Shooting aerials for a feature

[Tom Hamilton]

Re safety, as the camera op you should try to drive around the area you'll be shooting, make note of all the high pointy bits that might impact your flight, and discuss with your pilot before you fly. If remote, and that's not possible, a 'dry' run at a safe altitude is always a good idea before going in low and slow. As an example of certain things to note, towers on ridge lines either side of a valley with no cables between them; the cables are there, you just can't see them until too late. The presence of large flocks of birds, that'll ruin your day every time.

The list goes on, safety is all in proper prep and planning.

 

[Russ Fill]

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...ndheld-in-a-Helicopter-Rolling-Shutter-Issues
This thread has a lot to help with ideas and info on shooting hand held out of a helicopter.
I hope this helps

 

[Jack Cooper]

Marcos, a follow-up to our PM....

Recently posted...(its work safe)

Astrum Helicopters in Belize...

http://www.playboy.com/entertainmen...WEBHP-_-MSPTP04-_-playmates-at-play-in-belize

 

[Michael Brennan]

get the shot or a spinal injury?

get the shot or a spinal injury?

Here is the link to the autorotation of a small helicopter which was filmed by all the way to the ground. Good practice is to "secure" the cockpit of any loose objects in the event of an impending crash so in my view recording the impending the crash with a camera on your shoulder does not achieve this goal.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?58980-Helicopter-Engine-Fails-at-2000-ft-on-Red-Aerial-shoot-and-the-camera-is-rolling./page4&highlight=emergency+landing


Mike Brennan

 

[Will Keir]

Good advice Paul.

I've done lots of stills work from helicopters and I can give you one good hint - set your ISO to 800 or more and make sure you get exposure times of 1/750 of a second or more. otherwise the shake of the chopper will cause frame blur. Shoot at the highest frame rate you can, or 120fps, and if the door is open keep the camera within the cabin as the airstream right outside will shake it like crazy.

Focus can be set at infinity, and use a wide zoom like a 16-50mm. Long zooms suffer from vibration and are impractical.

Love the bungee/ Kenyon idea though. I will have to try that one.

 

[Will Keir]

http://www.ken-lab.com/stabilizers.html

I've done quite a bit of aerial work at this point. Plain hand-held should be ruled out, unless you're okay with your footage being REALLY handheld looking. At a minimum, if you're working on a budget, see if you can rent a larger Kenyon camera gyro to screw onto the bottom of the camera to help correct for horizon level (remember, you'll need power, so make sure it's available when talking with helicopter companies). Always use an experienced pilot and always safety everything, especially the camera.

Obviously, best case scenario is a full-on approved multi-gyro mount. They can be shipped, but it's pricey.

Here's a compilation of some aerial shots I've done recently - most all shot on RED, some on 35mm - a couple were even done on more budget-friendly helicopter shoots with just one gyro and hand-held.

http://vimeo.com/29361495

Practice definitely helps. If it's a really important shoot, try even finding a helicopter that will fly you for 30 minutes to an hour just to get a feel for your setups before you do the real shoot.

Good luck!