This was an experiment in photography. Thank you for watching.

The Edge of the World By Bill Thesken On ExposureRoom (http://exposureroom.com/members/IslandStyleFilms/cc0a41bd3bae4b39ba2840782f603634/)

WOW Bill. I have never seen that perspective in filming surfing... from "inside the wave". Awesome ! Nice choice of music too.

Chris S

Excellent work in an area most of us know little about. It looks as good as any surf video I have seen. Congratulations!

Bill,

Some really great footage!!! Boy have surf boards changed over the decades!!!! We used a 9'6" jacobs in our youth!!!

I really liked the underwater footage in particular!!

I was waiting for a bit more naration along the way, Particularly at the end. Perhaps a bit of closure at the end would be an enhancement to what you have here.

the focus was awesome, did you have it set on infinite, auto? Also the clear glass, no droplets!!!

the music was great. almot as good as the ventures, eh?

Makes me yearn for the ocean!!!

Thanks for taking the time and sharing your part of the world.

Really fantastic shots Bill. I found the end a bit abrupt but otherwise really enjoyed this film. What a setting!!!

Bill,

That was awesome - and as good surfing footage as I've ever seen. It makes me want to be there, even though the sight of my pasty Irish legs would clear the beach in seconds.

I loved the underwater perspective of the waves, something I've never seen before, it was almost dream-like down there.

The music was really good - it really helped the feel-good factor of the film.

Excellent!

Hi Bill,

This was absolutely fantastic! I loved the underwater shots of the waves.
I always struggle finding good music to my films, but you nailed it! Very cool music.
Had to immediately watch it again. :)

Thanks for the comments. I didn't do much voice over because I wanted the visual to 'take command' of the senses. (Plus I didn't know what to say about the underwater wave phenomenon). The 3 minutes seemed to go by too quickly and I wanted to put in some more slow motion of the underwater waves. Seeing the result has given me a desire to get more footage of that action. I used a Go Pro Hero Surf HD camera for the entire film, and rigged a handle to it. It gets really good color, is waterproof to about 100', and costs less than $300. It has a few different aspect and frame rates available. I used the 1280x720 aspect which gets 60 frames progressive. I had tried using RainX to keep the water spots off, and it didn't work very well, but a tip from a friend did the trick. Instead of keeping the water off, you keep the water on the lenses by licking it so when the drops hit it they blend right in.

That's pretty cool Bill. Is that the same camera you used for the UW shots in Monk Dreams?

Thanks Mike, for Monk Dreams I used a real cheap low end camera that was really hard to use, always turned off at the worst time, used AA batteries that wouldn't hold a charge. The GoPro is a huge improvement, still has a few glitches that I would change if I could. We're putting it on surfboards and windsurfers and kitesurfers so you can see what they see as they tear it up. That footage 'may' be coming in the next challenge. I'm still learning and have a long way to go.

Wow... I must be going loopy... I thought I posted a comment on this one this morning....can't figure what happened. At any rate, this is a really cool film. I hads seen some of this shooting before, and really am impressed with all that you have done with the camera. Nice music too !

It may have been an experiment, but it looks like a pretty good advert for the camera! Excellent concept and execution.

Bill, a really amazing film! To me almost living on the North Pole, the surfing scenes made me want to move to a location with warm climate and sun.

I´m amazed about your camcorder and the wide lense. What focal length do you get? Your underwater skills look very professional. Being able to film so steady in those huge waves was amazing to watch!

I would have liked some scenes where these young people prepared their gear and commented how they was doing it. It would have been nice to know, to me this is a unknown sport.

As already told, this was a very nice piece, technically very well done both under and over the surface!

Thanks Per, here's the focal length for the GoPro per their website:
Camera Optics
Lens Type: Fixed Focus (2ft/.6m – ∞), glass
Aperture: f/2.8 (high performance in low-light situations)
Angle of View: 170º ultra wide angle in WVGA, 720p, or 960p mode
Angle of View: 127º wide angle in 1080p mode

The best thing about this camera is that I don't have to focus when I'm swimming in a rip tide in shallow water over sharp coral trying to get in position for the shot while also trying not to get run over by a surfer or smashed to the bottom by a wave.

I should have mentioned per Hannah's suggestion regarding the chant in the beginning. I Ku Mau Mau is an ancient Hawaiian chant. It was performed by about 200 elementary school children for a May Day celebration, and is from David Malo's Hawaiian Antiquities and was sung when the great logs for canoes and/or heiau idols were hauled. The spirit of the chant calls for the joining together of people for a single purpose:

I Ku Mau Mau (http://www.huapala.org/Chants/I_Ku_Mau_Mau.html)

Bill may I just add a couple more comments to your film. I know this was an experiment in photography but I simply love your film. When I watched it for the first time my first reaction was I wish I could make a film like this where the images speak louder than any voice-over possible could. I have watched it over and over simply because I find it so enjoyable. The music is just perfect for the piece, but the images of the waves that you managed to capture are simply stunning. I am absolutely amazed that a camera little larger than a matchbox can take such amazing shots.

I am just sorry you didn't bring it to a logical conclusion - if there could be a logical conclusion to this adventure - like showing footprints leaving the water as the music tailed off - or something like that.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Thanks for the comments Marj. The footage was so mesmerizing even to me that the 3 minutes was up before I knew it, and I just had to have that last underwater shot for the ending. That's the challenge with something like this, to box an entire concept into the time frame. Beginning, middle and end. I'll get there with help from this UWOL crew.
I rigged up a handle for the camera that I scavenged from a side handle grip from a large screwdriver. This makes it easier to get a steady shot in adverse conditions.

Love it. I almost always prefer to see under the water and to do it under waves was fantastic.

Hi Bill - Thanks for your reply. (I removed my question because I didn't put it into context but you have answered it anyway.) That handle looks like a very good idea - a bit more controllable than wearing the camera on your wrist or elsewhere.

BTW I believe there is firmware on the cards that will allow one to attach a monitor to the camera that so one can view the footage and frame the shot (out of the water!). This camera is so cool for those special POV shots.

Some awesome photography and I can't believe these results are possible with this camera. Amazing and very well handled and produced.

I found the form of your film confusing. I loved the intro with the kids chanting but then it seemed to abruptly stop, go into and VO that wasn't needed and then turn into a surf video. I think I'd have left out the voice over piece and gone straight into the action from the intro...less would have been more to me!

I think you should approach Gopro with some of this material. They may well be interested because the results are fab for such and small and cheap cam.

Great stuff
Mat