First Time Aerial Filming Tips

[Michael Notar]

ya helis are rare around here, just an hand full in the area. there is prob one medical helicoper, maybe one police helicoper and 2-3 privately owned ones including the R44 i know about. there is prob about the same number in spokane nearby.

my only experience was first on a big one in hawaii then then R44 scrunched up in the back seat of that, i am spoiled as well.

an R44 runs just under 500/hr, i think 4 hrs of flight time should do it, the pilot here said he wouldnt charge for resting time on the ground. i am thinking of downloading and looking at footage as i go, no rush, but maybe rethinking it... depends on how good it goes and how i feel. i think the bigger ones even tho more expensive we could do it in less time. doesnt matter to me its all added on to the job anyways!

[Michael Notar]

so how much flight time do you think is needed, once the bird is there, assuming i am not doing lots of takes due to messing up? i plan on going over each hole from tee box to green and maybe around the green, its a full 18 hole course.

i figure my 2 64gb cards should do me fine even without downloading them, would be shooting at 4k/24 or 3k/48 on my scarlet at 8:1. i anticipate i will be framing it with a 24mm lens or there about. from everyones replies i will prob use a slightly higher than normal but too high shutter.... thinking 90 degrees.

[Jason Comparetto]

Personally I would go with 256GB cards. Once you're up in the air with the doors off you'll want to minimize how many operations you have to do. Having an assistant helps but only a little bit. Last time I flew an R44 I had to actually switch cards with 256GB so I handed my assistant the case and we did it very carefully despite the violent winds. I always shoot at 5k so I can crop to 4K, and I realize that takes up alot of card space. However, my flights are usually less than 2 hours and I can fill up 2x 256 GB cards in that time, more or less. I'm usually spotted shooting over cities, however. Perhaps your shoot is completely different as it sounds like you'll be landing whenever you feel like it.

[David Groundwater]

so how much flight time do you think is needed, once the bird is there, assuming i am not doing lots of takes due to messing up? i plan on going over each hole from tee box to green and maybe around the green, its a full 18 hole course.

i figure my 2 64gb cards should do me fine even without downloading them, would be shooting at 4k/24 or 3k/48 on my scarlet at 8:1. i anticipate i will be framing it with a 24mm lens or there about. from everyones replies i will prob use a slightly higher than normal but too high shutter.... thinking 90 degrees.

Hi Michael,

I agree with many of the comments here. A few thoughts:

1. Shutter speed - I would crank this up to at least 1/250th or higher. This is because it will reduce motion blur and help with stabilisation. The "Saving Private Ryan" look isn't noticeable because you're too far away for anything moving and also the camera motion is generally pretty slow - there's no sand in the foreground to freeze in frame along with a mad handheld look (unless you crash into a bunker....). T5.6 or T8 (somewhere in the middle of the lens's range) is optically about the best spot and will give you plenty of DOF with a wide lens for everything to be in focus - unless you hit a tree.
2. Gyros - I've used the Tyler mini-gyro and also individual Kenyon gyros. They're good at reducing high-frequency vibration - but so is stabilisation software. I wouldn't bother. I spent about $1,600 on excess baggage on the battery for the Tyler once and really wish I hadn't. Small gyros like that don't cope well with the pitch and yaw that you get in choppers - put the camera on your lap and try to concentrate on keeping the horizon level. There are some other side mounts that might work better but we've not used them.
3. Forwards tracking shots - you'll probably need to use wide angle lenses - I mainly use an 18mm or sometimes a 10mm. I don't bother with trying anything longer than 40mm because it's too shaky to stabilise. The FOV of the wide lens means that you're very restricted filming forwards (you get the edge of the door in shot). The alternative is for the pilot to crab the chopper sideways but you don't go very fast or straight and can get the blades in the top of frame. I would stick to radial tracking shots if possible - they seem to work the best handheld - watch out for getting the blades in shot in tight turns though.
4. Stabilisation software - we've found Warp Stabiliser to be very effective so long as you're willing to put up with a camera that still rolls a little. If you want the shot to look like it's on rails, we've found it better to use a combination of packages taking out half the movement in one (say Syntheyes) and then pinning the movement down in another (say the old fashioned AFX stabiliser).
5. Choice of chopper - I've used twin squirrels and Eurocopters a lot and both are great - there's a reason that the R44 is a third of the price....
6. Compression - use the highest quality you can because aerial footage tends to be very detailed and every frame is completely different.
7. Cards - your 64 gig cards sound too small to me - 18 holes, say 3 mins a hole plus 10 mins for GVs....? Not sure, but do think about it.
8. Over-cranking - I agree that this gives you more options in post and is probably a good idea.
9. Make sure you can take the door off or it has a sliding door - out the window is impossible.

I hope that's useful. It's obviously all just my opinion based on personal experience and there may well be better advice out there.

Ideally, get a nose mount - we use a Cineflex v14 a lot - but it's obviously very expensive.

I shot everything in this film: http://play.buto.tv/wMZrJ handheld and stabilised with Warp Stabiliser. Most of the stuff over London on our website was shot with the Cineflex with our friends at Arena TV but anything else was handheld out the door.

Cheers,

David
www.riverfc.com

p.s. there might be a fixed wing option with a wing-mounted camera depending on a whole bunch of things....

[Liam Hall]

Real men stand on the skids...

[Jason Comparetto]

Hey guys, while on the subject of standing on the skids (by the way, I love your comment Liam). Born out of that tense feeling I get when I have to stand on the skids... I was thinking of designing a shoe bracket that sort of helps to grab the skid a little. sort of like an upside-down U-shaped attachment. As you know, FAA laws forbid the use of any mounting to the outside of the helicopter unless FAA-approved, so this would have to be something that just helps to keep your foot on the skid, but doesn't actually mount to it in any way or form. Would any of you helicopter guys have gone for that? And how much would you pay for a pair (one for each shoe)?

[Steve G]

Check your insurances (heliflying is non scheduled, so normal insurances don't apply). wear a helmet, and safety harness everything and yourself. Heli crashes are not fun. I've been in one.

[Steve G]

This sight has some good info.... http://www.flight-logistics.com/Crash_Nicely.html

[paulherrin]

I was shooting last week at Niagara falls and shot a higher frame rate, and got great results. I did not know to shoot at a much higher shutter speed though, but will know for next time. I think I had it around 180, and a higher f-stop around 12. I shot between 72 and 90fps. You burn cards quickly and finished a 256gb card in a about 1hr at 10;1. I used a 16-35 f2.8 , and of couple of times dropped to punch in to 3k to see how it worked. 5k and wider is definitely better. You should be able to get low, unlike us.

I used a hand held rig, but only resting the shoulder pad lowly and supporting it with my arms mostly was best (I did not have a gyro) Yes avoid rigged contact.

It's not so much about shutter angle as it is shutter speed. Since you were overcranked, you will probably be pretty good as far as motion blur is involved unless you were jostling around quite a bit. A lot of people like to overcrank just a little bit, not only for smoothness - but playing back just a little bit slower can create a certain sweeping, magical effect. So, on a Scarlet I would perhaps shoot 30fps at 4k and play back at 24 - you can always discard the extra information.

The only reason it matters is to minimize the amount of motion blur for optimal tracking/stabilization. There are options to add motion blur to footage, albeit with potential caveats - especially the extra-processing time. It is always preferable to shoot things how you know you want them and not have to stabilize or anything like that - but that's not always possible or in the budgetary scope of the project.

[Michael Brennan]

It is savvy of you to ask about how to shoot from a heli.
There is some info on this thread http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...-for-a-feature

In addition to that info here is more :)
Low and slow is feasible into a steady wind with the right aircraft.
The more reserve power the aircraft has the more likely the pilot can recover from a gust without losing height and hitting the ground or an obstacle.
A lightly loaded r44 has a reasonable degree of power as does a Jetranger. But loaded with fuel and passengers their reserve power is significantly reduced.
Secondly, the more weight carried, the more lift is required from the blades. One way of achieving more lift is to move the helicopter forward at above 40 knots.
A fully loaded Jet ranger wont actually hover above 20 feet or so and so forward airspeed is necessary for it to stay in the air.
The trap for the enthusiastic pilot is to respond to directions and slow down too much then lift is lost.
40 knots is a bit fast for golf course stuff.


A point to consider, you can't change the orientation of the holes :) but you can change your camera position from left to right door.

So on the day and in reference to wind speed and direction, talk with the pilot about which holes can be most safely shot from the left hand side and which from the right. Then shoot accordingly.
(This is to do with the direction of wind across the rear rotor)

Don't take an assistant on board.


Shooting from the front seat;
Due to the curved front of the R44 it is tempting to shoot straight ahead shots, from the front seat as the angle of crabbing is reduced compared to the back seat. Accidents have occurred where camera equipment being operated from the front seat has been blamed for fouling flight controls causing loss of control.
Most accidents are pilot error and if you and the pilot are both dead then insurers can speculate that the cameraman interfered with the flight controls. If you are both alive there may be two different perspectives on what caused loss of control, pilot blaming cameraman. (this has happened)

Insurance;
Your life insurance mortgage insurance, loss of earnings and camera insurance usually does not cover flights in chartered helicopters and the +$10m policy often quoted by helicopter companies relates to "legal liability" cover, not "accident" cover that pays out without a quibble. ie you have to prove in a court that they were legally liable for the crash.


Note;
Very few R44s maybe, 5% have had their aluminium fuel tanks swapped for crash resistant fuel bladders.
The last filming accident in oz this year in a R44, prompted Robinson to bring forward their advisory to swap tanks for bladders by 12 months.
The reason is in that in the oz accident, which was filmed, was damming evidence of the comparably poor crash worthiness of the R44 fuel tanks. From a low stable hover the aircraft was seen to pitch up and the tail hit the ground, that impact apparently ruptured the fuel tank and a fire began immediately. The aircraft pitched down and rolled onto the ground. This was likely to be a survivable crash had the fuel tank not split open.
Here is a report into a different oz r44 crash.
Page 8 has photos comparing post accident bladder and aluminium tanks on r44.
http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/3601599/ao2011016.pdf


Apart from wide shots from +1000 feet, golf courses are an ideal subject to shoot with stabilised remote helis.





Mike Brennan