If you follow my Instagram, you know I recently shot a short film with the Insta360 One R
4K, 1-inch, and 360 mod, alongside with the Insta360 Titan & the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema
6K.
This low budget short film is a scripted romantic comedy BTW.
And it has an open water scene in the pacific ocean as you see right here.
We are trying to use an action camera to recreate the half above water and half underwater cinematic
shot.
In this review and tutorial video, we will go over my thought process, my Insta360 One
R waterproof accessories, my underwater built with the Lume Cube, and my Cinematic camera
settings of the Insta360 One R.
I hope this video will help you find the best above water and underwater accessories for
your Insta360 One R, and tips & tricks to help you get beautiful cinematic footage in
any water activities you do and enjoy.
We got a lot to cover, so let's go.
Hey whats' up everybody.
It is your boy Hugh here from CreatorUp.
So today we are gonna do some underwater housing test for the brand new Insta360 One R which
the brand new 1-inch LEICA right here this is a giant lens but no one actually dip this
thing into the water so it will be funny to see like it will be fun to see like how is
perform underwater and on the right side we have the one r 360 mod which has this housing
but we are not shooting VR today we are actually we gonna use this ball housing to create the
iconic shot of the above water and below water shot usually you can only do that with the
GoPro Dome Port or very expensive giant fisheye camera but this setup is it like so cheap
that if it works it prob the cheapest one you can do 1 side dome port video so we have
the actors behind us ready to be filmed?
Yup read.
waterproof Dive Case.
If you read their documentation carefully, they also recommand for rough water conditions
like Surfing to use it.
Next time when you consider putting your naked camera into the water, think twice.
You can get some really beautiful underwater footage like this if you use the Dive Case
with the correct camera setting.
So if you are planning to use the One R as a 2D underwater camera like the GoPro, getting
the Dive Case is a must.
Even One R is waterproof, but since that accident, I will never ever put my baby into the water
For the 1" Inch Lecia, which don't have an official case for now, I also heard the Ulanzi
Insta360 One R Plus Metal Rabbit Cage could make One R waterproof.
No one has tried it yet.
So I hope Ulanzi will respond to my email so I can test it for you guys in my upcoming
One R videos.
The result I really want to show you guys is not from the 4K or 1" mod - even tho as
you see right here capture by the 1" Lecica - the result is impressive and probably one
of the best underwater cameras if you have a correct casing.
But as you see here, with the regular 4K, 1" inch or the GoPro Heo 8, they all have
the common problem that makes your footage look less cinematic - the distortion underwater.
Also, the blurry water line, as I pointed out right here, really does not look that
great.
The result we really want is like in this video, which has a clear separation of above
and underwater with very sharp water line.
And the underwater is not distorted, which will NOT make the actress look fat, which
is a big deal in lots of movie production.
In order to achieve that in a budget, we can use the Dive Case for Dual-Lens 360 Mod instead.
Just put it out there, if you only have money for 1 One R accessory - getting the 360 Dive
Case is a no brainer.
Look at the 4K reframed footage right here from the Insta360 One R 360 Mod.
It has a clear water separation line without distorting the actor's body.
And it looks really good when you apply GoPro FX Reframe plugin and makes sure the lens
curve set to 70 to remove all fisheye distortion.
Slap on my Tropical Water LUT and some color grading magic, now the footage looks amazing.
For most of you who want to capture amazing above or underwater footage - this is the
best setup I can recommand.
Not to mention this is actually a 360 video, so everything around you is capture and you
don't see the stitch line.
It is one of those set it and forgot about it camera set up so you can enjoy your water
activity without worrying too much getting out of frame.
If you don't have an Insta360 One R Twin addition or the vertical battery setup, which is necessary
to use with the amazing 360 dive case, my 360 aerial mod and VR180 mod, which is coming
very soon, I have some good news for you.
For a limited time, if you buy the One R using my link in the description down below, you
also get a free selfie stick along with whatever promotion Insta360 is running.
So bookmark that link if you need any Insta360 mod and accessories.
There is one problem tho if you want to get cinematic underwater footage.
That is lighting.
Almost 90% of the time, you don't get good sun penetration like what you see here underwater,
especially in the ocean.
So I also built this underwater rig for myself to achieve the best underwater stabilization
and light balance.
So this rig consists of a metal frame - which you can use any frame on amazon.
I will provide some options in the description down below.
Having both hands on the camera while moving in the water provides the best stabilization.
But the most important part of this built are these TWO Lume cubes right here.
They are the new Lume Cube 2.0 with 95 CRI.
You can put a softening diffuser here to have even lighting underwater.
They are 100% waterproof up to 30ft.
They also have a version that is up to 100ft.
Attach them in both sides of my handle and make sure the Lume Cubes are actually in the
water like so - not like my original setup.
So you can light the underwater instead of above water.
If you move a lot underwater, I will also recommand getting a pair of fins.
Another really great accessory is Bite Mount.
It free your hands up and also get you that really great POV view.
We actually use it on our film as you see right here instead of in the water.
It might look a little funky on the talent but great POV for the viewers as you see here.
If you are a surfer - then getting the bite mount is a no brainer.
I will provide the very cheap but solid version I use below - which is half the price of the
official GoPro Bite Mount.
Don't forget to share this video on your social media to spread the love!
Another very necessary Insta360 One R accessories are ND Filter and Underwater Filter.
Freewell made some amazing ND Filter that you can use with 4K, 1" inch, and 360 Mod.
I will recommand to use them to keep the shutter speed double of your frame rate - the 180
rule in filmmaking - to create cinematic motion blur above and around water.
For underwater diving, you will need a RED filter.
Freewell is also making them, and I will let you know as soon as they are available.
Camera Settings.
Now let's talk about the camera setting.
My cinematic camera settings are not only for the underwater but will also work great
above the water.
The general principle is to get the best dynamic range, the highest quality, and flat looking
image out from the One R. So we can bring back all the details in post-production and
also match the color with your 2D DSLR, or cinematic cameras like RED or Blackmagic.
So go to setting page and go to the gear icon, in Video Encoding, choose H.265 for the highest
bitrate recording.
Then go to Screen Auto Sleep, set Timer to NEVER and During Recording to OFF.
So your screen never sleeps when inside the DIVE CASE.
You don't want to lose your viewfinder when you are underwater.
Swipe right to go to exposure setting menu.
Make sure your white balance is NOT auto.
Underwater color temperature changes dramatically.
So set it to around 5000 Kelvin for a sunny day should be good.
We can not set manual exposure underwater - but we want to keep the EV to -0.5 to -1,
to protect the skin tone.
The skin near the surface of the water is very easy to get blown out as you see here.
Keep the EV half step to 1 step lower will protect the skin - generate a better end result.
I will also turn Log Mode on using the mobile phone.
Log Mode makes sure I have the best dynamic range underwater - so I can color grade in
post-production.
I actually provide my underwater tropical LUT absolutely free to download along with
my Technical conversion LUT for the 1" inch LECIA.
For One R 360 Mod, I usually film at 5.7K in 30FPS.
For 4K and 1" Mode, I shoot at 4K 59.97fps.
Having slow motion helps you to slow down the action to have more stable footage.
Stabilization will be your constant issue in water - so anything that helps improve
stabilization, we will use it - including 60fps.
Okay, let's talk about filming tips.
As in CreatorUp, we are more than just amateur.
Filming video is an art that requires more than just technical camera settings.
In order to get the best result above and underwater, you need to know the weather and
water condition.
If it is a cloudy day without the Sun, in general, I will not recommand to film at all.
As the underwater will not have enough light, and the footage will turn out ugly.
Another way to get beautiful underwater footage of talents is to put them in between the sun
and the camera.
And you try to shoot upward instead of downward - like right here.
Having the sun come tho the water surface creates beautiful dream-like reflections that
look super cinematic.
We actually dress our talent in a floaty red dress to make the frame look even more interesting.
And yes, the wardrobe is also important even for underwater video - bikini is not always
the best option if you want a cinematic shot.
Be creative here!
Before you get into the water, I will suggest applying lens water spot repellent on all
your casing and lens.
So water will slip off your lens instead of sticking there as droplets.
A good brand I use is Clarifii - and I will provide the link in the description down below.
You know the drill by now.
No good video without correct post-production workflow.
So now, we are going to go over the post-production workflow.
Step one is in Insta360 Studio.
Make sure you select the correct dive case stitching.
For half above the water and half under the water shot, I usually choose above the water
dive case stitching.
For 4K Mod or 1 inch underwater shot, I usually choose Wide instead of Ultra Wide - as I think
Wide underwater look better without unwanted distortion.
If you go for the action camera look, feel free to use Ultra Wide.
Then make sure you use ProRes as your export codec.
If not, your Premiere or Davinci Resolve will have a tough time playback your footage.
Step 2 is to bring your footage into your editing software of choice.
I have a full series on Davinci Resolve already covers everything.
So go check it out here.
I will show Premiere here instead.
Drop in the GoPro FX Reframe plugin if you use the 360 Mod and reframe it to the direction
you want to keep and make sure set the lens curve to 70 to remove unwanted fisheye distortion.
For 1" inch or 4K Mod, we can go straight to color grading.
You can use Lumetri here to first load in the Insta360 official LUTs.
Or you can use my technical REC 709 Conversion LUT if you don't like the Insta360 Look.
Then, just use my Tropical water LUT, provide free with this video, to get that tropical
look.
If that is not your thing, feel free to color grade yourself to get your look.
Pay attention to the highlight above water to make sure you are not blowing out the highlight.
Then what I like to do is to do a secondary color grade on just everything under the water.
As the underwater part will look softer and less expose compare to the above-water part.
We want to balance it by using a mask like so.
Give it a big feather.
Then increase the shadow and exposure to taste.
Then we add a strong sharpening and copy the same mask over.
Look at the before and after.
It makes a world different for above & underwater shot.
This is my secret technique you just learn that you can't find it anywhere else on the
Internet.
Please share this video on your social media to spread love.
And don't forget to give me a like and a thank you comment :)
So beside Insta360 One R, we also use GoPro Hero 8 with Dome Port and GoPro MAX on this
shoot, as you see here.
Is it GoPro combination better than Insta360?
Not really.
The big Dome port from companies like Telesin is very easy to be scratched - as you see
right here.
It is also harder to use in open water.
If you are interested in learning my GoPro Hero 8 and GoPro MAX underwater cinematic
setting - please drop me a comment, so I know there are enough interests there.
This video is more focus on above & underwater cinematic shots instead of deep underwater
diving.
I am working on another tutorial with some of my diver friends to create that video for
you.
Any diving more than 5 meters require RED filter, which is not currently available on
any Insta360 One R model.
I am working with coupled filter manufacturers to develop filters to help underwater filming
with the One R. When there are available, I will make a follow-up review & tutorial
on deep dive underwater filming in 360 with the One R.
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I do my best to cover advanced topics that no one else on the Internet willing to cover
on 360 and VR filmmaking.
Yes, my content is not clickbait like the others, not easy to learn, and sometimes it
is pretty dry.
But just like any art form, filmmaking takes time to mater.
And I am here to help you with that process - so you can get there faster - become a true
artist.
I will see you in the next lesson or review.