue glacial ice, the Inside Passage is a stunning visual water adventure. More info on filmmaker Mike Boom at LaughingEel.com.
Little fish with a surly attitude, Sarcastic Fringehead duke it out in this award winning short film by Walter Marti.
Freediving training in Kona, Hawaii with the fantastic folks of Performance Freediving International--blue water, spinner dolphins and great instruction!
Alaska's Inside Passage is the diving locale for Eric Hanauer's great short film, from an Alaska dive expedition on board the Nautilus Explorer. Camera by Eric Hanauer and Karen Straus, editing by Eric Hanauer. This was an audience favorite at this year's San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. More about Eric and his beautiful work at his website, ehanauer.com. More on Karen's fantastic birding images on her website, birdbrained.biz.
Champ Williams won two Emmys with this fantastic short film about a keyhole limpet's "secret weapon."
We recently had the opportunity to do some fantastic diving with Dive Damai from Komodo to Bali, Indonesia. This is a fun short video of some of the interesting underwater life we encountered on that expedition. Footage by Mary Lynn Price, Mike Elliott and Steve Perez.
More information on Dive Damai at Dive-Damai.com.
In this fantastic short video, underwater filmmaker Richard Brooks presents a glimpse of Palau's vibrant and beautiful underwater world. Micronesia has some of the world's most beautiful reefs and offers fantastic diving. Richard, underwater imager with Fish n' Fins in Palau, has the enviable opportunity to dive these waters and experience the marine life there on a regular basis.
You can see more of his work in the Photoshop section of the Fish n' Fins website:
http://fishnfins.com
Filmmaker Dr. Terry Maas's stunning striped marlin feeding frenzy short film, an award-winner shot entirely while freediving. Filmed off the coast of Baja California, this short film according to Terry "[a]nswers the questions about how these marlin use their bills to feed. This footage was taken in the Fall of 2008 while freediving." The original footage is available at: www. Oceanfootage.com .
Learn more about Terry Maas and his work at http://FreeDive.net.
Based in Germany, filmmaker Christian Fries takes us on an unusual visit to Lysekil, Sweden's Havets Hus (House of the Sea).
This wonderful short film was shot on the dSLR Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
To learn more about Christian Fies and his work with Below the Surface, please check out his website:
http://belowthesurface.de/
Filmmaker Rick Morris introduces us to the Census of Marine Life, a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. The world's first comprehensive Census of Marine Life - past, present, and future - will be released in 2010.
For more information on the census, please visit the Census of Marine Life at http://coml.org .
For more on filmmaker Rick Morris, please visit his website at http://eclipsetvproduction.com .
At the Bonaire Digital Shootout, Backscatter's Jim Decker and Russ Sanoian took the Canon EOS 5D Mark II underwater in an Aquatica housing to test out the DSLR's HD video capabilities.
And what incredible results!
This footage has no image manipulation, was converted to ProResHQ for editing in Final Cut Pro, and encoded to AppleTV HD specifications in Compressor. What you see is a 5Mbps 1280x720 H.264 encoding of the original 40Mbps 1920x1080 H.264 footage.
Editing and music by Jim Decker. Enjoy!
For more information, contact http://Backscatter.com
Filmmaker Mike Elliott, a master of macro, uses his art to bring us colorful Feather Duster and Christmas Tree Worms in ways we can't see with the human eye. These worms are a favorite of many underwater imagers because of their colors and their availability. Mike takes filming them to new levels!
You can see more of Mike Elliott's video work at http://MuckDiver.com.
Award-winning filmmaker Shawn Heinrichs takes us to the rich waters off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico where the grand masters of flash and slash, the Sailfish, gather and hunt collaboratively.
Simon Spear's award-winning celebration of our water planet home that we share with marine life great and small. This beautiful short film has won awards and accolades in film festivals all over the world. Among the achievements is the First Place Award in the Conservation Video category for the Our World Underwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition.
Simon discusses his film on his website www.viewfromtheblue.me.uk:
"70% of our planet's surface is covered by water, and yet we call our planet Earth. Seems strange eh? For centuries we have believed that our oceans were an endless resource and we have harvested their bounty to their maximum potential. However over the last decade in particular we have begun to realize that this is not the case and that our oceans are just as fragile and prone to destruction as any other habitat.
"Commercial fish stocks the world over are on the brink of collapse and at current rates will disappear by 2050 at the latest. Shark populations have been decimated as we continue to kill up to 100 million sharks a year. As a result many species are in imminent danger of extinction. Today we have only 5% remaining of our coral reefs that once carpeted most of our tropical seas. By 2050 it is believed that we will loose a further 95% of what little remains. We are in danger of turning our most incredible of natural wonders into a barren desert completely devoid of life.
"With all these words of doom it perhaps seems strange then that this film attempts to celebrate our water planet by sharing some of the wonders that I have seen during the past 12 months or so. I truly hope that I can convey at least a small part of the wonder and amazement that I often feel while under the surface of our water planet. I have very little hope that it will be possible to save our oceans in their current state, but we must try with all our resolve, because if we loose this amazing resource, we may find that our species may also be on a very short path to extinction."
Danish filmmaker Bent Jørgensen of Chilbal Filmproduktion shares an incredible Greenland fjord ice diving short film on "The Ikka Column Garden" in Greenland's Ikka Fjord. Camera by Bent Jørgensen, editing by Pernille Semler, music by Rasmus Lyberth, Tusaasara.
Underwater beneath the ice in the Ikka Fjord located in southwest Greenland can be found tall, fragile columns formed from carbonate minerals and the remarkable Ikait mineral. Recent increases in water temperature in this area threaten the very existence of these rare and wondrous underwater geological structures.
To learn more about Chilbal Film Productions please visit the website at www.chilbal.dk
Edward Snijders of Amsterdam, Netherlands presents two short films, one a fast-paced creative look at underwater images, and the second film a short preview of his award winning beauty, "Eau de Bretagne." This film garnered the prestigious Jury Award at the Antibes, France Festival Mondial de L'Image Sous-Marine. Original musical score by Roy Bemelmans.
Edward is a founding organizer and moving force of the North Sea Film Festival for Underwater Movies, and is a tireless proponent of creative underwater short film appreciation. Please see more of his work on his website: www.submarines.nl
Dr. Stacy Kim is a Benthic Ecologist and diver who studies sea floor creatures in Antarctica waters that are below freezing. Her research team has developed a cool new ROV named SCINI (Submersible Capable of Under Ice Navigation and Imaging) for deployment beneath the ice to study depths below where divers can go. In this video, Stacy tells about diving the extreme cold water beneath Antarctic ice, and how SCINI makes possible even greater capabilities to explore and record the sea floor life in polar regions. Video includes wonderful underwater footage by Henry Kaiser of Stacy with SCINI diving beneath the Ross Sea ice near the Antarctic Base, McMurdo Station.
In this award-winning film by Champ Williams we meet voracious creatures with a taste for sea pens. Extraordinary time lapse imagery and exquisite lighting helped earn this film the Demitri Rebikoff Prize for Technical Excellence at the World Festival of Underwater Images in Antibes, France. Winner of awards and accolades all over the world, this film has been an audience favorite everywhere it has been screened. We hope you enjoy this podcast!
To learn more about Champ Williams and his work, please visit his website, www.ChampWilliams.com.
Originally from Arkansas, Champ followed his passion for cinematography to Southern California where he soon found his second love, the ocean. He honed his skills in the motion picture & undersea programs of Brooks Institute of Photo-graphy where he graduated in 2006. Champ also concurrently attended the marine biology program of California State University, Northridge. As an instructor, scientific, technical, & professional rescue diver, Champ's diving background is diverse; that diversity includes the use of closed circuit rebreathers and service on the Ventura County Sheriff's Underwater Search & Rescue Team.
In 2007, Champ founded Nereus Entertainment LLC, located in Ventura, CA, to develop an alternative source for underwater cinema lighting. Recently receiving his tenth international award, Champ continues to progress his passion for cinema-tography and his love for the sea with unwavering enthusiasm. Champ Williams: for the capture of breathtaking underwater images for clients of all sizes.
Award-winning filmmaker Leandro Blanco does it again with this hauntingly beautiful masterpiece about the world of life under the sea, and the world above it that holds the power to understand and steward--or neglect and destroy.
To learn more about Leandro and his filmmaking, please visit the Filmmakers Page at DiveFilm.com.
Underwater filmmakers Christian & Diana Fries take us on an ethereal night dive at a collection of reefs in the Egyptian Red Sea known as Abu Dabab.
"Abu Dabab at Night" was an Official Selection at the 2008 San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition.
For more information on Christian & Diana, and to see more of their work, please visit their website: BelowTheSurface.de
Underwater filmmaker Mike Elliott takes us into the weird world of some of the tiniest visible crustaceans, the skeleton shrimp. Featuring some truly amazing footage of these minute critters as they go about their daily lives, meeting, greeting, fighting off larger critters, mating and caring for their even tinier young.
Filmmaker Mike Elliott and his wife, underwater photographer Jody Elliott, are based in Monterey, California. Their diving takes them all over the world, and also right in their own waters off the coast of Northern California.
Please visit Mike's website: http://muckdiver.com
A mother humpback whale rests below while her calf ascends to the surface and explores the wonders of this strange new world. She offers her calf encouragement and assurance, but also warns of dangers to come. She recounts how commercial whaling all but wiped out their species and how even now, over 20 years since the ban on commercial whaling, the killing continues. Will her calf be next?
Though commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986, over 25,000 whales have been commercially hunted since then. This is an incredibly controversial subject and one which often stalls in political, racial and cultural debates. Whale Wisdom transcends these debates and offers a fresh take on the issue, a mother whales perspective. The political and cultural disagreements are not her concern. Her only worry is that her child and their species have a future in the Oceans.
To learn more about this film and other works by award-winning filmmaker Shawn Heinrichs, please visit his website: BlueSphereMedia.com
Irish filmmaker, songwriter and artist Vincent Hyland has created this beautiful short film as a celebration of the sea life, the dolphins, birds and other creatures, found off the South West coast of Ireland. He calls this first of ten shorts films in the planned series, "In Search of Plenty."
With poetry, musical score, filming and editing all by Vincent Hyland, this is a wonderful musical infusion of ocean life.
For more information on the work of Vincent Hyland, please visit his website: www.VincentHyland.com
Underwater filmmaker Simon Spear presents a compelling portrait of the dire plight of Porbeagle Sharks off the coast of Great Britain in this award winning short film from the 2008 OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition. Featuring rare underwater footage of Porbeagle sharks, "this film documents a ground breaking expedition off of the coast of Cornwall, UK to satellite tag this amazing shark for the first time in the NE Atlantic. In addition to achieving all of the scientific objectives, we also obtained the first ever comprehensive and good quality footage of free swimming Porbeagles."
Simon further points out on his website, ViewFromTheBlue.me.uk, that Porbeagle Sharks are close relatives of the Great White Shark. And like so many shark species worldwide, commercial fishing has devastated Porbeagle populations, which are particularly vulnerable to overfishing due to their behavior of aggregating in large numbers in coastal waters.
For more information on Simon Spear and his work, and to learn more about the plight of Porbeagle Sharks, please visit Simon's website: ViewFromTheBlue.me.uk
For more information on the OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition, please visit the website: UnderwaterCompetition.com.
Filmmaker Shawn Heinrichs's award-winning film evokes the thrill and energy of the South African "Sardine Run" in this awarding winning video entry from the 2008 OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition.
"For years I had dreamed about returning to South Africa to experience the Sardine Run. I was born in Durban, South Africa and spent the first six years of my life there before moving to the United States. I have only faint childhood memories of the Sardine Run. It was a time of year when the sky over the beach filled with birds, dolphins broke the surface in the hundreds, when we stayed out of the water for fear of sharks, and when fishermen on the shore hauled in huge nets bursting with glistening silver fish.
"Now a seasoned diver and underwater film-maker, I returned to the Sardine Run to relive that excitement, but this time anxious to join the sharks underwater and experience the full energy of the Run. With me were my close buddies Justin Ebert, Mattias Fornander and Nick Jackson. Our leader Drew Wong and boat captain Pkee would do all they could to get us as close as "safely" possible to the action."
To read more about Shawn's Sardine Run experience, please visit his website: BlueSphereMedia.com.
For more information on the OurWorldUnderwater/Wetpixel/DivePhotoGuide Competition, please visit the website: UnderwaterCompetition.com.
Creative underwater filmmaker, Gyula (Jules) Somogyi garnered the Silver Medal at the Our World Underwater/DivePhotoGuide/Wetpixel competition this year with this stunning short film. Gyula says of the genesis of this film:
"The original version of "The Vision of the Oraculum" was shot and edited during the 2007 SanDisk RedSea shoot-out in Eilat. The idea of making a short film with a complex story had two origins: I had already dived in Eilat in 2006 and was impressed by the beauty of the famous Moses-rock. I started looking into how this reef got its name. The very unique shape of the reef was the answer, because when Moses struck the rock with his rod, the rock divided into ttwo parts. So now I had an explanation, only the story was missing. Then into the picture came a very well know commercial, the 1984 ad directed by Ridley Scott. The amazingly complex story in 56 seconds served as my indirect assistant, its structure and storyboard helped me to design and sketch my storyboard. What is the common ground? The biblical Moses story is very well known--as well as the novel of George Orwell, 1984. Both stories became part of our common cultural knowledge.
"I arrived at Eilat with a shot-list, and asked underwater photographer Sharon Rainis to be my Oraculum and underwater photographer Amir Stern to be Moses in my film. Their patience and readiness to help gave me the chance to make this film. The first cut was finished within 8 hours in my hotel room in Eilat. After the competition I got some very valuable advice from Christian Petron, who was the head of the jury at the SanDisk RedSea shoot-out. The first cut was also extensively discussed in the Hungarian on-line diving community at the forums of the Divecenter.hu. Then I let the film rest for a couple of weeks.
"Around Christmas I asked my friend, Arthur Grosz, a young Hungarian composer, to create a new soundtrack for this story. Based on the old film's sequences but utilizing the re-defined structure and storyboard, Arthur composed the new soundtrack and I finished the new edit just before the deadline of the Our World Underwater 2008 Competition. In conclusion, after spending about two months to create this little film, I am very pleased that it was awarded the Silver medal at his competition and has reached you, dear viewer, via the DiveFilm HD Video podcast. Enjoy!"
For more information on Gyula's underwater films, and his new DVD release, "Ships of Darkness," please visit his website: http://helioxfilm.hu For more information on Wetpixel, please visit Wetpixel.com For more information on DivePhotoGuide, please visit DivePhotoGuide.com
This video earned 1st Place, underwater video category in the 3rd Annual International Underwater Photography & Video Competition, organized by DivePhotoGuide.com and Wetpixel.com in association with Our World Underwater.
Mike Boom says of "Komodo Beneath the Waves":
In the summer of 2007, my wife and I went to Indonesia for a couple of weeks of diving from the Seven Seas live-aboard dive boat in Komodo National Park. We were very lucky to be there with Howard and Michele Hall, who were scouting locations with Peter Kragh for the Halls' upcoming 3D IMAX movie, a sequel to their very successful Deep Sea 3D. It's always a thorough education to watch Howard shoot, and the Halls are a lot of fun to hang out with.
Komodo surprised us completely: it wasn't the dripping green rain-forested islands crawling with Komodo dragons that I had in my mind's eye, but dry islands that remind me a lot of the Channel Islands off southern California. (Although there were Komodo dragons crawling around.) The sea life was amazing: Lynn and I were completely overwhelmed with the sheer number and variety of fish, the rich invertebrate life, and the overwhelming beauty of the coral. This video is an attempt to shoehorn at least some of that into a three-minute video.
For more information on Mike and his wonderful video work, please visit his website, LaughingEel.com For more information on DivePhotoGuide, please visit DivePhotoGuide.com For more information on Wetpixel, please visit Wetpixel.com
DiveFilmHD Video is back with many great new episodes to come! As we prepare new releases, we hope you enjoy this topside Day of the Whales.
In this thought provoking short film, Rick Morris explores issues facing our oceans through interviews with renowned underwater imagers, Howard and Michele Hall, and dive innovator and author, Bret Gilliam.
Through his Eclipse Television Production, Rick Morris produces environmental documentaries focussing on preservation and restoration of our world and its inhabitants. To learn more, please check out Rick's website, www.eclipsetvproduction.com .
Long known for his big animal cinematography, underwater imaging pioneer Chuck Nicklin explores the colorful and fascinating world of the Indo-Pacific's tiny shrimp species. Many shrimp are commensal with other sea creatures, meaning that they derive food or benefit from other species without harm or benefit to those other creatures. Some shrimp species have symbiotic relationships with other sea creatures where both species derive a benefit from the interaction.
Chuck Nicklin is one of the pioneers of underwater cinematography. His credits include "The Deep," "The Abyss," and a couple of James Bond classics, in addition to work on a vast array of nature-related feature presentations for television and cinema spanning nearly five decades. He was among the first underwater cinematographers to film whales, including the first to film a singing Humpback Whale. Now eighty years young, Chuck continues to lead dive trips all over the world, produce his own short videos, and inspire and mentor a whole new generation of underwater imagers.
To learn more about Chuck, his work, travels and history, please visit his website: ChuckNicklin.com
An audience favorite at the recent 8th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, "Green Water, White Mirth" is a delightful look at the mischievous antics of juvenile Harbor Seals on one of Mike Boom's dives in the colder waters of the Monterey Bay along the Northern California Pacific Coast.
"I shot this video on a single dive in April of 2006 in Monterey Bay with friends from my dive club. We were in sight of the Monterey Bay Aquarium when we dropped in. We had 3 or 4 juvenile harbor seals who checked us out for the first half of the dive, then decided to come in and have their way with us during the second half. It was hard to shoot much video because 1) the seals kept me too busy (one tucked his head under my arm asking to be scratched) and 2) I was laughing too hard."
Mike is an underwater filmmaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. His short films have delighted audiences at numerous underwater film festivals and gatherings around the United States. To learn more about Mike and his high definition underwater video work, please visit his website, www.LaughingEel.com.
In this wonderful short film by Eric Hanauer, we experience life from the viewpoint of Eric's video camera, and what an experience it is! From the bumps and jostling of the rinse bucket to the wide variety of wildlife encountered underwater, Eric's video camera is our host for this delightful look at the trials and tribulations of a camera underwater.
Eric Hanauer is a renowned underwater imager and author based in San Diego, California. To learn more about Eric and view some of his spectacular images, please visit his website: www.ehanauer.com.
Nature videographer, Vidar Vedaa of Norway, makes a foray underwater in this short film, and the result is an elegant visual ensemble of Hellesoy, Norway's west coast shore life. Hellesoy is located outside Bergen on the west coast of Norway. The seas are usually very heavy in this area, according to Vidar, but he was fortunate to be filming on a day when the seas were calmer, free-diving one to three meters to obtain the images he brings together so beautifully in this wonderful short film.
To learn more about Vidar Vedaa and see more of his work, please check out his website:
http://web.mac.com/vidarjohannesvedaa
J.D. Duff takes us to the beautiful waters of Micronesia in the Pacific. Micronesia is a large oceanic region that includes numerous small island countries and territories, including Chuuk (formerly known as Truk), Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei, the Marshall Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, and Wake Island. Divers are particularly drawn to Chuuk, Palau and Yap for their beautiful water, diverse marine life, and sunken wrecks (many from World War II).
Underwater filmmaker J.D. Duff is based in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. To learn more about J.D., or to contact him, please visit the Filmmakers Page at DiveFilm.com. We hope you enjoy this high definition visit to the waters of Micronesia!
Howard and Michele Hall are among the top underwater imagers in the world today. As Howard Hall Productions, they have produced numerous award-winning feature underwater films, series and television specials. They specialize in marine wildlife films, and have worked in IMAX, IMAX 3D, 35 mm, high definition video, and many other formats. Howard has received six cinematography Emmys for films produced for television. Michele has received one Emmy award. Howard holds a degree in zoology from San Diego State University. His interest in marine wildlife has led him to author numerous articles about marine life. He is a "Roving Editor" for International Wildlife Magazine and a Contributing Editor for Ocean Realm Magazine and Fathoms Magazine. Michele’s underwater photographs have been published in numerous books and magazines around the world.
Within the underwater imaging community, Howard and Michele are inspirations to countless underwater filmmakers, and actively go out of their way to support the diving community. They have mentored and encouraged so many underwater imagers. And their contribution to ocean conservation and raising awareness about issues facing the ocean world is truly invaluable.
For more information about their work and current projects, please visit their website, http://HowardHall.com. We are honored to present "Ocean Requiem" as DiveFilm High Definition Podcast Episode 6.
Cage diving with the Great White Sharks of Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja Mexico is an all-time favorite with underwater imagers from all over the world. Mary Lynn Price and Chuck Nicklin present some of their high definition footage of these magnificent apex predators in this short music video. Stan Waterman joins them on this memorable adventure with the Guadalupe Greats.
Featuring some of the best high definition underwater images being produced today by Paul and Kelly Wags of Exmouth, Australia. Ningaloo Reef is the location for this video, and includes some of their footage of turtles, nudibranchs, whale sharks, mantas and reef fishes of many varieties.
We know you'll enjoy this taste of Ningaloo--naturally! For more information on Paul and Kelly Wags, and their HD underwater images and filmmaking, please visit their website, www.hdvunderwater.com.
Both Cocos and Mapelo Islands in the Eastern Pacific Ocean are home to an abundance of marine animals, including numerous species of sharks, rays, dolphins and whales. Cocos Island is some 300 miles southwest of Costa Rica, and has been designated a Marine Park and World Heritage Site by Costa Rica. Malpelo Island is a little over 300 miles off the coast of Colombia and is designated as a Colombian Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, and marine protected area. The waters off both islands are considered by divers to be among the most exciting areas in the world for big animal sightings. The immense schools of Hammerhead Sharks that gather in these waters leave divers awestruck. The biodiversity is rich and vulnerable.
Join Shawn Heinrichs as he takes us there to experience the magnificence of these animals and many other marine animals that abide in the rich waters surrounding the islands of Cocos and Malpelo. Shawn Heinrichs is a conservation filmmaker based in Longmont, Colorado, USA. To learn more about Shawn and his work, please visit his website, BlueSphereMedia.com.
Renowned underwater cinematographer and pioneer, Chuck Nicklin, has long been known for his "big animal" work filming all kinds of whales and sharks. Recently, however, he's dived into making high definition videos of the strange, small inhabitants of Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. This video was a judges and audience favorite at the most recent San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition.
To learn more about Chuck, his work and his dive travel, please visit his website, www.ChuckNicklin.com.
Underwater imager and writer, Eric Hanauer and nature imager and writer, Karen Straus dive with a mother Humpback Whale, her calf, and a male escort, off Roca Partida, a rocky island about 250 miles off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja del Sur, Mexico. This is some of the most fantastic Humpback footage you'll ever see! Narrated by both Eric and Karen, who both also shot the HDV footage, as well as the accompanying still photographs, this film was one of the judges' and audience's favorites at the most recent San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. Beautifully edited by Eric.
To learn more about Eric and see more of his work, please visit his website, EHanauer.com. Karen is a skilled bird photographer as well as an underwater imager of many years. You can see more of her work at her new website, BirdBrained.biz.
DiveFilm Podcast Video is proud to announce that this film is the first one to be released as one of DiveFilm's new High Definition Video Podcasts and Web Videos. To learn more, visit DiveFilmHD.com.