The life of an underwater cameraman is an exciting one indeed!
Full of thrills and chills such as up close and personal encounters with sharks, sunken treasures, and incredible beauty; an underwater cameraman leads anything but a boring existence.
Franz Pagot, a specialist in underwater filming, belongs to this rare breed of photographer.
Italian born Franz Pagot is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, a highly qualified director of photography and underwater cameraman.
Pagot is considered one of the most talented and highly sought after Directors of Photography working today. He has worked on a number of feature films, including the British production Full Circle and Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever.
This rising star in the world of underwater photography has done award winning work on major advertising campaigns, such as the Silver award he won for his work with Adidas; and music videos, too. He also received the Best Cinematography Award at the Can 2007 International Short Film Festival, for his short film Surprise.
Underwater photography has been compared to moon walking because the cameraman, camera and all of the other accessories are as weightless as if in space.
This is actually more help than hindrance because it allows the underwater cameraman to make the most of all aesthetic capabilities, both in subject matter and composition.
Still, all is not perfect in underwater photography.
Being weightless is certainly a plus, especially when it comes to heavy photographic equipment. But there are special problems that are unique to underwater photography.
One problem is that the water is constantly in motion. Also, water magnifies everything by approximately 25%.
Added to those obstacles are the light conditions that vary with the weather, the angle of the sun, algae and plankton, the type and colour of the seabed, and the water depth. All of those factors affect the light, making things rather tricky for the photographer shooting in this medium.
If working in the ocean or any large body of water, the cameraman may also have to deal with underwater creatures and predators, strong currents, pollution, tidal movement, and boat encroachment.
Plus, staying in the water for 8-10 hours at a time has its own set of problems.
As a general rule, the less people in the water during filming; the better, for safetys sake.
An underwater cameraman should be an adept and very experienced diver, so that he can devote the biggest part of the time spent underwater to filming instead of surviving.
A good underwater cameraman is such an experienced diver that it comes naturally to him!
Filming underwater, although fraught with certain perils and problems, has some definite benefits.
For instance, due to the mobility of weightlessness underwater, camera movements such as pan, tilt, swim-n and swim-out are managed much more easily than conventional photography.
The underwater cameraman can actually have the film movement 3-dimensional by shooting while hovering above the subject, then swooping down into a low angle shot.
This is not the life for the faint-hearted or those who dont dare to think outside the box.
Franz Pagot on life:
Less is a bore.
That may tell the whole story about why he and a few others have chosen the life of an underwater cameraman!
Full of thrills and chills such as up close and personal encounters with sharks, sunken treasures, and incredible beauty; an underwater cameraman leads anything but a boring existence.
Franz Pagot, a specialist in underwater filming, belongs to this rare breed of photographer.
Italian born Franz Pagot is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, a highly qualified director of photography and underwater cameraman.
Pagot is considered one of the most talented and highly sought after Directors of Photography working today. He has worked on a number of feature films, including the British production Full Circle and Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever.
This rising star in the world of underwater photography has done award winning work on major advertising campaigns, such as the Silver award he won for his work with Adidas; and music videos, too. He also received the Best Cinematography Award at the Can 2007 International Short Film Festival, for his short film Surprise.
Underwater photography has been compared to moon walking because the cameraman, camera and all of the other accessories are as weightless as if in space.
This is actually more help than hindrance because it allows the underwater cameraman to make the most of all aesthetic capabilities, both in subject matter and composition.
Still, all is not perfect in underwater photography.
Being weightless is certainly a plus, especially when it comes to heavy photographic equipment. But there are special problems that are unique to underwater photography.
One problem is that the water is constantly in motion. Also, water magnifies everything by approximately 25%.
Added to those obstacles are the light conditions that vary with the weather, the angle of the sun, algae and plankton, the type and colour of the seabed, and the water depth. All of those factors affect the light, making things rather tricky for the photographer shooting in this medium.
If working in the ocean or any large body of water, the cameraman may also have to deal with underwater creatures and predators, strong currents, pollution, tidal movement, and boat encroachment.
Plus, staying in the water for 8-10 hours at a time has its own set of problems.
As a general rule, the less people in the water during filming; the better, for safetys sake.
An underwater cameraman should be an adept and very experienced diver, so that he can devote the biggest part of the time spent underwater to filming instead of surviving.
A good underwater cameraman is such an experienced diver that it comes naturally to him!
Filming underwater, although fraught with certain perils and problems, has some definite benefits.
For instance, due to the mobility of weightlessness underwater, camera movements such as pan, tilt, swim-n and swim-out are managed much more easily than conventional photography.
The underwater cameraman can actually have the film movement 3-dimensional by shooting while hovering above the subject, then swooping down into a low angle shot.
This is not the life for the faint-hearted or those who dont dare to think outside the box.
Franz Pagot on life:
Less is a bore.
That may tell the whole story about why he and a few others have chosen the life of an underwater cameraman!
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