Is the stack being brought straight down or is it being felled like a tree? If the latter, I would think about setting them up at 90 degree angles to one another. One angle shows it falling toward the camera; the other shows it falling its length.

Too, you'll want to have some kind of protective cover for the resulting dust cloud--it will be as fine a talcum powder! If that gets inside the cameras...

I'd be interested in seeing this when you're finished!

Check this out.

Go way back on one of the cameras and zoom in. That makes it look like you were closer and higher. It also protects the camera.

THIS I like . . Mind you a transparent box? Hmmm... never know .. never know . .


Is the stack being brought straight down or is it being felled like a tree?

Jay, dunno detail yet. At present I'm gonna get on the site. It'll happen late September. Much time to plan.

I don't have an option for a 2nd operator. And yes, protection, gonna BAG 'EM!

This was your idea

One of the VASST guys (forgive me - bad with names, etc) has a great book with an inexpensive weather balloon rig. Even from a height of twenty feet - you'd really have something great. Higher = better, if there's no breeze. You could even (possibly) run a DV wire down the rig and view/record what you're getting with a laptop/DV Rack combo - that's what I'd be dreaming about at night.

But a "real man" would strap himself to the top of the chimney, camera in hand, and ride it all the way down.

best,
v

OK - I got off my fat butt and looked it all up for you.

The guy's name is Dan Selakovitch and he's a great guy. We met briefly at NAB '05 where his lecture directly preceded one of mine. I saw that balloon rig demoed and wet my shirt drooling.

It's on page 258 of his incredible book, "Killer camera rigs that you can build" and he's got a bunch of really necesary rigs in there with instuctions any idiot can follow successfully. Dollys, car mounts, cranes - even cheapo sand bags. But the tour de force for me was this helium balloon rig - right up your alley Grazie.

And he sez it can be built for under a hundred bucks - I'd do it, if the chimney was exciting enough.

This from the master himself (Selakovitch) from some forum or other:

Hi Kevin,

First, don't use a weather balloon! They are not as tough as regular balloons because they are designed to pop at a certain altitude.

Get balloons at least 36" in diameter. Any less than that and you'll be blowing up balloons for days. A 55 cubic feet tank of Helium can blow up about six 36" balloons. It will take you about 11 balloons to float a camera like a canon GL2. You don't want to blow up the balloons to their full diameter. This makes them prone to poping. If you're using a 36" balloon, blow it up to about 30". Weather can affect how many balloons you'll need as well. If it's really hot out, you'll need to add at least one balloon to the above formula. Also, if it is breezy out, these types of rigs don't work well! But if conditions are right, they add an amazing amount of production value for very little cost!

Good Luck!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com


Heck - charge the demo team a hundred fifty and you'll be ahead of the game. Throw in an interview, a couple of shots of the setup and a voice over by the demo master, and you've got a nice 15 minute piece for a PBS show. Talk to the mayor of the town and see if they'll throw in a hundred bucks or so, for the town library archive. Call the insurance company and see how much they'll pay for a filmic record.

Now I've sold myself on building the rig and finding something to shoot. Fun - fun - fun.

Let us know how this one goes.

v
v

I'm curious. How do you aim a camera attached to a balloon(s)?

Fabo Vico!

But a "real man" would strap himself to the top of the chimney, camera in hand, and ride it all the way down.

Kinda reminded me of the last scene from Strangelove, with Slim Pickens's character riding the bomb. Chilling.

I do like the balloon option.

Jay, as long as you have two lines coming down from the balloon at different angles, you should be able to turn it side to side, somewhat. Up and down aim would probably have to be guessed beforehand, though it could probably be tested and adjusted at the site a few times if there's enough time. Wind would be a killer so i would think this would only work on a very still day.

There are also radio controlled camera mounts that allow some degree of up/down/left/right movement. Send the balloon up with all of these controls centered and there would be some aiming capability from the ground.

Could make for an interesting base jump, DSE?

This is London, right? There is no place in London they can bring down a tall chimney other than by letting it collapse straight down. You'll need a wide shot to pick up the dust cloud. What has it been used for? Check up some other disused works in the same line to find out what kind of dust it produces, how much and what colour it is.
Point the other camera to the base of the chimney, where I suppose the explosion will be, and where all the debris evetually will end up. Set this camera at a fairly close but not extreme zoom level.
Don't worry about heights. You do not need to go there. And neither does you camera.
Oh, and mke sure you get a good sound recording, too.

Why does this make me think of The bricklayer story by Gerard Hoffnung?
Tor

Grazie: With two cameras you can mount one at the bottom of the tower by the main charge and the other on the top.

Seriously get to know the light position at the time of the bill fall down. Set up for the wohlt height then practice zooming in to about 1/3rd height where the dust and debris will be. have the second camera running on the full shot from a second angle. have a sound recorder NEAR the action. try get the demolishers countdowns.

Any high buildings around , make friends and plop a cam on the roof. Other cam put your hardhat on and practice talkin like Slim Pickens.

In addition to the standard setups mentioned, try some of the cheaper wireless cams (< $100 USD, not that great quality) with a receiver VCR for each in a safe place. Put one at 30 ft, in the middle, and if you can, one at the top, all pointed down.

You'll loose the cams, but you might get some great footage on the way down.

Edited: Another option is cheap EBay used DV cams in a hardened casing with weights to make sure the lens is pointed down. It will have to be recovered, but the footage will be better.

Grazie -
re: fldave's idea of used cameras and try to recover - while I can't imagine you'll ever actually get them - it's a fabulous idea, so here's a tiny addition...
tie a 30 foot flourescent streamer to the cameras.
It will follow the camera and never get in the way, but it will also give you a really good shot at finding the cameras, buried in all the rubble.

I can't wait to see what you actually come up with.
This is one of the best parts of the process - blue sky insanity.

v

If the chimney is to be toppled then you want a view at right angles to the line of fall. A brick chimney will break about a third of its length from the top (so called "centre of percussion") because while intact that section is being accelerated faster than gravity. It's nice to see that in slow motion. During such a topple there is little dust, but then a great whump! and the cloud of dust explodes and rolls outwards.
So there is the preparation of the charges, the business of clearing the area and hushed crowds watching, the protesters with "save our heritage chimney" (you can hire those), the guy pushing the button, the puffs and thumps of the explosive charges, and the chimney starts to fall (straight down or toppled). You would seem to need two cameras on the same viewpoint, one set up with faster shutter for the slow mo. You need another for medium on the detonated charges (tele, of course). Another on the ground for the impact and rolling dust. People reaction shots, officials, button push. Is it time to call in favours? The balloons would be fun, but unpredictable in uncontrolled circumstances. And all this depends on whether you just want falling chimney or the event.

All this talk about the video, how to record the sound, a level check would seem kind of out of the question.