South-west of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean lie a group of 26 atolls supporting over 1000 islands – a nation known as the Maldives. Kuredu Island is found on Lhaviyani atoll a short seaplane journey from the capitol, Male. Kuredu is not only appealing as a remote getaway location with only a single resort, but is a fantastic dive destination as well (http://www.kuredu.com/). Prodivers Kuredu operate one of the largest and longest running dive centers in the Maldives, offering everything from snorkelling and introductory dives to specialised dive courses. However, my time on kuredu had a different focus. Amongst the Prodivers team are several experienced videographers and photographers who offered to take both Elena (the European scholar) and I on board for a month-long videography program. They have been running a full time video section since the 1990s showcasing the guests diving experiences around Kuredu and sharing weekly movie updates with everyone on youtube – https://www.youtube.com/user/ProdiversMaldives
From arriving on day one the Prodivers team input so much time and energy – making space on the daily boat excursions, filming me whilst diving and spending each evening in the video lab offering feedback on my videography. Focusing on basic principles, Prodivers opened my mind to a whole new videography approach, with ongoing tips to help develop my own film making style. We covered many different elements including:
- camera equipment maintenance and setup
- underwater positioning, buoyancy and breathing
- filming sequences and filming to edit
- pre and post production (storyboards and editing)
- target audience and social media
Along with improving from the previous day and introducing new skills, video tasks were set to track the progress made.
Below is a video of my featured species. There are not many places where sea turtles live in such abundance, and it was amazing to be able to capture so many on film.
Having started this year with very little underwater camera experience I knew my time on Kuredu Island would be challenging. Yet after four weeks, it was hard to leave this remote island, and looking back it is so rewarding to see how far I’ve come. Furthermore, the skills Prodivers taught me will be extremely useful in future projects and beyond my scholarship year. It was also amazing to leave with so much footage of the wonderful dive sites surrounding Lhaviyani atoll. One last video showcases why this region is known for its abundant fish life….
