wgreenti

I liked the imagery, and rather enjoyed the older feel to the voice-over.

 

As for the figures given, I think that the film-maker and some members of the audience are too concerned with establishing the number, whether for the sake of honesty or for the sake of drama.

 

A simple way for the film-maker to express his point while remaining completely truthful is to step back from the role of census taker and letting the scientists do the arguing:

 

"Scientific investigation suggests that humans annually kill up to 100,000,000 sharks."

 

This statement is completely accurate, yet the film-maker's evocative point retains its clarity.

 

For what it's worth, I would not be surprised to discover that 100,000,000 is an underestimate, considering the added and undocumented impacts of pollution and increased competition for food with humans, etc.

 

In sum, I liked the film but would subtly tweak the audio content -- very interesting work, overall, Eric.

Thanks. The cam was a Sony HVR-Z7U mounted in a Phenom housing from Amphibico.

You're correct that this is a short presentation, really a highlight trailer of about a minute. This is based on about five minutes of longer and more plentiful clips. They are posted below in two vidz, if you are interested.

Great vid!..what are you using for the video its really clear..but seems rather short for all the action that Sipadan is all about.

Yo, Steve:

There were a fair number of turtles, but they were more shy than I had expected. Before my arrival, I had anticipated being swarmed by turtles, but they often kept their distance. Also, when we dove, the tide tended to be high. This is when the turtles were largely basking in the very shallow water out of reach. Once the tide falls, they exit the drying shallows and head down over the edges. This, I think, would have provided better encounters.

Yes, things are pretty tightly regulated, and the site has probably benefited greatly. However, there are still disturbances. Bone-rattling explosions were heard fairly frequently, the alleged source being the Philippine Navy. Another thing that displeased me greatly (and ruined quite a few shots in the schools) was trash. Reportedly, the trash floats in from other islands (or boats) and sinks in the swirling currents. Nothing ruins a scenic video clip more than three jacks hungrily swimming in and out of potato chip bags. I frantically tried to collect the debris but was overwhelmed.

Never been there but edited a film from there many years ago for someone. Surprised not to see turtles. I know the govt there brought on several restrictions regarding the number of divers there and wonder how the ecological rebounding has occurred.
Steve

Hi, Nick:

Yes, I added a 2% rounded black matte to the clips.

Looks good. Still plenty of life there. Did you deliberately blur the edge of the frame?

Great, and thanks.

Do you have an idea what the closest focus is with the tubes? I will need to determine the need to modify selection of port collars.

Yes, both work well with the Canon 60mm and 100mm macros and unlike third party extension tubes, preserve autofocus.