AF100 on a Remote Helicopter - First Test

Wonderful footage. The P&T gimbal really is an improvment over the old FLYCAM type rigs, which were pretty cool, too! I guess the automated lenses are a good thing for your guys. Thanks for posting.
 
Aerialpan said:
I think starting with a small helicopter and practicing on the simulator is the way to go. Nice and easy on the wallet and a great way to learn!

Thanks for the kind words!

Timbook2....not sure what the current pricing is but they are very expensive (I think around 80K for the package we used??)

Also I finally got a Behind the Scenes Reel edited up. A small sample of some of the awesome projects we have been lucky enough to work on. Take a look here:



http://www.vimeo.com/19763588


Best,

Tabb
Click to expand...

Love the BTS too. Looks like some seriously fun work.
 
Aerialpan said:
Rod, in my experience a well tuned helicopter can give results that are far more stable and smooth then the smaller hexacopters (at least for now!) especially if the wind kicks up at all. The caveat is that I think it takes years of training in both helicopter setup as well as piloting to acheive this level of smoothness whereas it is much more attainable with a multirotor in a shorter time period. This helicopter is carrying a 6 pound gimbal in addition to the AF100's weight. The camera mount is from copterworks.com, very nice product. The Hexacopter XL is a very nice platform and a million times easier to fly then a conventional RC helicopter. I think that is a better way to go for a beginner for sure. The guys at quadrocopter.us are great guys as well and put together a quality product.

Best,

Tabb
Click to expand...

Tabb:

I saw Eric flying this Heli Video Productions helicopter built on the TREX-700 airframe shooting a 7D the other day and the stability over the Hexacopter XL definitely made a believer of me. They were filming for a new feature film and could not disclose anything about the film. I was told that the camera operator was numbered among the top three in SoCal whose name I never obtained. From my research, it seems like most all the serious camera heli owners custom build their heli for film work. One of the PAs on set cautioned me that even a 250 series heli can be quite dangerous and reported that someone decapitated himself flying one of those. He flys fixed wing RC airplanes but is in training to become a camera operator.

I am considering purchasing a Walkera HM V200D01 3D Flybarless system to learn to fly outside. Went into the local hobby shop and they shook their heads when I told them what I wanted. Of course, they did not even carry any 3D flybarless trainers. I am prepared to break it several times during the learning phase, but for $200 this seems to be a really capable and well built heli and not one of those coaxial toys the hobby shop folks are pushing and it will hopefully force me to learn the feel of a real heli without breaking the bank. I figure I will need at least 200 hours of flying in order to do it well enough to film.

I can definitely see that this is a two person operation, even though you did a great job on the AF100 clip by yourself. Are you using a Teradek Cube for your video downlink?

Any other recommendations you might have are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.
 
damn it looks SUPER. agree, it does look like film at some shots.
How much grading, CC did you do? or just simple touch up?
What is the scene file setting you have? hope you won't mind sharing it.

Thanks
 
Rod,

For sure a RC helicopter takes some serious practice to fly! I am not familiar with the model you mentioned here, but a simulator is a good start as well as maybe finding some people who fly locally and learning with their help??

We use a variety of wireless downlinks, I have not tested the cube yet but would like to!

Best,

Tabb
Rod Cole said:
Tabb:

I saw Eric flying this Heli Video Productions helicopter built on the TREX-700 airframe shooting a 7D the other day and the stability over the Hexacopter XL definitely made a believer of me. They were filming for a new feature film and could not disclose anything about the film. I was told that the camera operator was numbered among the top three in SoCal whose name I never obtained. From my research, it seems like most all the serious camera heli owners custom build their heli for film work. One of the PAs on set cautioned me that even a 250 series heli can be quite dangerous and reported that someone decapitated himself flying one of those. He flys fixed wing RC airplanes but is in training to become a camera operator.

I am considering purchasing a Walkera HM V200D01 3D Flybarless system to learn to fly outside. Went into the local hobby shop and they shook their heads when I told them what I wanted. Of course, they did not even carry any 3D flybarless trainers. I am prepared to break it several times during the learning phase, but for $200 this seems to be a really capable and well built heli and not one of those coaxial toys the hobby shop folks are pushing and it will hopefully force me to learn the feel of a real heli without breaking the bank. I figure I will need at least 200 hours of flying in order to do it well enough to film.

I can definitely see that this is a two person operation, even though you did a great job on the AF100 clip by yourself. Are you using a Teradek Cube for your video downlink?

Any other recommendations you might have are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.
Click to expand...
 
Tvdie23 said:
damn it looks SUPER. agree, it does look like film at some shots.
How much grading, CC did you do? or just simple touch up?
What is the scene file setting you have? hope you won't mind sharing it.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Thanks! I am a very amateur at color grading and just fly by the seat of my pants! ;) Not much on Grading and my scene file was Cine D as I recall with some settings dialed back a bit. I will check my current settings and let you know.

Best,

Tabb
 
I was curious to what monitoring system you use to view your in flight images. Also I would like to know if the AF25B by COPTERWORKS would be able to lift the AF100 unit and if there is a lease expensive unit on the market that can fit the bill.
Also I noticed that gimbal kept the horizon level. Does it also pan and tilt the camera?

And finally were you recording directly to the SD cards?

Thank you

-Gearie
 
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