Red Sea Adventure - Underwater Wildlife Filming

An exciting week-long trip including six days diving and filming the stunning wildlife underwater in the clear warm waters of the Red Sea, designed for both advanced users and enthusiastic beginners. Award winning cameraman Jeff Goodman will take you through the practical side of good camera techniques, story creation, sequence structure, editing, script and much more. The workshop also shows you how to look for wildlife behaviour and locations suitable for filming.

Having first of all assessed the standard of each participant be it beginner or more advanced, Jeff talks in some depth on how to get the best out of your camera. During the following days, Jeff shows you how to film marine life in terms of technical quality as well as understanding how to get the most from a reef or wreck in terms of animal behavior.

Our base will be Dive Village Shagra in Marsa Alam, Egypt. The bay has superb house reefs that are home to many species of fish, sharks, turtles and an excellent variety of hard corals. These bays are shallow, approx. 10m in depth, and slowly dropping as they reach the outside walls, which are 40-50m in depth.

Accommodation will be in comfortable water-side tents (twin or single). The tents are supplied with electricity. The toilet and shower block is only a short walk away.

Diving equipment can be rented at the site or you may of course bring your own. You must however bring your own camera and underwater housing (or rent and bring with you - they are not available on site - suggestions below). You will also need to bring a laptop with editing software (whether this be free software such as iMovie or MovieMaker or more sophisticated such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro).

You must be certified to PADI Open Water or equivalent. (For those who need an update the first diving day can be spent taking a Scuba Review course for an extra £35). If you wish to bring a non-diving partner to chill on the beach (and there are various excursions available) this can easily be arranged.

Itinerary

14 April 2010: Fly to Marsa Alam Airport (if flying from London Gatwick the recommended flight is depart Gatwick 0920 - arrive Marsa Alam Intl 1655. From the airport the journey to the village takes approximately 30 minutes in an air conditioned minibus.

Each day breakfast is served from approx 7am until 9.30am, Lunch from 12pm until 2pm, and dinner 7.30pm until 9.30pm, afternoon cake is served between 4pm & 5pm.

During the workshop days, topics to be covered are:

Filming - a discussion and practical session about cameras and how to set them up for the optimum results when filming. The dos and don’ts of good camera techniques. Good basic camera set-up; Auto/Manual-Focus, Auto/Manual exposure – iris – shutter speed – gain, White balance, Sound.

Basic filming techniques - Steady shots, Framing – especially with 16:9 – top and tail – anticipation of subject movement, Zoom, Pan and tilt, Duration of shot, Continuity of lighting – which effects contrast/colour/depth of field etc, Pull focus – follow focus, Time lapse, Slow motion.

Planning and research - Learning how to avoid having to process, and finally edit great quantities of poor quality video in terms of time, cost, and morale. Considering different audiences for your work. Basic sequence structure – W/A – M/S – C/U – Ex/C/U. Story board – Planning if possible – plan while filming –think of how this is all going to fit together. Control how much you shoot – cost in time and resources. Discuss who the audience might be and what their expectations are.

Editing - Transferring shot material to edit system. Film logging and organization. Story boards – planning – script- film outline. Rough assembly of footage. Good sequence structure. Cutting techniques. Simple transitions and effects. Fine cutting. Sound planning and addition. Working with sync sound. Narration – music – titles.

21 April 2010: Return flight from Marsa Alam Airport (flight to Gatwick departs 1655 arrives 2155).

Tutor

Jeff Goodman is an award winning cameraman based in Cornwall and working globally, with over 30 years experience in Wildlife and Underwater Camera work, Jeff’s credits include working for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, Discovery USA and Discovery Europe amongst many others.

Jeff started his career in the late seventies when underwater filming for television was still in its infancy and equipment was home-made in true “Blue Peter” fashion including the cut up rubber gloves and sticky backed plastic! During a long career which has taken Jeff to some of the most remote and un-spoilt landscapes and marine environments in the world he saw for himself the damage to the environment, especially in the marine world. Conservation began to play an important part in Jeff's life and it is that element that inspires him to show people how wonderful, unique and delicate the underwater ecosystem is through the eyes of the lens.

Booking Information

Visas: Required. Your Egyptian entrance visa can be purchased in the airport on arrival. Cost approx UK£12.

Immunisations: Check with your health clinic and Fit for Travel or MASTA.
Usually advised to be in date for; diphtheria; tetanus; poliomyelitis; hepatitis A; typhoid.

Climate: Expect an air temperature of 22° and a sea temperature of 20°.

Insurance: It is essential you take out comprehensive travel insurance. Whichever insurance you choose please ensure it provides adequate cover for both you personally and also for any equipment you may be bringing with you.

Costs: £995 per person
This includes transfers, tuition, unlimited diving, cylinders and weights, accommodation, and full board.

Note this does NOT include the international flight to Marsa Alam which you book yourself (return flight from London Gatwick can cost about £400 but some cheaper bargains may be found)

Equipment: If required diving equipment can be hired (for example Full Equipment including ABC, Regulator with pressure gauge & Octopus, BCD and Wetsuit will cost 150Euros for the trip, but individual items can also be hired)

If you wish to buy a camcorder/housing for the trip there are many options - one company specialising in these is Cameras Underwater. Possibilities for renting cameras and housings are www.underwatercamerahire.com/ and
www.lightandmotionuk.co.uk/index.php/Cid/60 - recommended you book early.

Dates:
14-21 April 2010

Booking: Contact info@wildeye.co.uk, you will be required to pay a deposit of £200 to secure your place.Places are limited and will be awarded first-come-first-served - so you are advised to book early. View our Terms and Conditions for Booking Courses.