2 week videography training and internship

Train to become a BSAC Professional HD Underwater Videographer on Koh Tao, Thailand

Underwater videography course Thailand

2 Week BSAC Pro HD Underwater Video Training

Become an underwater videographer in one of Asia's top dive destinations! While you are living on the beautiful island of Koh Tao, you will be trained to capture the stunning underwater world. Oceans Below will provide you with all of the skills and equipment needed to produce professional HD underwater videos. Your training will include the use of high-quality HD video cameras, Gates and Aquatica Underwater Housings, and Adobe software. Join our highly experienced team of professionals for the 2-week BSAC Pro HD Underwater Video Training program.

You must be a certified PADI Rescue Diver (or equivalent) with 50+ logged dives It is possible to add on the scuba training courses before the start of the Pro HD Underwater Videographer Training if you have no prior dive experience. Oceans Below can organize your dive training and accommodation through Koh Tao’s Premiere 5-Star IDC Center.

2 week video training

Get hands-on experience in the making of top-quality underwater movies. Learn to shoot everything from the biggest fish in the world, to the smallest shrimp, using full manual camera controls for that perfect image(white balance, focus, exposure, lighting, and zoom) edit your movies on Adobe Premiere Pro.

Instructor and student with the HD cameras

Available Dates

The Pro HD Underwater videographer Training Course is available year-round. We only take 2 people per course to ensure that each trainee gets lots of personalized attention throughout the course. We begin a course at the start and at the middle of each month. These courses usually are booked at least a few months in advance, so make sure you check in with us prior to traveling to check the availability.

The best time of year for a chance to see Whalesharks is close to the monsoon period, so April/May and September/October/November are the best months. However, they can turn up anytime. May to February are the best months to get close encounters with the Bull Sharks. April, May and June are the easiest months to spot Green and Hawksbill turtles. Throughout the year you’ll see Moray Eels, Stingrays, Scorpion Fish, Octopus, Sea Snakes, Boxfish, Jacks, Groupers, etc...

Health Requirements for underwater videographers

If you are looking to participate in this program you need to ensure that you are reasonably fit and free from any conditions that may prevent from or be a danger to you while diving. Before coming to Thailand, it is best to consult your doctor and get a signed Medical Statement.

Underwater videographer training Thailand

2 Week Underwater Video Internship (only available after the 2 week BSAC Pro course)

Once you have completed your training, you will have the option to follow one, or both of the following:

-learning to produce souvenir videos for divers. Film and edit a movie to music telling the story of the diver's day trip. By the end of this internship you'll have gained all the skills and knowledge to be successfully employed in the field.

-continued Education and skill development. Quite simply, diving and filming to produce your own short documentary. Diving away from the main student dive sites and so avoiding the crowds, spending 45 minutes filming a seahorse to get that perfect shot. Or head out to the dive sites that the big student boats can't reach, Sam Ran pinnacle, Sail Rock, Hot spots to shoot the big stuff.For this course we will be using the Goodtime Adventures speedboat so we have no time restrictions and can get to any dive site in a matter of minutes.

Goodtime Adventures speedboat

You must be a certified BSAC Sports diver or PADI Rescue Diver (or equivalent) with 50+ logged dives. Being a competent scuba diver is critical as you will be filming PADI Instructors with students in training and you will be expected to look after yourself underwater. It is possible to add on the BSAC Dive Leader or PADI Divemaster Training Course or even the BSAC Open Water Instructor Course or PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) before or after the Underwater Videographer Internship.

Available Dates

The Video Internship is available year-round. You may begin any time after your 2-week Video Training Course. The length of the internship is 2 weeks. Oceans Below will give you as many opportunities as possible to gain experience.

Underwater videography courses, Koh Tao - Testimonial from Ellie

Written by Elisabeth

Friday, 23 January 2009 11:48

Before coming to Thailand to do my underwater videography internship here at Ocean's Below Thailand, I'd never dived before. The whole concept of spending a summer filming underwater seemed a bit strange to a lot of my friends, and sparked envy in others.

underwater video prodution

Once I'd worked my way up to 50 dives I started my internship. Bosses Aidy and Elisabeth weren't strangers to me; I was quickly accepted into the rest of the team as one of the trainees. My video training was a lot of fun, and a lot of hard work.

Every day of the training is there for a reason, and it's not until you finally get in the water filming customers that you realise how valuable each of these 'lessons' were.
We spent time training on land and in the water with buoyancy skills to get used to working with the weight of the camera. As well as fun diving with the camera, I also dived with Elisabeth to practice my shots to make sure they were steady.

Making dive movies is what my internship was all about, and getting used to the format of the films that Oceans Below made was part of the challenge too. By working to a successful format, their dive videos have a cohesive feel to them - you know they're from the same company.

The pace and attitude needed for filming and editing to such a tight time scale has got me addicted to videography. As a Television Production student back at home, I'm used to stressful work under pressure, but making a movie in one day is a different matter.

Once I began diving with a camera it was hard to look back, and fun diving without one is near unheard of for me. There is always something you see that makes you wish you had a way of capturing it and saving the moment. You appreciate the small things on dives, which makes every dive amazing.

I'm looking forward to returning to Koh Tao to continue to work with Oceans Below, and to continue feeding my addiction!

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