It's been a crazy, fun-filled few weeks here at the Oceans Below offices. We managed to time it all just right and moved the entire operation to the new, picturesque premises in a single day. Moving was one thing- organizing the pile of computers, desks, chairs, cameras, boxes, and the odd student into something resembling an editing suit was another challenge. But everyone pitched in, staff and students alike, and now after a long week of organizing and tripping over each other, we are back to full strength. Now Autumn, Elisabeth and I are able to give our full attention to filming Koh Tao's dive centers and teaching our BSAC underwater video trainees.

The new Oceans Below offices on Koh Tao

Jason and Katie have recently completed the 2 week HD Underwater Video course and produced some great dry projects and show reels in the process. Both can be viewed on our Youtube Channel. They each went on to complete the student filming internship and they plan to stick around and do a bit of work over the next season. Jason has already begun working with us and Katie will complete her Divemaster course with Scuba Junction before returning to start work.

Sachin- New Professional Underwater Videographer!

Sachin, a talented photographer from India, came to Thailand to join us for the BSAC Pro HD Underwater Video course at the beginning of the month. A few days ago we went for a bit of an exploration dive north of No Name Pinnacle. I had not ventured in that direction before and was excited to see what was out there. I was surprised to find a large patch of coral where I was expecting only sand. We happened upon a few feather stars walking around, some pipe fish, and a small ray hiding in the sand. Sachin got a couple of shots of the ray before it decided it had enough of being a film star, and moved on. Yesterday, Sachin finished the BSAC Underwater Video course and is about to begin his Instructor Development Course (IDC) with  Darius and Mark over at Buddha View. Good luck Sachin!

Last year, Koh Tao Oceans Below made the transition from filming our HD underwater video using DV tape cameras to our newest standard- HDD (hard disc drive)- filming HD video (1080i) in both NTSC and Pal (30/25fps).

Moving over to HDD cameras changed everything for us. It is a much more practical way to work in a busy office with cameras going out on the morning dives, coming back to the editing suite only to be prepped to go out again for the afternoon dives. We appreciate that we can now use the same camera day in day out, without having to worry about whether there's enough space for the next staff member or underwater videographer internship trainee to record their HD underwater footage.

At the time of this article, our BSAC Professional Underwater Videographer training center has five new high-definition HDD cameras with Aquatica underwater video housings for student use. For us, HD tape cameras are a thing of the past. Gone are the days of constantly replacing tapes, sorting out dirty head issues, trouble-shooting tape deck malfunctions caused by so many moving parts, not to mention dealing with the limitation of a 60 min record time.

It seemed the only draw back with these new wonder cameras was the compression they use. AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) was a codec that haunted us for some time. We searched high and low on the internet for an effective way to deal with it. No one seemed to know anything. There was just more questions.

With the introduction of Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, we then had the ability to work with AVCHD- there were even a few plugins for CS3. But the problem was that yous eemed to need a super computer to work with it effectively. At Oceans Below we’re usually running 6/8 computers at a time, half of which are for the students to learn underwater video editing techniques. It was virtually a full time job upgrading these machines to handle the new formats that kept coming out.

One option we found was using a great little piece of software called ‘AVCHD upshift’ which converted the AVCHD/mts files to HDV/m2t,a much bigger file, but easier for the computers to handle. This was never going to be a longterm solution.

The SOLUTION!

Finally, Adobe has released Premiere Pro CS5! This was developed with AVCHD in mind. With the addition of the new mercury engine, Premiere Pro CS5 can run multi-layered AVCHD tracks without a problem. You can even apply effects to these clips and watch them back straight away.

Thank you Adobe! Once again you've raised the bar and made life easier for all of us Pro Videographers on Koh Tao!

The staff at Oceans Below is very excited about the new Sony AVCHD cameras in the office. The two new Sony HDR-XR500 cameras that we use for the BSAC HD underwater videography course come equipped with AVCHD. What does that mean? AVCHD stands for Advanced Video Codec High Definition.

AVCHD is high definition camcorder video format jointly developed by Panasonic and Sony for use in consumer camcorders. Specifically, it's a form of video compression that allows the large data files created by HD video recording to be captured and saved on digital media such as hard disk drives and flash memory cards. The new 1/3.15-inch, back-illuminated Exmor-R CMOS sensor, which Sony is featuring in its top two models, the HDR-XR500 and HDR-XR520. The new sensor design moves the photodiode from beneath the circuitry wires to above; presumably less interference will mean improved sensitivity, particularly in low light conditions. Camcorders with the new sensor will also be capable of capturing 12-megapixel still photos! The six-blade aperture G-lens from Sony, will make its way to the top consumer models, as well as Sony's new built-in GPS and geo-tagging feature. These cameras also have a huge 3.2"/8cm LCD. Very nice indeed.

Image: Sunset from north Sairee Beach - Koh Tao

So its been such a very busy last few months. Elisabeth and I are exhausted.

We have trained 14 new underwater videographers this year and there are more on the way. But for now we are getting a week or so of peace as the full moon is coming and the Thai Songkran festival is just around the corner.

With all this in mind we decided to treat the office to a new underwater digital still camera. Elisabeth went to Bangkok a few days ago and brought back a shiny new Canon Powershot G10. I couldn't keep my hands off it and took it home last night to get to know it and snap off a few sunset pics from the balcony. I'm extremely happy with the first results. I think this camera will be finding its way back to my house on a regular basis.

We're in! Finally we have opened up the new underwater video editing office, expanding our base at the Sairee Plaza, Koh Tao.

The A/C unit went in two days ago and the next day we started moving computers and cameras across. The only problem now is that the old office looks empty and in need of attention.

So I guess the next step is to do something with that. I think there is some paint left over!

We are nearly finished getting the the new office space ready for opening.

Its starting to look something like the original vision. But its been a long time coming.

I've done most of the painting myself and am now sick of the site of paint brushes. But been able to step back and admire my work is quite rewarding.

It couldn't have come at a better time as we have two trainees nearing the end of their 2 week underwater videography course. And will soon be starting the 2/4 week gap year internship. Then another three video trainees starting in the next few days. So the office space needs to be up and running as soon as possible!

So finally the builders have started to do something. After a few days of banging and drilling we are starting to see the new underwater video editing suite come to life.

I was beginning to wonder if they would ever get started! We can now see the six new work stations and the underwater video housing and camera maintenance/assembly area.

We hope to have things in the new space operational within two weeks. But this is Koh tao, Thailand and anything could happen! Well. I say anything. But for sure it won't be finished quicker!

So we have started to outgrow our office after a very happy two years on these premises.

Lucky for us the building to our rear was available so we took it. We've cleaned it up and planned the office layout.

Aidy comments 'Yeah - I know it doesn't look like much yet!'

So now, as things are in Thailand, we have to wait for the builders to feel that the time is right for them to start! We're all really looking forward to getting it finished and knocking the wall through to make both offices one.

By combining the two Sairee Plaza units, we're going to triple our available working area - bringing in space for 6 more video editing workstations, a larger video equipment preparation bench, a wet area for dive gear and generally more room to spread out.

Even with Elisabeth still away I was able to find the time to update our menu for the daily dive video DVD.

It's something that's been bugging me for a while now. I've had the idea for it floating around my head for some time. I took the idea from the leopard OS dock on the mac. It's basically a background underwater video with a reflective surface in front to look like a glass table, with the menu buttons stood on top.

I'm happy with the result, but as with anything like this I'll never feel finished in my mind. But I have to say enough is enough and get on with other things. If I let myself I would be at it for weeks trying to perfect all the little bits that I feel could be better, but that I'm sure no one else sees!

All the background footage used on the menu was shot in HD, so the underwater video has a crisp, clean high definition look to it.

Oceans Below underwater videography - Koh Tao, Thailand, have for sale a Sony HDR-HC 5 video and housing.