1st CMAS World Championship Underwater Video 2010

From September 28th to October 5th, 2010 the first CMAS World Championships Underwater Video took place in the Canary Island in Fuerteventura / Cala Fuste. After several test runs on the Canaries, as in La Palma as well as in Fuerteventura, this competition finally should bring the desired success, namely a clutch of participants from many nations.
To foreclose is, that this desire was not fulfilled. So it has to be considered, whether these important World Championships should be generally put into question or whether the Video World Championships should be consolidated with the Photo World Championships for a transition time.
Now reasons can be searched and surely be found, which sanctifies a generally cancellation at the moment. But important reasons argue for the continuation, even for an extended offer for videographs from all over the world.
But now read about the event and the success of the competition on cut back activities.
The number of participants from seven nations with ten teams at all , as already mentioned, less that the title World Championships in fact was not justified, though, and this has to be considered, all leading nations attended as multiplier for the visual future.
France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany are example of all nations, which are traditionally enrolled competitors on a global scale and which dominate the photography championships for decades, were in the competition.
With Japan and Turkey joined, which are able to influence the prospective goals in their areas in Asia and the Orient.
On site the FEDAS and the FEDECAS offered a functional and perfect organisation as usual. Although a strike in Spain already affected the preparations, as the arrival of the teams and the jury members, the organisers Eduardo Centelles und Junior Eduard Centelles coped with hardly noticeable adjustments in the planned agenda and the promotion on site. The timetable and the agenda were valid again at the beginning of the event.
Which has already has experience in diving in the Atlantic Ocean and the best with heavy video-technology as equipment, knowing that the weather has to be expected which makes a script work nearly impossible by current, low visibility and moderate north-east storm. So the teams, always had the planned idea in mind and had to try their best with the given requirements, but innovations under hardest conditions bring advantages which characterised a later World Champion.
In short, unfortunately the adapting-day and both of the competition days provided these assumptions, but every team came upon the same conditions.

After  the second competition day, when the third dive was completed, opportunity for shooting within 90 minutes for sequences afloat were given, the teams could film in the possible 15% of the maximum 6 minutes video and afterwards put together to a whole, roundly the event took 6 hours work.
Perhaps this was the most stressful time, so that relaxed faces were seen after the handing over. Nothing could be done any more. Because it was the jury’s turn now.
The international Jury with Fred di Meglio as president, who was ever on site and also under water well informed by separated dives, knew to assess the difficulties, but had to consider the criteria, which are international measures for the rating.
The points were given and added up to the criteria: shooting, settings, music, storyboard and marine live. A ranking was established and the top films became once more subject of a critical rating. With major agreement the medals were assigned and the first CMAS World Champion of Underwater Video was elected.
Let’s rejoice for the success, which, in spite of the contrarious circumstances and a few number of competitors, will support the videography overall, so that this section of the visual media has a stake in the future of the CMAS.
As supposed the superiority of the Spanish teams were distinguishable.
But not only the home field advantage was in a very good condition, but also the good quality of the work with the camera in technical aspects, the script, the sound- and music-editing and the demonstration of the creatures under water which marked the champions.
Pleased were the silver medal, which was taken by the Italian team and that reduces the dominance of the Spain competitors, as also the fourth rank for the Portuguese, who shared this rank with the second Italian team.
Summing up a trend was distinguishable, that only documental configured storyboards don’t shape the winners. Anyone who wants to lead the Video Championships in future has to be most importantly variable and has to know the local diving sits exactly. The idea, which wants to catches on as an innovation, has to be able to build the bridge and to involve the biotope under and over water.

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