Subject:
A Yellowmouth Moray Eel (Gymnothorax nudivomer) is stunned by the sudden invasion of Striped Catfish (Plotosus lineatus) in its den.
Moray eels are solitary fish, and most of the time, they do not share their shelter with other species that are not useful to them. When the moray eel sees the benefit in cohabiting with other creatures, such as cleaner shrimp, it will tolerate or even welcome them into its hideout. However, when another critter comes to steal some of the moray’s private space without adding any advantages to the host, it will most likely chase the intruder away.
In this short underwater video clip, the Yellowmouth Moray Eel is overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of a significantly large school of Striped Catfish (Plotosus lineatus). I'm unaware if the moray knows that these catfish are armed with deadly fin rays. But one thing is certain; the amount of fast and frantically moving fish entering the moray eel’s den took the snake-shaped predator by complete surprise.
Striped Catfish are known to live in sheltered areas of the reef. When they are juvenile, they spend more time in the open and stick together in tight balls, also known as a “knot.” When they are adults, they adopt a more solitary lifestyle, mostly hidden in cracks and under ledges. But when they are sub-adults like in this underwater video clip, they form big schools and explore different overhangs before settling in a single spot, to the great agony of the resident fish.
Technique:
This underwater video clip is a good example of the use of special effects in nature cinematography. By adding and combining a few elements to this shot, I was able to emphasise the chaos created by the Striped Catfish.
The effect was made without any generators but just by adding an extra layer on top of the original, making it 75% transparent and delaying it by only 3 frames or so. The original footage was filmed in 24fps, so to create the same effect in, for example, 30fps, it would be recommended to delay the top layer by 4, 5 or even 6fps. This simple technique is often used in films to create the illusion that someone is drunk or dizzy.
The delayed layer also received some additional motion blur to accentuate the blurry part of the effect. I made several versions, played around a bit until I thought I had the best end result. Of course, there are many rules in editing, but I think that the best results are obtained when you think outside the box.
The effect could only work thanks to a few things: the almost tripod-like stability of the entire shot and the very slow-moving moray eel in the background. If for one reason or another, the camera had moved up or down, or panned from left to right or vice versa, it would have been impossible to end up with the same result. The background and/or the moray eel would have created some motion blur, ruining the shot. The slender, almost eel-like shape of the Striped Catfish also contributes to the overall perception of the movements.
Besides a dynamic music tune, I also added the sound of a rainmaker or rainstick, a South American musical instrument made of dried hollow cactus that creates the sound of rain, to accentuate the chaotic and frantic movements of the schooling Striped Catfish.
Filming location:
This short underwater videoclip has been filmed in Mauritius 🇲🇺
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