RED fell

[Aleksandr Frayman]

I bought myself MOVI M15, began to install on it my RED, picked up MOVI and the top part disconnected (where the handle) and my RED fell to the floor. Outwardly, there is no damage. What can be done with the camera?

 

[D. O'Bryan]

I once watched one survive a 20 foot fall off a drone while mounted to an M15. Few dings and scrapes but the camera worked fine. The M15 was destroyed.


That's why I use helicopters and not drones.

 

[Aleksandr Frayman]

This fucked up) that is, shorter from the fact that he fell nothing happened exactly?)

 

[Aleksandr Frayman]

I once watched one survive a 20 foot fall off a drone while mounted to an M15. Few dings and scrapes but the camera worked fine. The M15 was destroyed.


That's why I use helicopters and not drones.

Is there any way to do auto tuning through the application as well as on ronin?

 

[Audy Erel]

The nightmare of any camera owners or any optical device.. years ago I had my 5D fell hard to the ground, although it looks okay with only a few scratches and continues to function normally, I always felt something must be misaligned and out of precision on the inside for just a fraction of a millimeter. Maybe it's just my OCD but finally I sold the camera to eliminate the never ending guilt.

 

[Dominik Muench]

In the first week of receiving my Epic Mx back in the day, we had a drone gig in Vanuatu on one of the volcanoes for a big asian martial arts feature.
The drone crashed and kept rolling down the mountain, the camera was recording the whole time.
Drone got smashed to bits, lens got smashed and the Epic was fine and kept working for another 2 years.
Pretty sure I still have a 5 min take somewhere of the whole thing going down.
These cameras are solid as hell.

 

[Ben Scott]

I had my brand new Scarlet-MX take a nose dive off the end of a 6ft high dolly on its first job because the AC was watching the monitor instead of the camera. Luckily the mattebox and rails took the damage but it was a real heart in mouth moment.

 

[Matt Bai]

In the first week of receiving my Epic Mx back in the day, we had a drone gig in Vanuatu on one of the volcanoes for a big asian martial arts feature.
The drone crashed and kept rolling down the mountain, the camera was recording the whole time.
Drone got smashed to bits, lens got smashed and the Epic was fine and kept working for another 2 years.
Pretty sure I still have a 5 min take somewhere of the whole thing going down.
These cameras are solid as hell.

RED reel.

 

[Eren Ozkural]

In the first week of receiving my Epic Mx back in the day, we had a drone gig in Vanuatu on one of the volcanoes for a big asian martial arts feature.
The drone crashed and kept rolling down the mountain, the camera was recording the whole time.
Drone got smashed to bits, lens got smashed and the Epic was fine and kept working for another 2 years.
Pretty sure I still have a 5 min take somewhere of the whole thing going down.
These cameras are solid as hell.

Is there any way you're allowed to release this footage? Really want to see this!

 

[Owen Rennie]

Note to self- don't buy a used camera off anyone above haha

 

[Luke Rihl]

Buddy of mine was on a recent commercial shoot where a MOVI PRO came unhooked from a cable cam about 30 feet above concrete. Movi, Weapon, 19-90, and C force motors all a big pile of rubble on that one lol

 

[Dominik Muench]

Is there any way you're allowed to release this footage? Really want to see this!

I really wish I could but the shoot was part of a feature film for a very well known Hong Kong martial arts actor so I'm pretty sure the production company would roast me :/

 

[D. O'Bryan]

This fucked up) that is, shorter from the fact that he fell nothing happened exactly?)

The MoVI exploded into a million parts, wireless transmitter was killed (where the power and data cables plug in was ripped out), thankfully we'd removed the follow focus due to weight considerations. The camera itself was fine and honestly didn't have much more scuffing than one would get through regular use. As far as I know after getting checked out by RED it went back on the rental shelf. Can't say the same for our MoVI or the drone op's machine!

When we finally got the Epic-W my first policy was: no drones.
We'll get someone else to risk their camera for those shots!

Is there any way to do auto tuning through the application as well as on ronin?

Yes, it's in the app under the configuration settings. Make sure it's totally still and on the dock before running it, and save all settings once it's done - so it remembers the tuning after a power cycle.

These cameras are solid as hell.

That's basically what RED told me when I called in a panic from set. Tech's words: "unless it was submerged in water it's probably fine"

 

[Thai Christen]

The MoVI exploded into a million parts, wireless transmitter was killed (where the power and data cables plug in was ripped out), thankfully we'd removed the follow focus due to weight considerations. The camera itself was fine and honestly didn't have much more scuffing than one would get through regular use. As far as I know after getting checked out by RED it went back on the rental shelf. Can't say the same for our MoVI or the drone op's machine!

When we finally got the Epic-W my first policy was: no drones.
We'll get someone else to risk their camera for those shots!
"

Do you know what really happened that caused the drone crash? As a drone pilot/operator myself I know that 90% are pilot error. What was the condition you did shoot in? Risky manoevers in super windy conditions with obstacles in the way for example?
Drone have their places. A couples of weeks ago I was commissioned to shoot drone (Warner Bros) on a glacier above 10'000 feet and minus 10 Degree Celsius (14 Fahrenheit). The wider area of the glacier was covered by helicopter shooting on Cineflex. Drone covered close range shots of casts where it was not possible for helicopter. So both complement each other well.
I shot on a loaner Epic Dragon 6K because my Epic-W Helium was sent to Red for service (serious boot error).
In the morning we had clear sky with mild wind. But after noon time, the wind kicked with windguts of 25knots. Also lots of fog so visibility was not good. It was quite tricky because we had some tracking shots of cast. There was one 360 shot around a peak where on all side it goes down a couple of hundred meters. If the drone crashed there was no way you could have retrieved it.
But at the end everything went fine.

I have my own codex, when it is too risky to fly I say No. This is crucial. You have to know your limits and the limit of what your drone can do. Just explain that in beforehand to producers and directors so everyone is on the same page.

But sure, there is always a risk of technical failure which you cannot predict. Regular maintenance of your gear and LiPo batteries is key to minimize the risks.
I am lucky I never crashed a Red. Phantoms and racing copters, hell sure.

 

[D. O'Bryan]

We never got a "this is exactly what failed" from freefly (Alta 6) that I am aware of, but in my last conversation with the op it seems likely that it was few issues that added up to the loss:

We were shooting tracking shots of runners on a bridge. The bridge itself had overhead power lines for light rail, but we were always a decent distance away from that, flying over water beside the bridge. The done probably had incorrect damping parameters set in the software as well as the incorrect rubber dampers installed for the payload (Freefly did admit that this was a known issue that they have subsequently fixed).
During our shot the drone started oscillating along the Y axis, and seeing the MoVI bounce up and down violently we immediately ordered the drone back to landing. Coming back to the landing site, according to the pilot, the drone quit responding to control inputs, rolled on the throttle hard - we watched it jump about 30' straight up - and banked straight into the side of the bridge, dropping too close to the crew for comfort. Most important thing is nobody was hurt and it's a good reminder to keep the landing site well clear until the blades stop turning.


I totally agree drones and helicopters can be very complimentary. I'll just never put my bread & butter camera on one now that I've seen the worst of it!
Will probably invest in an Inspire 2 Pro R though eventually. I think those would compliment well and offer a more palatable amount of risk.

 

[Patrick Kendall]

Yeah, was shooting in Grand Central Station with that hard marble flooring on an M15 and asked the 2nd AC to assemble the Movi. When it came time to shoot the DP was making one last adjustment to the wiring when the Movi separated from the handle. He caught it though. Cradle style, saving my baby. Totally operator error that the pin wasn't properly seated, but what a design flaw! Freefly should look into this!

 

[Thai Christen]

We never got a "this is exactly what failed" from freefly (Alta 6) that I am aware of, but in my last conversation with the op it seems likely that it was few issues that added up to the loss:

We were shooting tracking shots of runners on a bridge. The bridge itself had overhead power lines for light rail, but we were always a decent distance away from that, flying over water beside the bridge. The done probably had incorrect damping parameters set in the software as well as the incorrect rubber dampers installed for the payload (Freefly did admit that this was a known issue that they have subsequently fixed).
During our shot the drone started oscillating along the Y axis, and seeing the MoVI bounce up and down violently we immediately ordered the drone back to landing. Coming back to the landing site, according to the pilot, the drone quit responding to control inputs, rolled on the throttle hard - we watched it jump about 30' straight up - and banked straight into the side of the bridge, dropping too close to the crew for comfort. Most important thing is nobody was hurt and it's a good reminder to keep the landing site well clear until the blades stop turning.


I totally agree drones and helicopters can be very complimentary. I'll just never put my bread & butter camera on one now that I've seen the worst of it!
Will probably invest in an Inspire 2 Pro R though eventually. I think those would compliment well and offer a more palatable amount of risk.

Wow, that sucks and I am sorry to hear. Luckily, nobody got injured.
Based on your description, I still believe it was pilot/operator error. I know Freefly have their issues, like any other system out there. With the recent offerings from Freefly and DJI they make it so simple that every kid can fly big birds and call themselves a Pro. It is nice and cool to have all the fancy features. But sometimes, it is better to stick with "older" technology that is simple and reliable.
As long as everything works as expected, the world is fine. But if something goes wrong, most of those folks have no idea what to do. And thus, incidents are pre-programmed.
I think a skilled pilot/operator could have landed the bird safely in your case or even avoided the incident.
1) As an operator you know the baseline gains settings of your drone for different payloads. Ideally, you already have tested and flown with this kind of payload in the environment you supposed to shoot in. With the right settings, there should be no oscillations.
2) If things still go wrong, you MUST keep calm and switch to fully manual and be able to operate the drone. Not sure how it works with Freefly, but with DJI Wookong or A2, fully manual means NO GPS, NO Altitude hold, nothing. Also your gain settings have minor to zero impact on payload or whatsoever. So it really is about your skills as a pilot.

I remember during a shoot in Armenia (Caucasus). I was covering close range aerials for a reality TV Show for CBS. In one occasion I landed my drone after a beauty shot to change the battery. In that moment the director called out loudly "drone up in the air". The cast were arriving and I was supposed to make a tracking shot. So out of stress, I plugged in the batteries and took off immediately. After maybe 10 seconds the drone acted weird and I lost control over the sticks. Control input was very sluggish with drone wobbling like a drunk bird. And suddently the drone climped up fast about 10 meters and flew away in very high speed. In that moment I knew I had to keep calm. I switched to full manual mode (I was in Altitude holding mode), took over control of the bird and brought it back safely. Unfortunately, I missed that shot. Luckily, I got a second chance later that day and nailed it.

So when you hire a drone operator for your gig, it is good to check their track record first. Don't go for the cheap ones. Good operators are worth their money. I am not saying things cannot go wrong. It always can. But the risks are smaller. Also most operators who shoot Red bring their own cameras.

And sorry for hijacking the thread.