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Red on a Yacht

Stephen Lovett

Stephen Lovett

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Hi Folks,

I have an opportunity to shoot aboard a mid size yacht, and would appreciate any experiences you'd care to share.

Specifically, while an underwater housing isn't needed, a lot of spray gets thrown around and salt water + electronics = double plus ungood.

Further stabilization of the horizon line and movement aboard while under way will be challenging.

Red is heavy, and there is a LOT of movement aboard. I can see me being strapped in and the Red on the easyrig as one part of the solution, but that's hardly a solution.

A lot of the shoot will be interior and docked, so not a ton of movement, but I'd like to add some "on the water" footage as well. That's the bit I'm most worried about.

Thanks in advance,

Steve
 
Always, always - use rain cover. Salt water spray KILLS electronics and mess up optics.
 
Hi Stephen,
I just shot some days on a small boat. Here some of my experiences:
I shot with the Easyrig, would never do it without, specially on a small boat! You will have enough to do with stabilize yourself and the cam. You don´t need the extra weight in such situation on your shoulders, and on top: the Easyrig fixes the cam a bit to your body if you suddenly you need both arms to not go overboard. But be aware: The column of the Easyrig can swing away to your back (with the cam attached). Not very comfortable situation and very heavy to counterbalance. So, this brings me to the second solution. I bought a harnish (not sure this is the right english word for it) like the climbers in the mountain use to fix themselves to a cord. And I bought some cords. Like this I could attache myself on one or more points on the boat, and together with the Easyrig I had a quite stable, solid, and under those circumstances, most comfortable stand. The scubadivers have good shoes with a strong grip. Sometimes yacht people don´t like them on the boat, because they can leave black rubber marks.
The next point is about the Red1. Raincover is a good idea, but not always very comfortable. But there is a a lot of salt also on bright sunny days in the air, not only when the sea is rough. I came back (after only 5 days on the boat) with a R1 with rusty screws all over: The Cam, the EVF...sure, not what you expect from such a camera, but...I cleaned them with a little bit of WD-40 (very little, sprayed on a towel, not towards the cam!!!) and its gone. This procedure I would do the next time before, not after such a journey.
Use always a protection filter on the optics!
Have a box or a bag which takes the whole cam at onces, with all the gear attached.
Enjoy the journey,
Cheers,
Marc
 
Get Doug's LWS form Long Valley. Use 60mm aks. If you do that, the Red should fit just fine into a Surface splash housing for an SR or a varicam. Easyrig on a boat is a real good way to get hurt. Also, if you go overboard with an easy rig, game over.

There are two ways to shoot on a boat and they look very different. 1-stabilize to the boat- the boat stays still and the horizon is all over the place. You can hard mount a head to the boat and still pan and tilt. 2 stabilize to the horizon, and the boat moves all over the place. That's steadicam mako head etc.

How big is the boat? sail or power? There is a huge difference in the motion of a 35' sailboat, and a 35' power boat.

I've shot on a lot of boats from the Coast Guard's 52' motor lifeboats at Cape Disappointment, to spending months at sea on big research vessels, and everything in between. Give me a shout if you have any specific questions.

Nick

Edit - a lot of people are talking about the easy rig. Again, I consider it very unsafe on a boat. On any vessel of any size, unexpected things can happen very quickly. You should be able to dump the camera and take care of your self in an instant.
 
Thanks all

Thanks all

Nick,

I've only been aboard once, and that a long time ago but mid thirties is a pretty good guess maybe up to forty feet, but she's a sailboat. And yes, that's why I asked. You get tossed around pretty good under sail, so I'm going to take your advice about avoiding the easyrig.

I'm principally interested in the characters, so I'll let the horizon move.

By the LWS I suppose you mean the 15mm lightweight front rod support, but I'm unclear about your 60mm AKS comment.

Best, and thanks all for the advice.

Steve
 
Nick,
thank you for specifiying.
I agree if you use the Easyrig walking around onboard. I´m sorry if it wasn´t pointed out clear enough that you should use it beeing well fixed with the harnish and cords: first fixed in the position, then mount the cam to the easyrig.
I was shooting a feature film with the need to build up a picture together with the director and the actors, which means beeing able to hold it over a long time. And honestly, I would do it again in the same way and feel safe.
Marc
 
The 60mm AKS just meant that you would use light weight AKS instead of studio stuff. Just keeping the camera small. I think if there is any kind of decent wind blowing on a 35-40' sailboat your gonna get wet ;-) definitely bring a splash bag. Although, I was on a job where my AC made me a splash bag out of blue tarp material and duct tape, with holes for my hands so I could zoom and focus. I was sitting on a pelican case on the deck. I got whacked by a wave full in the face hard enough to push me and the pelican case back about 12 feet. Camera was fine. So if you do it right, anything can work.

Nick
 
Did a boat shoot just a week or so ago on my 18.5 ft SeaRay open bow. We used a gyro attached to the base of the rig. It was the first time I've seen a gyro rig like this. It was truly amazing to see how effective it was in stabilizing the camera during the shoot. Ran on it's own battery pack and the combined gyro/battery weighed in at about 5 lbs. Don't know where you can buy one as they aren't made anymore. But I know a guy who may be willing to rent it out.
 
Steven,

It depends in what kind of weather conditions you are sailing and eventually film. A 35-40 feet sailboat becomes a pretty wet and tipsy thing in a blow (above force 3), especially upwind. Walking on deck is even without a camera not easy. Also exprienced sailors tend to crawl in such conditions. You need one hand for the boat and one hand for the camera. Operating the camera in such conditions (force 3-4, sunny day) is only possible with one hand.

There are many reasons why I haven't taken my camera aboard. Here are some:

1. The RedOne is bulky and heavy, even stripped down. A bit akward to operate.

2. The RedOne needs batteries, lenses, etc... All that gear needs a secure and dry place. Not all sailboats offer that sufficiently.

3. For good shots your need interesting perpectivse such as up in the mast, close above the water, etc... A heavy camera is not the fist choice for such tasks.

4. Intresting shots need wind, a lot of heel and a spinnacker, in short: The boat must be sailed to its limits. This will happen only with a lot of spray, which is of course desired. You need a splashbag.

5. Shooting aboard needs a special insurance, the regular insurances don't cover this this. They know why. Costs money someone has to pay.

Conclusion: Take a prosumer camera such as the EX1 and a spalsh-bag and you are well equiped for that kind of shooting. Horses for courses....

If you want to film social life in the cockpit on a clam day this is another story, of course.

Don't ruin your camera.

My two cents,

Hans
 
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