Aerial Video and Photography--with RC Helicopter

Waaaaay too windy is what I'm guessing. They weren't our rigs. We were just there to shoot RED footage. The guy who lost the copters was remarkably composed about it. He said it was his choice to say "go" in those conditions.

I saw the footage from the 5D as it crashed. Apparently the guy shooting BTS on a Varicam got the whole thing as well. But nobody shot the copter going down in the river.

Cool footage man. Looks good. :thumbsup:
 
Its becoming more common for guys who fly for fun to strap cameras to their helis, trying to be the next Flying Cam. Flying an RC helicopter is considerably more difficult than flying their full-sized counterparts (and takes longer to learn). Then add the additional stress of filming, often in unfamiliar surroundings, and things can get fubar real fast. This type of work is for experts only. There really isn't room for pilot error like you described. I have thousands of hours of flight-time over the last 25 years, most of which was spent flying in National/International competition and I still often find this type of flying stressful.
 
Jim,

Windy is usually not the cause, if it's the case, it would be able to fly in the first place. Most likely poor setup, or pilot error.

Here is a clip that I shot on a windy day. I didn't have my larger video copter. I was flying my smaller aerial photo setup, so the wind affects it quite a bit. Here it is,

http://vimeo.com/3554277

Jason
 
The more I compare the footage in this thread to the stuff that survived the shoot I was on, the more convinced I am that the op we used was not as experienced. There may have been other factors that were at work, but nothing I saw from that day looks as smooth as the footage posted here.

I'll keep that in mind :grin:
 
Jim

My name is Brent and I own www.AscentImagery.com we are located in Denver CO.

Im sorry to hear about your terrible experience. It is a fact, what we do is not easy, but your experience is absolutely inexcusable. Companies like the one you just worked with do nothing but give our industry a bad name.

Seriously, 2 helicopters on one project???? What a joke.

Please understand, the professionals go years without misshap.
 
For safety of crew and talent, before hiring someone to do this please check experience and references. I flew in my first major motion picture (The Mighty) in 1997. Miramax Films would not allow me to fly until I provided references and documentation of experience. At that time I had over 10 years of experience flying in the U.S. National Championships which they accepted. Contest pilots fly before a panel of judges in all weather conditions where even the slightest bobble costs points. These pilots are the Formula One drivers of RC.

Here is a link to our latest music video. It is very typical of what we do in that it was shot in below freezing, windy conditions in very tight quarters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3avDIUHL6fM
 
Wendell:

Nice video and your work really enhanced the look and feel. I have to say though that whoever did the editing should be chastised for basically wrecking many of the aerial shots and the shots of the plane taking off with those over done vignettes, they look terrible. You should never use vignettes on moving shots with bright BGs, but I realize that you probably didn't edit the video.

Other than the overdone vignettes, nice video.

Dan
 
Guys,

Check Out AeriCam.com I have finally finish designing my custim build HeliCam. It's available for purchase.


Jason
 
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