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Underwater Videography Courses and HD Underwater Video - ThailandWelcome to Oceans Below!Oceans Below, Koh Tao's Leader in Professional HD Underwater Videography Courses and HD Underwater Video Production Training is located on the beautiful island of Koh Tao, Thailand. It was founded by 2 experienced PADI & BSAC Dive Instructors who continue to pursue their true passion in diving...
Thanks to our extensive underwater videography diving experience, knowledge and passion for filming marine life, we are able to present a large collection of diverse High Definition HD underwater video Stock Footage that you can access for use in your own video productions.
Oceans Below Underwater Videography is Koh Tao's pre-eminent HD Videographer training facility. Whether you're interested in joining the ranks of Koh Tao's professional divers and videographers or you're looking to expand your knowledge of marine filming and post-production, we offer professional-level HD Underwater videography courses. Click here for information on our underwater videography courses. We offer our filming and editing services for long term or short term cooperations including: promotional videos for dive shops, resorts and dive live-aboards as well as souvenir videos and teaching aid videos, documentaries and feature-length films. Oceans Below can coordinate all aspects of video production - from start to finish, producing land based footage and hd underwater video.  
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Written by lisa
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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 10:31 |
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I'm happy to be back on Koh Tao after an amazing film shoot in Borneo! I recently had an opportunity to film the underwater portions of a new movie called On the Sea with Badjao. Directed by Eliza Kubarska, I filmed one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. 
The film crew of On the Sea with Badjao, Borneo
The movie is about the Badjao 'sea gypsies' which inhabit many of the islands around Borneo and throughout SE Asia. The movie documents the lives of these water-going sea gypsies. I directed my camera's focus on Alexan, who plumbs the depths connected to a compressor from above by a long rubber hose. Alexan is teaching his young nephew, Sari, how to become a compressor diver. It goes without saying, that this kind of diving is quite dangerous. The two are out on the sea by day, hunting for fish and collecting seacucumbers. Watching this extraordinary hunter go through his daily tasks gave me a very special feeling. We were able to capture on film a fast-disappearing culture which relies on the sea for survival, perhaps more so than any other. 
Lisa and Alexan, underwater in Borneo
Having chosen the life of a professional diver, I had a natural affinity towards the friendly Badjao. Though our equipment and dive objectives were vastly different, as always, it was nice to spend time with someone with respect for the underwater world. Choosing a life aquatic rather than a job in the office, or in his case a resort kitchen, connected us.
Alexan, in his element The whole team supporting Eliza and producer, Monika Braid, was amazing to work with. Together we overcame quite a few logistical difficulties to get get the necessary shots for the movie. The film will be broadcast on German national TV and plans are ongoing to make a cinema version.
Pro Underwater Video trainee, Lukas, back on Koh Tao Meanwhile, I am back on Koh Tao and have begun a new course with Lukas. He is doing his BSAC Professional Underwater Videographer course. Funny enough, Lukas is from Borneo, originally. We've had some really nice dives already. Including one with a very friendly porcupine puffer, who happily posed for the camera. Southwest Pinnacle was full of barracudas and gave Lukas another good chance to collect great footage for his showreel. Looking forward to that! |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 13 March 2013 16:17 |
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Oceans Below has started a new collaboration with UV Dive Koh Tao! Owners Ties and Shirley introduced ultra violet (or fluo) night dives to Koh Tao over 2 years ago and have recently asked Oceans Below to make a promotional video to literally help people see Koh Tao 'in a new light'. 
Equipped for night dives with special filters over their masks and blue lights, divers now can descend into the darkness and witness an eerie panorama of corals and fish that, in fact, glow in the dark. Beautiful colours appear from everywhere. Things that, in the light of day, may seem mundane such as a goatfish or brain coral, become stunningly beautiful under the beam of the blue light as they reflect back a fluorescent array of colours. 
The dives are fantastic, but equipping our video cameras and educating ourselves on how to shoot was an altogether new challenge. Those things that don't luminesce under the lights are invisible- such as the sea urchins which are quite active at night! More than a few small punctures were gathered in the making of our first UV night videos! In time, we got the hang of it and now, the whole Oceans Below office is hooked! Check out a sample here... Our logical next step has been to develop a course for students so they can get a great new filming experience. Thanks to UV Dive Koh Tao we were able to quickly put it together and are now completing the course with Pro Underwater Video Trainee, Hiba. She started training on normal night dives in order to get the feel of how to use lights and shoot at night and will soon progress to the UV filters and blue lights. 
And because this is such a new and exciting way to film, we've decided to make it the subject of our newest documentary! In other exciting news, Oceans Below Video Trainer Lisa will be going to Borneo to film the underwater scenes of a documentary about the Badjao 'Sea Gypsies'. The shoot is coming up soon, but the documentary will air at the end of the year. 
David and Jackie have decided to extend their internship and are busy filming Scuba Junction's student and fun diver videos. Nicky has just finished his great 'Dry Project' about Muay Thai training on Koh Tao and is now working on his final project. 
Chris just started his BSAC Professional Underwater Video Course and became instantly hooked on macro filming. Waiting in the wings are Dan and Amanda who are due to begin the pro course with us soon. So all-in-all, it's been fairly busy at the Oceans Below office on Koh Tao! |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 07 November 2012 07:36 |
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Last year at this time, we were celebrating Elisabeth's huge haul of Best of Show, 1 first and 1 second place finish in the Australasia International Film Shoot-Out. Yesterday we got great news about the results from this year's shoot-out. And again, the Pro Underwater Video Trainers from Oceans Below did us proud! Lisa Strohmayer won Best of Show and the Creative Video category with her spectacular video, Nocturnal. In addition, she won won a 2nd place prize for her other submission into the competition, Secret Society. Click on the below screenshots to view the winning videos. 
Last year's over-all winner, Elisabeth Lauwerys, had to settle for a 1st place finish for her movie, Blue, in the Narrated Video category and a second place in Creative Video for her film, The Hunt. 
The rules of the contest stipulate that all filming be done over the month of September (no stock footage) and the movies must be no more than 5 minutes long. Luckily, the trainers had some stunning diving during the month. Elisabeth spent half the month on Koh Tao, teaching the BSAC Pro Underwater Video Courses with the massive Bull Sharks which have returned. Later, she was diving in Yap, Micronesia with the Manta Rays and Reef Sharks. And Lisa was setting up an Oceans Below satellite office on Pom Pom Island in Borneo. So, she also had some fantastic diving along the rich reefs over there. Lisa's prizes include a 7 day liveaboard to the Maldives with Vista Liveaboards, a Mares Icon Dive Computer and an Aunoc Dive Light. Elisabeth has won an 8 day dive holiday to Lissenung Resort, Papua New Guinea and an Aunoc dive light. Both Lisa and Elisabath will be enjoying some downtime before returning to Koh Tao to start the next high season over here with their 1st BSAC Pro HD Underwater Videographer Course on the 16th of December. Great job ladies!!!!!!! Special thanks to Koh Tao Scuba Junction, Goodtime Adventures, Yap Divers and Manta Ray Bay Resort, Celebes Dive Resort, Kevin MacLeod and Jahawi Bertolli... |
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