Helicopter shoot part 2

[tanner wolfe]

yes we get to shoot in a helicopter over beautiful Angkor Wat. no we do not get to use a tyler mount or anything remotely like that. i'm shooting with the sony z7u. i'm attaching the camera to a shoulder mounted handheld rig which brings the weight of the camera up to a Varicam or a little heavier. i want this weight so that the camera shake is lessened as much as possible. we are flying in a eurocopter as350. maybe a b3 model, i haven't heard from the pilot as yet. i believe this is a very smooth flying aircraft, but can i do anything else to make this handheld shot not look so handheld. any thoughts.

 

cordially,

 

tanner

[Daniel Sheehy]

Wider rather than tighter helps hide the shake.

 

I've seen people use bungee type mounts in the doorway to help even out the shake, but I've always shot off the shoulder or with a bean-bag on my lap.

 

Good luck, I hope you have an experienced pilot. :)

[Michael K Bergstrom]

I've done shoulder mount (which works quite well), Fig Rig, and steadicam, they all work pretty well, fig rig is probably too small for your camera system though. Keep the shots wide as already mentioned, it'll help smooth out the action. Also, on a safety note, wear a full vest harness (the normal harness does jack if you fall out, when you fall out of a helicopter you flip upside done, a normal harness you'll slip right out, vest is the best.)

Edited August 21, 2008 by Michael K Bergstrom

[Tom Lowe]

http://www.ken-lab.com/stabilizers.html#KS6

[Jamie Metzger]

I've shot with 2 gyros attached to a bracket that attached to the camera. After getting used to the gyros reacting to my movements, it was fairly easy to zoom all the way in and still get useable shots that made it into the cut.

 

I've been interested in making a spiderweb type shock mount for a camera.