Whilst out on training dives 13 & 14 Iain filmed this box jellyfish at White Rock, the float measuring just 2cms, these fascinating jellies have a square-shaped float with tentacles streaming from the corners of the bell. Like all box jellies they can sting using nematocysts, tiny stinging cells that line the other surface of the animal. When an animal touches the box jellyfish, the nematocysts fire, puncture the victim and eject venom. The venom paralyzes and kills the box jelly’s prey, which are usually invertebrates. There are 28 known species,only three can be fatal to humans - These live in the Gulf of Mexico, Japan and Australia.
Anya finished her Pro Video Course yesterday in style by airing her showreel at the Crystal Dive Bar. Her movie went down a treat to the viewers. by the end of her course Anya showed great potential as a marine videographer and is heading of to Australia where she will be seeking work in her newly found skills.
Anya receiving her certification & showreel from video trainer Dan
DDP crew & trainee's (from left - Stuart, Jace, Jon, Dan, Anya,Iain & Tony)
Video student Iain was out in the afternoon with Jace diving at two video training dive sites Twins & pottery. He his now learning the variety of body positioning techniques that his will have to master during the course. These include kneeling, fin pivot, and hover. The weather is defiantly improving and the visibility is clearing so a perfect time for anyone interested in the pro course to contact us.
Anya has finished her video course and will be playing her showreel at Crystal in the next couple of days after a very successful training program.
Documentary focused video course - module one
DDP has begun the first module of another video course geared towards documentary film making. Video trainee Iain (uk) is a coral specialist and as such wants to focus on marine life including this subject matter. As DDP offer a variety of training programs this was the course best suited his needs. During the documentary course he will however have an opportunity to film all subjects from fish to coral to divers. This will give him all the skills he needs to become a marine videographer in which ever field he chooses. We are also starting another course on Sunday with Sarah (Aus) and like all trainees half way through the course (dives 12-13) she can decide which route she wishes to take.
Awesome Indian Walkman battle captured in (HD1080i) hi-definition.
Marine Videography trainer Jace was out filming a stock footage dive yesterday with the final dive at a local site named Pottery Pinnacles. He happened to see 2 Indian Walkman (scorpaenidae family) fighting with each other out in the open. These venomous fish are normally very hard to spot as they bury themselves in the sand. He settled down to record the outcome of the battle in HD1080i. After a few minutes he noticed a third Walkman buried in the sand under the 2 exposed fish (look closely at the picture opposite). This fish was much larger than the others and was obviously a female. It appears the 2 males were well aware of her presence and were fighting for her attention. He recorded some 25 minutes of amazing never seen before wildlife behavior with all 3 fish exposed and the 2 males continously vying for her attention. We are currently working on a sequence to express the ferocity of the battle, we look forward to seeing this on our new youtube channel. .To see more stills of this encounter please click on the link below.
