Hot Air Ballooning test footage

rat6666

rat6666

Active member
Hey gang,

I just picked up my brand new DVX100b this past week and got a chance to test it out on a local balloon flight last night. I fly balloons for a living (although I'm a back-seat pilot now that I've got a camera grafted to my hand). Bear in mind this is the first time ever shooting with the DVX, and the last video camera I've ever had my hands on was a Sharp consumer ViewCam a number of years ago.

Beyond the beginners' curve with the DVX in manual mode, I don't have access to any editing software besides Windows Movie Maker 1.1 (haha). I tried Avid Free DV but it won't run on my slow 700mHz PIII system. Wax 2.0 crashes every time I add a clip to the timeline and then perform some kind of action afterwards. So, that means I had to rough it with the mediocre functionality and quality of WMM. If there are any other free editors out there that I may have more luck with, I'd love to hear suggestions.

The end product here has audio which gets progressively more out-of-sync as the clip goes on, and the quality is pretty nasty (WMV). Don't even ask about color correction!

Other than that, enjoy! I think some of the shots came out quite well for a first-time venture, although the "post-production" techniques leave a whole lot to be desired.

40.2 megs, 16 minutes long

http://www.hotairfilms.com/ballooning_5-6-2006.wmv

Some of this footage may even wind up in the documentary/scenic film on ballooning which I'm producing. I plan to shoot footage on many different balloon flights and at balloon festivals all season long. For an hour and a half of raw footage from last night, much of this is actually usable. Imagine how much I'm going to have to cut out and edit down after a season of flying? I'm both excited and terrified at that prospect! :)

Anyway, comments, criticisms (apart from "get some real software!"), death threats, love letters, and constructive suggestions welcomed warmly. I'll be back with something much better to show once I get my software act together and build a new computer that can run it with ease.

Also, not sure whether to go Premiere, Final Cut Pro, Vegas or what. I've been using Photoshop for years so After Effects and Premiere should be second nature, but I hear better things about other platforms.
 
I made a wrist lanyard which attaches to the handle. Even with that, it was still a little unnerving the first few times outside of the basket :)
 
I've heard good things about Vegas... but I'm sticking with FCP. I was trained on Premiere, but didn't like it from the begining. All of the programs mentioned are similar, so once you learn one, the learning curve on the others is diminished dramatically.

Just watched the footage... if that's what you're going to be shooting, then I would suggest practicing keeping a steady hand. I can't really imagine taking a tripod for a balloon ride, so practice, practice, practice. A monopod would probalby come in pretty usefull, though.

Talk about a peacefull atmosphere! I'd love to go up in one of those (maybe with a wacky cigarette in hand).

I didn't realize you could make a living flying them, though. How does that work?? people pay to go up? or can you get sponsored or something?
 
Yeah, it's not easy to keep a steady zoomed shot while in a basket with people moving around and causing a slight rocking motion most of the time. Most of the footage for the film will be shot from tripod on the ground, but a good percentage will be air to air shots. The kind of aerial shots that I expect to wind up in the finished product will be close-range multi-balloon shots, so with the lens at its widest it should be much easier to keep a steady shot. I'm wondering if a gyro stablilizer or a Steadicam Merlin would be a good investment along with a 2x zoom adapter?

As for making a living ballooning, I give passenger rides on a daily basis, and I occasionally find myself flying a corporately-sponsored balloon (not at the moment, though).
 
Okay, I flew again this morning and got MUCH steadier shots. The other night there was just way too much commotion with passengers moving around in the basket. I was in charge of everything on board this time, so I ordered my loyal crew members to obey my "NO ROCKING!" command. Seems to have worked!

I'll get more footage up after I hopefully get the Vegas 6 trial working (not today). This morning I had an amazing flight through the Delaware Water Gap. For a little more information about flying the Gap, check out this page on my website: http://www.njhotair.com/index/adventures/
 
Wow -- Cool! When I was younger I ran in a ground crew for a balloonist a few times, chasing behind in a truck and hoping to make it to the landing site in time :D And yes, unless you plan on getting a Mac, check Vegas out. Or... if you plan on making a living as an editor, either get Avid for PC or a Mac and FCP...
 
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