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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Chopper advice

Gunleik Groven

Gunleik Groven

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Hi. I'm going to do my first chopper shoot tomorrow, hanging out of the thing and shooting snowboarders down the mountain, amongst other fun stuff.

First: Don't tell me to let somoene else to shoot... This is a ride I won't let go, BUT I'll take all the well meant advice and scary remarks I can get... :)

There is a rig so I can "hang" out the door, I've been told, but there's no gyro or mount on the chopper. There is a way to secure the cam, though... And the pilot's been doing quite a few filmshoots, so he is experienced.

But what would you suggest (except for shooting to Cards and having an assistant to offload them as we fly...)

I guess a mattebox could be a problem? (I'll have a croziel swing-off)

Hey. This is a 1st, I'm a noob. Any advice taken!


Cheers
 
gunleik said:
Hi. I'm going to do my first chopper shoot tomorrow, hanging out of the thing and shooting snowboarders down the mountain, amongst other fun stuff.

First: Don't tell me to let somoene else to shoot... This is a ride I won't let go, BUT I'll take all the well meant advice and scary remarks I can get... :)

There is a rig so I can "hang" out the door, I've been told, but there's no gyro or mount on the chopper. There is a way to secure the cam, though... And the pilot's been doing quite a few filmshoots, so he is experienced.

But what would you suggest (except for shooting to Cards and having an assistant to offload them as we fly...)

I guess a mattebox could be a problem? (I'll have a croziel swing-off)

Hey. This is a 1st, I'm a noob. Any advice taken!


Cheers
Click to expand...


I've done a fair bit of fillming in a chopper, Antarctica included. To get useful footage you will need a Continental Mount or similar. Otherwise, you can't hold the camera steady enough. Perhaps suspending it on some sort of bungee cord, but don't expect miracles. It will be shaky! Long lens is out of the question.

Hood, matte box and large attachments should be off. Screw-on a clear, ND or/and PL filter on. Adjust everything you can on the ground. Get plenty of lens wipes. Discuss story board with the pilot before the flight. Give the pilot a preview screen - he will be composing shots more than you can. Shoot with the sun. Watch out for the prop - it gets in the shot more easily than you think and you can't see it on LCD or VF.

Wear glasses to protect your eyes from wind :matrix: . Dress warm, in winter very warm and put wind protective overall! :cold: And... empty your bladder before takeoff.:poster_oops:

Have fun! Let us know how you go.
 
Hi,

Balance is everything. A short piece of shock cord doubled up and hung from the door or ceiling of the helo will help with vibrations. If you use a carabiner, and a webbing strap connected to the top handle with a loop, you can slide the camera back and forth on the handle to get the balance right, and the loop should cinch up when the cameras weight is on it. Be as far inside the helo as practical to stay out of the wind, no mattebox is better for wind. Try to mount the LCD at the back, in line with the mass of the body. If you can get one where you are, a Kenlabs KS-6 gyro mounted in the 3/8-16 hole in the bottom of the camera will add considerable stability, but keep in mind it will limit you pan and tilt to about 20 degrees per second.

I hope some of that made sense. I have had better results with the above set up than with a tyler mount, depending on how beat up the tyler mount is, and how well it is installed.

I have not used the above system with a Red but it should work fine.

Cheers,

Nick Gardner
 
HDCAM shoot in Antarctica

HDCAM shoot in Antarctica

Hunting for Japanese "scientists" in Antarctica :angry01: - HDCAM shoot.
 
A few things that come to mind. To keep in the pilot's good books, rebuckle your seatbelt when tranferring to a harness to prevent the buckle damaging the external duco (paint). Work out a clear path for your- comms, harness, videofeed, camera leash (if there is one), so your not in a bowl of spagetti! Definately no hoods or matteboxes, infact keep the lens inside the roofline to prevent extra shake. No opening doors over 50 knots (always check with the pilot), secure payload, never exit the aircraft up an incline, on exit/ entry never walk beyond the rear campartment...(rear rotors hazard). The tighter you hold the camera the more vibration, the pilot needs your eyes..watching for power lines/ flocks of birds/ other aircrafts in formation/ Santa! When packing lots of gear..breathe out on lift off to make yourself lighter!...
 
I watched an hour episode from Mike Seymour at fxguide a while back. Most of it was him giving a blow by blow from a chopper where he was operating from. Send him a mail they respond pretty quick over there.

I would tie it either way to some sort of short bungy set-up, and hopefully you are not the only one back there having to juggle with your rig.

Don`t forget insurance.

Break a leg!

Nick Wolf
AkA
DogDay
 
Hi,
ive done quite a bit of hand held heli work. You should travel to the site of the shoot with the door on , that gets u there and back quicker and warmer, land at site remove door and then do the shoot land again door back on and home. Dress up really warm particularly for your feet and hands, thin gloves or fingerless are the ones I use but its not as cold here. Tie everything that moves in the chopper and remove all detachable gear from camera. anything that comes off will and this can damage the tail rotor. make sure ur head is warm also, with a good head covering hat. Dont be afraid to talk to the pilot he is there to help u, make sure the helicopter headsets are working and that you can hear the pilot clearly. u need to be able to communicate quickly and easily with the pilot. I use his aviation lingo for all instructions to him. get to know how the chopper works with the wind and the mountain. choppers can be more controllable going into a slight wind and much less so with the wind behind them. you wont be able to hold a camera steady for too long off the shoulder , keep the lens wide and don't go crazy trying to shoot everything u see, chose your shots and see if u can get 5 0r 6 seconds of non wobbly footage per take. there is always going to be turbulence on a mountain so as i said keep it wide and try to keep it steady. Using a viewfinder is good because ur part of the camera and the movement is easier also u can fool yourself into thinking that ur watching tv and not dangling out of a chopper at 1000meteres. before u take off make sure your safety harness(i use 2) is long enough for you to be right at the door. Also tie you camera to your arm.If they have a door seat make sure that its in the right position and that your 2 feet can be comfortably placed on the chopper ski. If your prone to motion sickness u should take something for this.(i don't get sick in cars , planes or most motors but choppers make me puke) but medication sorts this out. Have a toilet break before u go. I find that the most important thing is to be comfortable with the pilot and with the seating and ur clothes( u can feel like a Michelin man sometimes with all the layers). Enjoy yourself, its the only way to travel. What type of chopper are you using?
 
This was shot handheld with Red from a small R44 and then stabilized in nothing more than FCP with smoothcam.

http://www.rvimedia.com/video/RickJacksonHouse.mov
http://www.rvimedia.com/video/Retirement_small.mov

Shoot as wide as you can get away with.
Shoot as fast a shutter as you can get away with, otherwise footage might stabilize but has weird motion blur.

The biggest problem is you can't stabilize footage that has too much of a bump or swing (like turbulence) because then skew rears its ugly head.

We got 20 to 30 second usable clips though.
 
there is also a perspex fitting that goes into where the door sits. It fits along the side of the heli at right angle to the ground. Its about 15cms deep and it breaks the wind flow around the door , this is really useful because your not getting wind pushing on the side of the lens. It make a huge difference. and it keeps u warmer.
 
Fun .. but first!

Fun .. but first!

Here is something I prepared earlier :)
http://www.hd24.com/shooting_from_a_chopper.htm

Speak to the pilot.
If you havent been in a chopper low level with door off then I suggest that you have a test flight well before the shoot, particularly if what you are shooting is rare or not repeatable or who ever is paying for the flight doesn't mind you learning on the job.


A good film pilot will deliver most of the angles you need without you needing to be outside the door on a harness. You can sit on the seat and use seat belt. Secure release buckle with tape.


Sadly there are accidents *every* year with side shooters, primarliy due to pilots flying the aircraft out of balance or flying sideways. This manouver is not hazardous unless it is performed the wind behind you. A extra gust of wind can blow the tail beyond the level of power available to hold it in position. The result is that the tail rotates at least 180 degrees usually more before it bites in clean air. In the meantime you drop like a stone.


So it is critical to figure out which is the safest side for you to shoot from, in respect to prevailing wind and of course lighting, direction of action and direction of movement of shot are all factors...so it is impossible to get everything right all the time unless you can land and swap sides.



Except the news chopper collision recently there has not been a fatal accident involing a remote head gyrocamera on the nose.

Tying the camera to the aircraft is better than tying it to your arm:)

Commercial pilot only.
Given the job a +1000hrs experienced pilot.
Very very warm clothes if you are high or it is cold.
Silk inner gloves then fingerless outers work for me.
Gaffer tape trouser legs so they dont flap.
Throat mic if you are going to out on the skid.
EASA rules state that you must have clear egress so forget the homemade bungey idea.
Deepish Bag with top opening secured to floor.
Wide lens only.
Small lens hood works but tape it down.
Lack of internal filters on REDone means that you'll pray for consistant weather.

Dont expect good results if it is your first flight with the door off. What works for one may not work for you sometimes this takes a number of flights for the op to figure out what is best for him.

Insurance, your personal accident, mortage insurance ect will not cover you in a chartered aircraft.
The aircraft owners will have "legal liability insurance" but if they are not legally liable you dont get big payout.ie bird strike.
Also any liability has to proven in a court of law so you'lll need $100k just to see them in court!

One UK cmaeraman was seriouly injured and blamed for the accident.
An aussi cameraman's camera strap apparently snagged the controls in a R22 recently and the aircraft was written off and insurance didnt payout for a new heli!

If aircraft is R22 (which I doubt) walk away now.

Speak to the pilot.


Then you can have some fun!


Mike Brennan
 
Thanks all!

This is veery helpfull.

The one paying for the gig is my firms co-owner, so he definitely wants me up there and learning by doing (and researching....)


Mike.
Just had the first brief with the pilot, and your post resonates well with what we went through

G
 
This is the solution for aerial filming!
Wescam Gyro system and RED camera

blue skies

Peter Degerfeldt
 
Hi Mike,

I in no way mean any disrespect, I am just clairifiing a few things, or perhaps opening them up for discussion.

EASA rules state that you must have clear egress so forget the homemade bungey idea.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean here, a Tyler side mount is way more difficult to get past than a camera hung in the doorway, I have done this on US Coast Guard, and whatever the EU version is, and they are serious sticklers for regulations.

This manouver is not hazardous unless it is performed the wind behind you. A extra gust of wind can blow the tail beyond the level of power available to hold it in position. The result is that the tail rotates at least 180 degrees usually more before it bites in clean air. In the meantime you drop like a stone.
Click to expand...

Not sure again what you are refering to here. Helicopters are happy to pirrouette a lot more than 180 degrees with no loss of lift, and an increase in rotor pitch would correct any problem there. The US coast guard very often flies helos in extreme (50 knots plus) wind conditions while performing difficult rescues.

One thing that should be mentioned, is that depending on the altitude that you are operating at, and the ceiling of the Helo, you may not be able to hover, and your airspeed may have a minimum to maintain lift.

Cheers,

Nick Gardner
 
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