Underwater Video Trainees 2011

Jan [Denmark]

Seb [France]

Nick [England]

Eloise [USA]

CJ [Canada]

Taylor [USA]

Ross [England]

Lisa [Austria]

Ben [New Zealand]

Young Ben came to Koh Tao with only 1 small bag and ended up staying for 5 months after his course and Internship. He worked for Oceans Below as an underwater videographer at Scuba Junction where he was hugely appreciated by all staff because of his professionalism and humour. He also became a trapeze catcher after hours and filmed Freedivers at Apnea Total. Ben was a busy man!

Nader [USA]

Joey (Belgium)

Pieter (Belgium) 

Pieter, a professional cameraman as well, not only did the BSAC course and Documentary Internship but he couldn’ t wait to get his hands on the big cameras and housings! He did a 2 day specialty with the Sony EX1R and Gates Housing. He was extremely happy to cruise around Koh Tao’s dive sites clutching his impressively big, professional gear!

Warren [Australia]

Bart [Poland]

Our first impression of Bart was that he was the shy, serious type. In no time, We came to find that beneath that quiet exterior lurked the heart of a true joker. Teamed with Riann, the two instantly hit it off and became quite the comedic duo. Bart had an amazing knack for spotting tiny creatures whilst out in the sand resulting in some truly amazing macro footage.

Riaan [South Africa]

Effortlessly, Riann was by far one of the most charismatic and entertaining students We've had in ages. His quirky sense of humour made him an instant hit with every member of The Staff. With his background as an instructor and some experience in filming underwater, he came to Us to improve his technique and learn the true art of underwater videography. He improved immensely throughout his six weeks with Oceans Below and stayed on to become an Underwater Video Trainer.

Chris [England]

Having had enough of UK diving, Chris decided to shed his dry suit & spend some time in the tropics. He instantly fell in love with underwater videography and catching those special moments on film. He approached the course with great enthusiasm & dedication. Always the perfectionist, he spent many hours at the computer. This led to Us questioning his sanity when it came to his short documentary on reef awareness & conservation. We did, however, enjoy the evenings when he regaled Us with stories of his time working as a policeman back home.

Sara [Switzerland]

Sara, the other half of the New Year's duo, also found a passion in macro filming. Her calm & easy going approach to this course made her a pleasure to teach. She and Martin listened carefully to every briefing, absorbing & digesting every word. They left Koh Tao shortly after finishing their course and embarked on further diving adventures, excited at the prospect of putting their newly acquired skills to use.

Martin [Switzerland]

Martin and his wife Sara were the first students of 2011. They had been working & diving around the world for the past two years before deciding to come to Oceans Below to learn something new. Martin instantly fell in love with macro filming. He enjoyed nothing more than heading away from the dive sites and getting down in the sand with the smaller creatures that inhabit Our waters. His short film, “The Big Little's”, was created using his best macro footage and can be seen here.

Underwater Video Trainees 2010

Pete [Canada]

Pete, an experienced dive instructor of five years, came to Us to add a bit of spice to his diving career and get his creative juices flowing. His calm & confident approach to the BSAC Pro HD course meant that he thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of filming & editing. He definitely made the most of the knowledge he gained.

Srecko [AKA "Lucky"] [Slovenia]

Srecko, Slovenian for "Lucky", came to Us with vast knowledge of photography having owned his own advertising company. His skills often came in handy as he documented many of the Oceans Below extra-curricular activities such as trapezing and many Staff and student dinners. His “it's not black, it's round” attitude could sometimes make him a challenge to teach, but he did bring a quirky charm to The Office. He developed into a fantastic videographer and his short film on the art of traditional Thai bamboo tattooing can be seen here.

Julian [Argentina]

A Filmmaker, advertising director and producer from Buenos Aires, Julian discovered scuba diving and came To Oceans Below to become a BSAC Professional HD Underwater Videographer. His creativity and imagination was endless. His dry project Phra Abhai Mani and the Mermaid is one of the most original projects we have seen at Oceans Below. Check it out here.

Tom [England]

Tom started in the media industry at the age of fourteen. He’s shot short films and made corporate videos, working for Disney and Discovery Channel along the way. He came to Oceans Below to train in the specialist area of filming underwater. He’s since gone on to film projects in Austria, South Africa and Iceland.

Imma [Spain]

Imma splits her time between Koh Tao and Spain. Her passion for Muay Thai Fighting preceded a chance meeting with Pro Video Trainer, Elisabeth, down at the Monsoon Gym many years ago. She finally decided to join our course in August and went on to do the Freedive Filmmaker Internship with. She’s a handful in a lot of ways, but one of our favorites!

Clemens [Germany]

Angelina [Canada]

Angelina came to us with little dive experience, but an amazing enthusiasm for filming the underwater world. Immensely talented as a writer and with a creative mind, she kept Us on our toes and entertained Us with some fantastic videos.

Katie [England]

Lovely Katie came straight from diving in dry suits to the warm waters of Koh Tao to become an underwater videographer. She's a natural with the camera and her "voice-over" voice sounds eerily like a female Sir Attinborough! Pursuing a GAP year experience before beginning uni to study psychology, she has now found her true passion and has decided to follow a degree in media studies instead. We like to think she changed course because We've awakened in her a passion for filming rather than shown her the futility of understanding the depravity of the human mind...

Jason [Canada]

We met Jason 2 years ago when he decided to do his video course, but he first had to finish his contract as a Dive Instructor in the Maldives. A very experienced instructor and always open to new things, Jason finshed his training with us and quickly joined The Team. At present he is filming at the island's Freediving Academy- Apnea Total. 

Doug [USA]

Doug hails from Brooklyn (actually, just somewhere in New York, but Brooklyn sounds hip and edgy). He comes to Us as an experienced Dive Instructor and will complete his Pro Video Internship in the coming weeks. We've seen some promise in his work and have arranged to add him to The Staff after completion. We feel that his easy-going personality and his ability to pick up the course priciples so quickly portends great things to come from Doug...

Rudey [England]

Rudey joined Our course in November but decided that she wanted to first complete her Divemaster course, which she did with Koh Tao Easy Divers. After returning, she's proven to be a famously difficult student! That said, in the end, her camerawork, creativity and personality shone through. Not only did We graduate her from Our program, but We hired her. She's now working alongside the rest of The Staff at a number of different dive centers around the island.

Max [England]

Max had a great personality and instantly was a favorite of the Oceans Below Staff. At times it must have seemed to him as if his job was to repeat everything that his Trainers said to his course counterpart, Rudey, who "...just needs to hear things a few times before they sink in...". Through it all Max kept a bright smile on his face and was able to come out the other end with a good skill set. We look forward to his current project about Kuala Lumpur curry houses (not a joke...We couldn't possibly make that up...).

Dominique [England]

Another Crystal Divers Divemaster, Dominique came to Us as a good diver already. She works in media in the UK and came to us with her bubbly personality, party-girl demeanor and almost an innate sense of where her house keys were NOT located. Despite all that, she proved to be very good with her camera work and produced movies which were both slick and humorous.

Cedric [Belgium]

Cedric had a background in editing on a Belgian fashion TV program, yet was one of the best cameramen that We've trained. In addition to his flawless editing, he had a powerful ability to capture emotion and a fine eye for detail. His dry project of the Koh Tao Ladyboys was simply mind-blowing. See it here.

Bruno [France]

Bruno came to Koh Tao with the goal of working as an Underwater Videographer on Koh Tao. He was a natural in the water and through his attention to detail and desire for perfection he was able to meet his goal. He now works at Asia Divers, a French dive center on Koh Tao, producing fantastic underwater movies.

Peter [Netherlands]

When Peter first contacted Us, Our webmaster was sure he only wanted to find out Our recommendations for underwater cameras and housings. Luckily for Us, we bit our tongue and gave him what he asked for. Otherwise, We may not have met one of the most genuine guys around. His passion for diving has taken him to some of the most spectacular destinations in Asia. Becoming a Professional Videographer was just a way to further his love for the sport and allow him to document the wonderful things he continues to see underwater.

Steph [England]

Another quick study, Steph has perhaps the steepest learning curve of any of Our trainees. From relatively uncomfortable with a camera in her hands underwater, she became a great Pro Videographer over the course of her 6 weeks on the island. She was sponsored by her university to join The Course and made the most of it. Steph had an amazing wit and engaging personality which made her a joy to have around. She also showed a flair for comedy with her dry project about the perils of Chang Beer.

Declan [England]

Declan came to Us straight out of nursery school and quickly was able to adapt to Our Way of Thinking. He simultaneously did his video internship while completing his Divemaster Course at Scuba Junction and made friends wherever he went. Possessor of a creative mind, he also joined Koh Tao near the time that a pair of Eagle Rays moved into one of our dive sites. Mesmerized he researched and filmed them most every day, eventually producing a great short documentary about these beautiful creatures.

Mikaela [Sweden]

Mikaela was a true morning person who was chomping at the bit to get into the office every day. She stunned Us early in her course with her great dry project. Not only was it creative, but it revealed to Us her skill as a magician- something else that she's passionate about. In addition to having a distinct inclination toward creativity, she had a special talent as a linguist, exhibited by her ability to become fluent in Italian in a matter of weeks, merely by listening to Riccardo.

Riccardo [Italy]

Riccardo was one of our more entertaining interns in recent times. He completed his DM course at Scuba Junction on Koh Tao and came to us with a laid-back charm and a stereotypical, anything-goes personae. He was rarely on-time for anything, but when he did turn up, he made some creative and entertaining films. When he does learn how to set his alarm he'll make a fantastic Underwater Videographer.

David [Sweden]

Another Ban's Dive Resort Divemaster Trainee, David came to the Pro Video course with Oceans Below with an easy-going charm and a great sense of humor. He was perhaps one of our luckiest interns as he happened to be on Koh Tao's busiest divesite on a strange day when no other boats were in sight. On this day, two 10 meter Brydes whales (an extremely rare sight on Koh Tao) happened by and let him film them for a full 40 minutes. He went on to work as a videographer at Asia Divers Koh Tao.

Mikael [Sweden]

Mikael sported a truly engaging personality. He came to Us as a fresh Divemaster from Ban's Dive Resort on Koh Tao and showed incredible enthusiasm for underwater video. Despite the fact that he had to leave Us before finishing his course, he did exhibit some great qualities as an Underwater Videographer. We expect to see him back one day soon to finish the last bits of his training.

Kristian [Sweden]

Kristian completed his Divemaster course at Koh Tao Scuba Junction many years ago and his Instructor course, thereafter. He's traveled the world as a diver and his experience underwater really paid off on this program. He so enjoyed the course, that he spent an inordinate amount of time discussing which underwater video camera and housing he should buy to continue his journey (sometimes to the dissatisfaction of his Trainers!). He was able to get some work experience at Asia Divers Koh Tao before moving on to Australia.

Erik [USA]

Erik also was on the Adobe team- best friends and one-time employee of David, he too was one of the designers of the software that We rely on to do Our work. He came to Koh Tao for a change of pace from his life in Silicon Valley and that's exactly what he got. After finishing his video internship with Us and his DM course at Scuba Junction, Erik made up for all the years of working in a high-stress environment by doing...S.F.A! Woo-Hoo!!!He was always good for a laugh and We hope to see him back soon to put that big brain of his to some good use. Check out Eriks 'best of' video, part 1, part 2

David [USA]

David was head of the team that developed Adobe Premiere Pro- the software that We use to edit our movies. He was incredibly useful to have around to point out the intricacies of the program. We were, however, able to teach him a thing or two about applications of those useful tools that he's created, which was gratifying. His technical expertise on the BSAC Professional HD Underwater Videographer Course manual was priceless and We can't thank him enough.

Eike [Germany]

A fantastic cinematographer with many years of experience in the German film industry (no, not that kind of German film!), Eike was involved in a number of award-winning productions at home. He came to Us with relatively little dive experience, but was able to compensate with his outstanding sense of composition and story-telling. In addition, he had an exceptional personality and entertained Us with how stricken he was by the beauty of the underwater world!

Jenny [Sweden]

Jenny also completed her DM training at Crystal Divers on Koh Tao and came to Us soon after. She proved to be an exceptionally quick study and was producing remarkable films in no time. She completed her Pro Video Internship and spent the next 5 months working for Oceans Below. She's due to return soon for another stint with Us and we can't wait to have her back. Check out Jenny's dry project

Colby [Canada]

Young Colby! Still a relative newcomer to adulthood when he joined Us after completion of his DM course at Buddha View Koh Tao, Colby was easily led astray by the many distractions of the island. That said, his background and interest in photography gave him a head start on the Professional Video program. He had a good eye for composition and he was easily capable of filming entertaining movies. Now, if We could just do something about all those distractions...

Underwater Video Trainees 2009

Terence [England]

Another Koh Tao DM from Crystal Dive Resort, Terence also brought great attitude to Oceans Below. He could always be counted on for an easy smile and a flash of humor. He and Lo became fast friends and they formed a great video team. She will definitely miss his presence on her return.

Lo [Wales]

Lo was a fantastic musician who composed her own music. Her artistic talent helped to enhance her videos and she always kept her guitar nearby for the odd spontaneous moment of musical inspiration. Her quirky sense of humor endeared her to The Team. She'll be moving back to Thailand soon to pursue her musical and filmmaking career and We can't wait to have her back.

Simon [England]

Having just completed his DM course at Crystal Divers on Koh Tao, Simon came to Us as a very good diver. His video course counterpart, Alvin, taught him a few subtleties about how and where to find underwater life. In return, Simon took Alvin under his wing for the Koh Tao party scene- made him his wingman, in fact, and showed him a bit about finding terrestrial life! They took their circus act to most every bar on the island in the course of a month. In between, Simon also became an outstanding underwater videographer.

Alvin [Malaysia]

December was a crazy month for Oceans Below! It started with a bang when two of the famed Chipmunks arrived in the shop for their Pro Video course- Alvin and Simon. The two kept Us truly entertained for a full month. Alvin was a very experienced DM working in Sipadan, and his ability to find macro life added another element to not only his movies, but to Our training as well!

Andrea [Canada]

Scott [USA]

Stuart [England]

Stuart, ex- British Royal Marine and PADI Dive Instructor, came to us with no background in film or editing and was an extremely quick study. His great sense of humor and shy demeanor made him an easy target for Elisabeth and Aidy's, oftentimes, cutting wit. He was consistently producing quality videos and was among our best sellers. We look forward to his return in November for the adventure of filming in the Monsoon Season!

Leila [Canada]

Our Brazilian/ Canadian trainee has an amateur background in underwater video which sparked her interest to come and learn the pro-level course on Koh Tao. She has proven to be brilliant with a camera in her hands but needs a disaster-relief team follow her around as she's prone to losing any and all of her and Our belongings.

Jon [Wales]

Laura [Scotland]

Perhaps Laura had a bit of a split personality- in the Oceans Below office she was a quiet workhorse who was rarely heard. But on a night out, she was a party animal who was mostly seen drinking buckets mightily! Her movies were slick, professional and very popular with the customers.

Lauren [England]

Built to be a videographer! Happy, bubbly, super-enthusiastic, creative and an asset to the company. Only 18 years old and now studying TV production in England, we'll be welcoming Lauren back on her summer breaks each year to work with us. [an interview with Lauren]

Jef [USA]

Hip hop Jef as The Team calls him hails from New York and harbors a blindingly creative mind. Like most creative geniuses though, he is a complete mess around the shop. He's currently Stateside but we're looking forward to him joining us full time in the near future.

Kezia [Canada]

Kez, the prototypical Girl-Next-Door, is everybody's sweetheart. She produces fantastic videos and is an absolute selling machine. It doesn't hurt her sales that she's also a super-magnet for Koh Tao's biggest attraction- the whaleshark!

Fulvio [Italy]

Having been to the island before to do his Dive Instructor course, Fulvio returned this year to further his career opportunities by completing the course with Oceans Below. His experience in the water shows in his camerawork and he has a lot of potential to do well in the industry.

Nassos [Greece]

Ayla [England]

Oceans Below's shyest and sweetest trainee ever! She was initially so nervous about filming students underwater that she didn't want to go, but in the end she not only overcame her fears but turned out to be an awesome videographer and an amazing salesperson!

Mungo [Scotland]

Every business needs a mascot and Mungo was ours! Listening to him on an almost daily basis trying to piece together the events of his previous evening never failed to keep us in stitches. He was an absolute lovely guy and The Team misses him, dearly.

Kieron [England]

This young lad came to Oceans Below from Bali after having completed his Dive Instructor course. He was full of swagger and confidence and brought a unique style to his videos that proved to be both entertaining and effective.

Nathalie [England]

Another former film student, Nathalie came to Koh Tao to learn the underwater trade. She also was a joy to be around and filmed some first class movies. She is currently in post-production on her very own feature film to be entered in international film festivals. In addition, she is in pre-production on a sitcom pilot in the UK. [read her online interview about the course]

Audrey [Belgium]

Audrey combined her video course with the PADI Divemaster course over a few months giving her the opportunity to get lots of experience diving both with and without a camera in her hands. Her camerawork was particularly good and her Dry project about a confused transgender teen is still discussed today!

Dom [Poland]

The terror from the East, Dom was a great person to have around the office. Having done his IDC on Koh Tao a few years back he now owns Shark Divers, a very successful dive operation in Warsaw. A born salesman with an engaging personality and an oftentimes twisted sense of humor Dom is everyone's friend and every barman's wet dream!

Underwater Video Trainees 2008

Tom & Kim [USA]

This lovely American couple has long been settled in Versailles (the city,not the castle) and came to do the Oceans Below video course on a working holiday. Having arrived as PADI Divemasters their camerawork was exceptional and they were soon producing great underwater videos. [Tom's review]

Tom [England]

Having combined his videography course with his PADI DM course, Tom left the island with a couple of highly marketable skills. He further complicated things by training throughout the monsoon season in less than ideal conditions. This suits him to film while pursuing his new interest of technical diving on deep wrecks.

Francis [Canada]

Coming from a technical background in video from the 51st State, Francis is among the first of our trainees to receive University credit for having completed the Oceans Below Internship. His editing skills are superb and he's a pleasure to have around. [email interview with Francis]

Delphine [France]

After having returned to Koh tao after 7 years in exile, Delphine came to brush up on her underwater video skills with the express purpose of staying and working on  the island. Now she produces great videos on a daily basis while managing another Koh Tao video production company.

Becky [England]

The course with Becky is always an adventure. With a great personality and a propensity towards socializing, she never actually got around to completing the program. She'll be returning soon, though to grace the hallowed halls of the Oceans Below offices with her bubbly disposition.

Scott [England]

Also in film school, Scott's videos are distinguished by an eccentric and unusual style which could be described as nudist-chic. Scott's social networking skills and ability to make himself comfortable absolutley anywhere particularly suit him for the sometimes transient lifestyle of an underwater videographer. [Scott's interview]

Ellie [England]

Currently in film school in the UK, Ellie has the distinction of being one of Oceans Below's first superstar trainees. Incredibly accident prone, she holds the internship record for the highest doctor bills and most stitches required during completion of the course. We and the Koh Tao Physician's Clinic look forward to her return in August 2009! [Testimonial from Ellie]