Underwater Videography Course

You are planning to buy an underwater camera and make videos of your amazing underwater adventures.

You already have a camera but you are not satisfied with your videos.

You started reading and watching online but it`s either too simple or too complicated, you are not happy.

This is the right course for you.

Camera: GoPro 11

Firmware: GoPro Labs

Lens: INON UFL-G140 SD semi-fisheye converison lens

Lights: DivePro G18 Plus

Software: Adobe Premiere Pro, GoPro Player

Video: 4K HEVC MP4, 120 fps

Audio: AAC, 48 kHz stereo

What to expect

  • Important !

    This course is designed for for shooting digital video with action cameras underwater.

    GoPro 10, 11, 12, 13 and DJI Osmo Action 3 and 4 cameras are in the scope of this course.

    Adobe Premiere Pro and Da Vinci Resolve Studio will be used for editing.

    If you own a different brand action camera or a professional high end video camera or you are interested in videography in general, you will still find this course very useful.

  • Part 1 - Online Classroom

    Day 1:

    Section 1 - Underwater Video Equipment

    Section 2 - Composition and Camera Techniques

    Section 3 - Introduction to Digital Video

    Day 2 & Day 3 :

    Section 4 - Editing

    Day 4:

    Section 5 - Sharing and Distribution

    Section 6 - Underwater Techniques

  • Part 2 - Practical Application

    Day 5

    Section 7 - Underwater Workshop 1 (2 dives)

    Day 6:

    Section 8 - Underwater Workshop 2 (2 dives)

  • Part 3 - Workshop

    Day 7:

    Section 9 - Editing Workshop

What’s inside

Section 1 - Underwater Video Equipment

This section starts with GoPro and DJI camera designs, their purpose, capabilities, features and their underwater housings. You will learn how these action cameras are different from Pro Video cameras, advantages and disadvantages. In this section, you will also learn underwater lenses, video lights, filters, system trays and rigs, how to control your and your equipment`s buyoancy when shooting video and you will learn the camera settings.

    1. Camera

      • GoPro (features, models)

      • DJI (features, models)

      • Underwater Housing

      • Stabilisation, SDR, HDR

      • Action camera vs DSLR, mirrorless or Pro Video cameras

    2. Lenses

      • Action camera in-body lens

      • Wet lenses (Wide, Macro)

      • Video Lights

      • Lumen, CRI, RA

      • Beam angle

      • LED Types

      • Video Light vs Flash Light

    3. Filters

      • Common Video Filters

      • Underwater Fiters

    4. Handling

      • Camera tray and rig

      • Underwater Tripod

    5. Buoyancy Control

      • Fixed volume floating arms

      • Flexible inflatable equipment

    6. Camera Settings

      • GoPro 12, 11, 10 menus

      • GoPro Labs software

      • DJI Osmo Action 4, 3 menus

Section 2 - Composition and Camera Techniques

You will learn how to create compositions for your viewers to enjoy your videos most. In additon to basic composition, you will learnd additional techniques, how to frame the objects, create the scene and how to move your camera in different styles properly to create wow effect.

    1. Framing Techniques

      • Rule of Thirds

      • Symmetry

      • Leading Lines

      • Negative Space

      • Foreground & Background

    2. Camera & Light Angles and Shots

      • Eye-Level

      • High Angle

      • Low Angle

      • Close-up

      • Wide Shot

      • Stationary

      • One vs Two Light Sources

      • More than two light sources

      • Light angles and positions

    3. Movement Techniques

      • Panning

      • Tilting

      • Tracking

      • Zooming

      • Dolly Zoom (Vertigo Effect)

    4. Additional Considerations

      • Lighting

      • Color

      • Purpose

      • Multi camera recording & editing

Section 3 - Introduction to Digital Video

This section starts with explaining what digital video is and how it is different from a series of pictures and traditional analogue video. After the introduction, you will learn light, color, resolution, focus and sharpness, motion, playback and streaming, encoding and decoding, file formats, device connections and digital audio basics.

    1. Introduction to Digital Video

      • What is video, analog video and digital video?

      • How and why are they different?

      • Digital basics, bit and pixel.

    2. Light

      • Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Luminance, Alpha Channel, ISO

    3. Color

      • Hue, Color, Saturation, Vibrance

      • White Balance

      • Color Temperature, Tint

    4. Color Space and Color Gamut

      • RGB, sRGB, Rec.709, Rec.2020, Rec. 2100, DCI-P3

    5. Color Depth

      • 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit

    6. Chroma Subsampling

      • YUV 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4

    7. Formats

      • Resolution

        • SD, HD, Full HD, 4K, UHD, 8K

      • Aspect Ratio

        • Golden Ratio, 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, 8:7

        • others : 1.85:1, 21:9

    8. Motion

      • fps 24/30/50/60/120/240

    9. Playback & Streaming

      • Data Flow

      • Bitrate (kbps, Mbps)

    10. Encoding & Decoding

      • GOP

      • Type of frames in GOP

        • Long GOP, All Intra

      • Compression

        • H.264, H.265 (HEVC)

      • Codecs

        • Standard video codecs

          • H.264, H.265 (HEVC), VP9, AV1

        • Standard audio codecs

          • MP3, AAC, FLAC

      • Intermediate (Mezzannine) codecs

        • Quicktime, Apple ProRes, Cineform

    11. Social Media Formats

      • YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo

Section 4 - Editing

In this section, you will start learning how to edit your videos on your computer. You wil llearn editing basics, tools and techniques for achieving best picture quality and compoaition. In addition to editing, at the end of this section, you will be able to decide which hardware and software is suitable for your needs and make consciuos decisions for your best interest and budget.

  • 1. Why is editing necessary?

    • What is a real image?

    • How is the image created in the camera?

    • How do we perceive and see the image?

    • How do we see the image on different devices and screens?

    • Why is editing absolutely necessary?

    2. Computer Hardware & Software

    • Which PC Hadware?

      • Motherboard, CPU, RAM, GPU, SSD, Case, Fans and AIO Cooling, Liquid Cooling, Workstations

    • Which monitor / display?

    • Which OS?

      • Windows

      • Linux

    • Which NLE?

      • Adobe

        • Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, After Effects, Auditon, Rush

      • Da Vinci Resolve & Studio

    • Other Useful Software

      • Google Gemini AI

      • Topaz Labs

    3. Editing Basics

    • Workflow

      • Import, Cut, Edit, Render, Export

    4. Editing Concepts

    • Color and Lighting

    • Levels

    • Sharpness

    • Unsharp Mask

    • Cropping

    • Stabilisation

    • Noise Reduction

    4. Advanced Editing

    • Video Effects

    • Video Transitions

    • Lumetri Scopes

    • Adding Graphics

    • Using After Effects for cleaning spots or objects (Content Aware Fill)

    5. Adding Audio

    • Adobe Premiere Pro - Essential Sound

    • Adobe Audition

Section 5 - Storage, Sharing and Distribution

You will learn YouTube and Instagram content requirements for upload and streaming. This is very important because if you don`t meet requirements for your video then it may either not look good or even not play at all. You also have to be making consciuos decisions for your target audience and devices during the export process before uploading your content. You will also learn about Search Engine Optimisation which will help you to move your video up in the search and make it easier to find. Videos require huge amount of storage and you also need to backup your content. You will learn what options are available and which methods are best for cost effective and efficient storage solutions.

  • 1. Video Platforms

    • YouTube

    • Instagram

    2. Optimisation

    • Optimise video for web & TV

    • Render settings

    • Export settings

    3. SEO

    • What is Search Engine Optimisation?

    • Understand basic SEO for video

    • How to make your videos easy to find

    • Recommendations

    4. Storing Digital Media

    • Cloud Storage

    • Physical Disks

    • Backups

Section 6 - Underwater Techniques

Congratulations!

You will learn best settings for your camera and equipment specific to your dive. You will practice finning techniques for different camera movements, this will also help you atabilise your body and your camera easily even if you are shooting in a current. You will learn resposnible diving for protecting the environmnet and marine life and finally how to respond to common problems and emergencies when you have your camera and equipment with you.

  • 1. Camera Setup

    • Presets and modes

    • Settings

    • Grids on the screen

    • Aspect ratios

    • White balance

    • GoPro Labs settings

    • BCD connection and release mechanisms

    2. Buoyancy Control

    • Your own buoyancy

    • Your equipment`s buoyancy

    • What to do if there is current?

    • How do you shoot during a drift dive?

    • Finning Techniques

    4. Changing Lenses Underwater

    5. Video Light Adjustments

    6. How to use an underwater tripod?

    7. Selfie Stick - creative advantages

    8. Marine life

    • Reactions to lights, you and your camera

    • How to best approach and frame different marine life?

    • Responsible diving and caring

    8. How to handle Underwater Emergencies

Section 7 & 8 - Underwater Workshop

We will make a total of 4 dives over 2 days. Dives will be planned based on your diving certificate level and experience, location and your equipment.

During these dives, you will find the chance to apply everything you learned in this course with your instructor.

Section 9 - Editing Workshop

Congratulations!

You`ve come this far and this is your final day of the course.

You will edit and create a final video using your recordings made during underwater workshops. You will also find the chance to share and distribute your video on your social channels and with your family and friends.

Frequently asked questions

  • Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.

    Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical Form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.

  • There are no course prerequisites.

  • PADI standard is minimum 10 yrs. old. Local regulations may vary. For example, in Turkey, you have to be minimum 14 yrs old to submerge with scuba equipment. This includes Discovery Scuba Diving.

  • You just need to bring your swimming suit and a towel for diving .You will be provided all the equipment for diving.

    You will need your camera, devices and your computer during online classroom sections and the final editing workshop day.

  • Please see available slots here.

    The total duration of the ourse is 7 days.

  • Please see available dive center locations here.

Underwater Videography Course Fees

Part 1 Online Classroom

4 days

Day 1, Day2, Day 3, Day4

€499

Part 2 Practical Application

4 dives over 2 days

Day 5, Day 6

€299

Part 3 Workshop

1 day workshop

Day 7

€199

Meet your instructor

After graduating from Middle East Technical University Electric & Electronics Engineering Department in Turkey, I started my career as a Software Engineer & Researcher in Turkish National Scientific & Technical Research Council.

After a few years, I started a new job in one of the major digital TV manufacturers in the world, Vestel Electronics. Digital Video Broadcasting was replacing analog TV in Europe and the rest of the world. We were right at the heart of digital video boradcasting revolution.

I worked at Vestel for 20 years under many different roles and titles; as software engineer, manager and executive. I spent 12 years of this time in Vestel`s digital TV software company Cabot Communications in Bristol, UK.

Long story short, digital video software, hardware, broadcast, streaming, consumer devices and displays with commercial aspects of digital video software and technologies are my expertise.

With the advancement of internet, streaming and social channels, digital video became available everywhere on every device on demand.

I first tried scuba diving in 2004 and quickly became a PADI Open Water Diver.  Since then, diving, photography and video have been my passion always and everywhere.

Now, I am a PADI Instructor. I love diving and teaching.

Suphi Cenk Agar

See my LinkedIn profile here.

Why video, not photography, underwater?

  • This is a personal choice.

  • I bought my first camera in a flea market in Ankara in 1996. It was a Zenit 35mm film SLR. I travelled more than half of my country on a motorcycle taking pictures with this camera. I now own a wide range of Canon equipment and I’m still taking photos on land, I still love it.

  • I feel I could show underwater world and marine life better with video than with photography. An octopus changing colors, moving arms and changing shapes, a spanish dancer moving in mid-water or an anemone fish talking to each other - yes they talk and you can make a video of them - is very interesting to me and new to most people .It is impossible to show these with photography.

Why an action camera?

  • The total cost of an underwater action camera system is significantly low when compared to an underwater high end or professional video system.

  • Replacement costs are also significantly low when new technologies become available.

  • Action camera technologies and PC hardware & software made significant technological advancements.

  • Now action cameras are quite capable of producing amazing high quality videos with a significantly smaller budget.