Aerial Camerawork
Aerial Camerawork
One of my specialties is aerial camerawork. I am at home shooting from cranes, planes and helicopters. I can advise on helicopter mounts, stabilised lenses and even the best type of aircraft for the job. I have filmed most types of subjects from Helicopters including fast moving vehicles such as race and rally cars, slower sporting events including sailing and windsurfing as well as panoramic and scenic footage.
Me shooting from a Twin Suirrel Helicopter using a gyro stabilised Tyler Middlemount.
When you consider that the most expensive part of any helicopter shoot is the helicopter time itself it is obvious that it makes sense to have the right people and tools available. By using the right type of lens or mount (with an experienced operator) you will get more useable shots for each minute of aircraft time flown. It's also important to ensure that the pilot knows how to fly the aircraft in a manner appropriate to the shoot and that the pilot and cameraman can communicate in terms that both understand.
An example: The producer wants a shot of the ground rushing past, then the camera tilting up to reveal a person standing on the top of a mountain.
This could be shot using a WESCAM (or similar) nose or side mount, these are great gyro stabilised camera systems that can shoot straight ahead and straight down giving rock steady pictures without affecting the helicopters performance, however they are expensive and require a helicopter with the correct mounts (more expense). However unlike a shoulder mounted camera the operator has to "guesstimate" exactly where the camera is pointing, this make the timing of the tilt up to the person difficult. Having said that only a Wescam type mount will allow filming in the straight ahead direction and if you want the real feeling of speed then you need to be able to shoot directly ahead.
Another option would be a TYLER MIDDLEMOUNT (mounted in the side door). This is a camera mount that takes a traditional film or video camera and isolates it from much of the helicopters movement and vibration. You can also add an optional gyro pack to provide an additional degree of stabilisation. The problem with a Tyler mount is that you can only shoot out to the side of the helicopter, however it is much cheaper than a Wescam and doesn't need a helicopter with special mounting points as it can be fitted to a standard Squirrel or Jetranger helicopter. With this mount timing the tilt up to the person would be easier, however you would not be able to shoot straight ahead so the helicopter would have to "crab" sideways towards the subject at a much lower speed than if it were flying directly ahead.
The third option would be a Schwem Gyro Zoom or Canon J13x9 KSRV vari prism stabilised lens. Both help remove much of the vibration and shake inherent with helicopter filming and both are cheaper options than a Wescam or Tyler mount. The Schwem is excellent for long (telephoto) shots and the canon more suitable for wide panoramic shots. Once again you are limited to shooting from the side of the helicopter, although you can shoot slightly further forward with these lenses than you can by using a Tyler mount. The downsides are that the cameraman has to carry all the weight on his own shoulder (and the schwem is a very heavy lens) and there is nothing other than the cameraman's body to act as a vibration damper. The cameraman will also need a safety harness and will be perched either on the edge of the seat or in the doorway and exposed to a lot of wind buffeting.
For more information on camera mounts and lenses for aerial work please click here