Earn Your Money On A Tropical Island

What else is there to wish in life? With this amazing course you can become an underwater film maker, learn all about the industry and when work is available you can earn your money on Koh Tao. Koh Tao is a stunning island in Thailand. You will be living next to the beach. The course is provided to you by highly dedicated instructors.

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Paid Under Water Film Maker Internship

What makes our Underwater Film maker course so special?

The Xtreme Gap underwater videography course in Koh Tao is 12 weeks, 6 weeks longer than most underwater videography courses on the Island. The last 8 weeks you will have have the opportunity to enrol a paid internship. During this paid internship we give you the opportunity to really improve your underwater videography skills which will give you better job opportunities and will also further your island life in paradise on your Thailand gap year.

Note: If no paid rolls are available, or you are not have the right level yet, you can make your own practice videos´s and improve your skills.

You will be accommodated in our diving resort and we will ensure your diving skills are at the correct standards prior to starting the course. In order to join the paid internship you need a minimum of Rescue diver level. So if you have never dived before or you are not a rescue diver yet, we can help you to arrange the extra dive courses.

Our Partner has been based on Koh Tao for 12 years, and are the longest running video company on Koh Tao – with good established contracts with Scuba schools (so you will have plenty of work).

The course is run in conjunction with SSI (Scuba Schools International) producing this unique and ground breaking under water videography course. Our partners are the only SSI Educational centre in the world capable of, and authorized to teach this course.

Strongly believing that a good camera person must be capable of capturing appealing, strong, technically correct images and not relying on correcting them on a computer later the Xtreme Gap Year underwater videography course reflects commitment to excellence.

Underwater Videography Internship in Koh Tao

After you have completed the course, the underwater videography internship begins. The Underwater Videography internship lasts for 12 weeks and you have the possibility to earn some cash after the first month. For the duration of the Underwater Videography internship you get to work alongside our full-time videographers and go out (when the work is available) to make daily video’s of students and customers diving here on Koh Tao. You will film, edit and show your movies to the customers. If you have shot the video, and a sale is made, you burn and deliver the DVD’s to the dive shop or customer and earn your money.

This is the typical role of the underwater videographer and also what a full time staff member does in a normal days work.

Assistance 100% of the way

You will be assisted as needed every step of the way until you feel capable of a full days work with without help. The underwater videography internship is where you will train and improve your skills and gain invaluable hands on experience of underwater videographer. The training environment is a an energetic, highly productive, friendly and sometimes hectic working environment. You will be challenged to progress and push your limits.

The course is split in to 3 stages: Photography and filming skills, Video software training and then in water filming. The course is then followed us with an internship where you will be out diving and filming everyday, building up your portfolio and selling your videos for commission.

Stage 1 Photo Skills

The First Stage of the Videographer Course is on land. The underwater videography course consists of 2-3 days of on-land photography. This is where we can teach people the basics of photo and film. You will learn about composition, rule of thirds, what makes a great photo.

You will also be expected to undertake photography assignments, and will be sent off to take photos to have your work appraised later on in the day. Underwater Videographer students are also encouraged to continue taking photos and filming outside of the course for continual development and feedback.

Stage 2 Videography Training

Once you have completed your photography assignment, you will begin the videography training. One of our instructors will teach you the basic types of filming shots in class room. Afterwards, you will go down to the beach to put these shots into practice with the instructor assisting. The underwater videography course is a very hands on course and you will be continuously supported each step of the way. Once the on-land side of learning has been completed and perfected, you will hit the water.

Stage 3 Training Dives

The Under Water Videographer Part. The underwater side of things consists of 8 dives, learning the techniques and perfecting the basic of underwater videography. After learning about the video camera and underwater housing preparation, it’s time to head to the boat. We use Sony Handycams and Top Dawg housing for our daily films, as these are the most robust and reliable in the in the industry in our experience.

We also use several HD cameras and housings normally used for our bigger projects. The majority of the training dives are in the afternoon allowing plenty of time to meet prior to and prep the equipment. You can also go though any questions or concerns that you may have before getting on the boat.

Assessment dives

The first two dives are used to gouge your buoyancy skills. This is an essential skill to master. It is extremely important that that you are able to control buoyancy using only breathing and finning movements. Xtreme Gap and our partners consider having as little of an impact on the marine environment as possible a high priority, after all you will be filming and working in a very fragile ecosystem. You will be taught 3 basic techniques of filming, as well as learning how to operate a camera whilst diving.

Underwater Videographer Training Dives

The following 4 dives (2 dives per day) are spent teaching in-water filming techniques, making the most of available light, approaching and filming certain types of marine life and generally developing your skills necessary to be a good underwater cameraman/woman. The footage from each day’s diving is reviewed after the dive and feedback delivered, both good and bad. Your progress will be carefully monitored so you can proceed with the course accordingly, some of your skills may need more instruction or clarification.

Final Training Dives

Dives 7 and 8 are used to produce a full film, incorporating the days events. You will then edit during the editing session next day and you can keep your film as a souvenir of your first ever underwater production!The editing, is taught on both Final Cut Pro (Apple) and Premier (PC), so you can gain valuable knowledge of two different commonly used editing platforms.

Trip Frequently Asked Questions

Price

Dates

There are no set start dates for this trip it runs all year with the exception of the month of November.