HELICOPTER SHOOT - My first... so please give your advice.

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craigjharris

craigjharris

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Hi everyone.
Well, I am quite excited and nervous about my first helicopter shoot coming up in February. I will be doing a promo shoot for a Ski Resort Mountain in BC, Canada and will be shooting with the HVX-200.

So far, I'm planning on renting a Kenyon Gyro stabilizer; Vocas Matte Box with a Polarizer Filter; and will be using the FS-100 DVCPRO HD unit.

Is there anyone who has shot from a helicopter who could give me some important advice? (I will be shooting through and open door)
 
craigjharris said:
Hi everyone.
Well, I am quite excited and nervous about my first helicopter shoot coming up in February. I will be doing a promo shoot for a Ski Resort Mountain in BC, Canada and will be shooting with the HVX-200.

So far, I'm planning on renting a Kenyon Gyro stabilizer; Vocas Matte Box with a Polarizer Filter; and will be using the FS-100 DVCPRO HD unit.

Is there anyone who has shot from a helicopter who could give me some important advice? (I will be shooting through and open door)
Click to expand...

Do two things:
1.) A search on this forum.......... there was a long thread on heli shots a couple of months ago

2.) Rent 'Dust to Glory' and check out the specials section for THE BEST heli video ever done.

Regards
JohnG
 
I would not use the FS-100 from a helicopter. I'm not saying it won't work, but P2 media would be my first choice in a situation like that.

The FS-100 contains a hard drive and needs a good Firewire cable connection. As such, both are highly susceptible to problems induced by vibration.
 
First off, don't zoom ANY if possible. Too shakey.
Build a good relationship with the pilot and tell him to think like your lens. Fly slightly sideways for your benefit and convince him to fly closer then he nomally would.
Having the door off is a great idea. Get a teather around yourself. I use a parachute harness and often stand on the skids.
(My first shoot I didn't have the harness. That was a thrill ride!)
Good luck.
 
check out: http://www.flight-logistics.com/Crash_Nicely.html

The whole site is useful, but if you are new to aerial work, that page will give you some good things to think about.

I have often used a climbing harness and an adustable daisy chain with a locking carabiner for my rig. Some 'copters have a rigging point above the door. When in that situation I use another adjustable daisy connected to the camera from point. Then i can adjust the daisy chain infinitly depending on my shot. It is MUCH more stable than hand held.

Also, it is a good idea to attach the camera to you or the ship even in it isn't for stability. That is especially important if you are flying over people.

Remember, when the heli turns away from your side, you get a lot of down draft on you side if you are on the skids.


Good luck, enjoy - it should be super-fun!
 
Put gaffers' tape on the buckle of your five-point harness. I once shot from a US Coast Guard helo, a French-made Dauphin (those cool-looking helos with the enclosed tail rotor), with the side door wide open. I was holding a full-sized Betacam on my shoulder. My elbow hit the five-point harness buckle several times, and just as we were banking right, my elbow succeeding in completely releasing the buckle, and my harness just "flew" off of me. A few more degrees of bank, and I wouldn't be here to type this.

Other than that, shooting from a helo is quite fun. You kinda end up sounding like John Landis though, 'cause you're always screaming to the pilot, "lower, lower, lower!"
 
I would second the opinion of not using a Firestore. I did a helicopter job with it and almost none of it turned out. Apparently the Firestore doesn't like the high-frequency vibration of the helicopter.

Fortunately I had some P2 cards with me. I switched over to that and everything from then on was OK.

Most of my aerial experience has been with still cameras. However, one experienced cameraman said to avoid matte boxes as the slip stream can wreak havoc with them. That gyro stabilizer should work well. Let us know how that goes.

Check this out: http://aerialexposures.com/gyroplatform.htm

Having doors off is a must, unless the canopy is spotless and scratch-free. Not likely.

Getting a pilot who has done this kind of work before helps. And make sure you're on the intercom. Shouting doesn't work for very long, and helicopters are extremely noisy.

Try to plan out your shots prior to the flight so that you're not just looking for photo opportunities. And keep in mind that the best light might be early or late in the day. Having the sun high and overhead will flatten out the landscape and make things look a bit boring. Especially considering you're dealing with a snowy landscape, you'll definitely want shadows in there to define the shape of the topography.

Also, understand that you'll be dealing with winds anywhere from 20 to 50 mph or more. So dress as though you're expecting a windstorm. You might even need ski goggles. There's a definite wind chill factor when you're up in a doorless helicopter. I know that sounds odd coming from someone who lives in Hawaii but even here you'll get your share of hypothermia hanging out of a helicopter if it's high enough.

For those really, really low-altitude shots, consider renting a long camera crane!

Good luck!
 
THoff said:
I would not use the FS-100 from a helicopter. I'm not saying it won't work, but P2 media would be my first choice in a situation like that.

The FS-100 contains a hard drive and needs a good Firewire cable connection. As such, both are highly susceptible to problems induced by vibration.
Click to expand...
I use my FS-100 on boats and trucks with tons of vibrations and pounding shocks, and it holds up super well. Never a problem. The drive is shock mounted, it's prefectly safe, I'd trust it with anything. I even shoot with it in the rain! The FS-100 is much more durable than some folks think. I've punished it severly, it's proven solid.

I'd also consult Focus Enhancements first hand about using the FS in this situation, too.
 
Don't be afraid to be assertive with the pilot to get the shots you want. Better get it right the first time as helo air time can decimate your budget in a hurry. Good luck, James
 
I've shot from helicopters many times, using everything from a Tyler mount to shoot the Statue of Liberty to a half inflated beach ball supporting the camera in my lap over Delicate Arch in Moab. Over the North Sea with the RAF with no camera support, I used a bungi cord to suspend my BVW-D600 from the open door frame.

My best advice echo's an earlier post: Shoot wide, especially if you don't have a well balanced gyro mount, gafer tape your safety harness and don't be a cowboy hanging out of the ship on the skids. I like to shoot with an ND Grad 1/3 into the frame rather than a polarizer and use a minimum sized hard lens hood rather than a matte box plus teather the camera to your harness. Wear a com/mic with only a left ear piece so you can get your head close to the camera and a thin pair of gloves so your hands don't go numb.
 
Thanks for all the advice and interest. I found out that the pilots have done many flights for photography and filming... so I'm sure it will be a great experience.
 
TedRR said:
convince [the pilot] to fly closer then he nomally would.
Click to expand...


teamr2@hotmail.com said:
Don't be afraid to be assertive with the pilot to get the shots you want. Better get it right the first time as helo air time can decimate your budget in a hurry. Good luck, James
Click to expand...

Ok, this has to be some of the WORST helicopter "advice" I've ever heard.

The pilot is in charge. Asking him/her to change their flight for you - especailly by beeing "assertive" and asking to get "closer" / "lower" / "faster" - results in safty rules beeing bent, and in the heat of the moment, things go wrong. Horribbly wrong.

As you are flying with an experienced crew; trust their judgement. Once you've communicated what sort of stuff you'd like, they will do their best they can to do what you need within their safty limits. Never ever ask them to push their limits for you. A good pilot will tell you "no", a bad pilot may agree and "push it for the shot". You get the idea.

Helicopters are dangerous, and shooting should always be done by an experienced crew. Again some scary examples in this thread where mistakes could have ended disasterously (man Rezfactor, scary stuff. You know how close it was...).


Yes, good luck James.

- Mikko
 
mikkowilson said:
Ok, this has to be some of the WORST helicopter "advice" I've ever heard.
- Mikko
Click to expand...

Mikko, Dude, if you've done enough of these you have probably ended up with a "tourist pilot" a time or two. They don't think like a film pilot.
All I said was build a good relationship with the Pilot and explain what you need before hand.

Telling the pilot to keep the choper pitched slightly and fly as low as possible is hardly the "WORST ADVICE". I never said lower then is safe or in an unsafe pattern.
Once you're in the air isn't the time to have a conversation on what you need.
Lay off the caffeine!
Peace! :love4:
 
Just did 2 days shooting with a micro-light ... very cool stuff.. can fly very low and slow.. was working on footage for a doco dealing with water management and was flying way low over dam walls and river courses..

Be very careful with the lens hood of the HVX.. Bumped mine on the back of the pilots chair and it dislodged... flew.. into the Rotor... shredding the rotor and we had a force landing.. very lucky..

Shot with and without a poloriser... the water did look better with poloriser but I'd do a few tests first...

Bottom line secure everything completely... don't be foolhardy and establish a good relationship with the pilot...

Cheers Les

www.les.herstik.com
 
Lez said:
Just did 2 days shooting with a micro-light ... very cool stuff.. can fly very low and slow.. was working on footage for a doco dealing with water management and was flying way low over dam walls and river courses..

Be very careful with the lens hood of the HVX.. Bumped mine on the back of the pilots chair and it dislodged... flew.. into the Rotor... shredding the rotor and we had a force landing.. very lucky..

Shot with and without a poloriser... the water did look better with poloriser but I'd do a few tests first...

Bottom line secure everything completely... don't be foolhardy and establish a good relationship with the pilot...

Cheers Les

www.les.herstik.com
Click to expand...

Did you still do any shooting without the lens hood? What would you suggest for keeping the lens hood attached? Did you use any kind of stabilization tools?
 
My shooting budget is rather small for this project... and I'm wondering how crazy I need to get about using something like a Kenyon Gyro stabilizer. Do I need a stabilizer? Would something like a Glidecam 4000 work in a helicopter?

After reading the previous post, should I shoot with my lens hood or a matte box?

Craig
 
Craig, I've shot plenty without a gyrozoom type device. Depends on the project, but you could get by without one. Just don't zoom in at all if you don't need to.
I would probably use the lens hood, (secured), but a matte box might be a problem.
 
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