In addition to improving my underwater photography skills, videography currently sits at the top of my creative goals list. Put a still camera in my hands, and I feel comfortable in most photography situations. In contrast, I pretty much have no idea what I’m doing as soon as I flip the video mode switch on my cameras. Sure, a few basics from photography spill over into videography like composition, exposure, and focus. I at least know to try and hold the camera as still as possible (a tricky feat underwater!) and when I can’t hold still, it’s best to use a stabilizer like a tripod. Frame rates, codecs, and audio bit depth, however, are all a mystery to me at this point. Video editing is also a whole other ball of wax. Whether I have the skills and knowledge or not, I do enjoy putting together videos of our travels as of late even if I feel like a total newbie.
An example of my noob-ness at videography: I didn’t realize I needed to film at the same frame rate when using multiple cameras for one project. How is one supposed to know that anyway? I noticed a couple of my clips looked a bit different than the rest, and after some time on Google I learned that nugget of info about different frame rates. So mistake-by-mistake, hopefully I will learn enough to get as comfortable with video as I am with still photography since that’s mainly how I taught myself to use an SLR – practice, reading, researching, and learning from my mistakes.
Here’s a little film I put together with clips from our Belize adventures.
Belize 2015 from Susan Marks on Vimeo.
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