OT .. maybe? Production values . .

farss wrote on 8/21/2006, 12:31 AM

Some serious money was spent shooting that. Watch how the camera moves, dead smooth. That kind of kit with that reach costs serious money, takes serious time to rig and a lot of experience to drive. That's before you factor in site management. And in the middle of all that someone has to keep an eye on what'll end up on the screen. And don't forget the lighting, some of those scenes I think had serious effort put into them so they don't look 'lit'. And then there's the music which is what holds the whole thing together.

We just got a 9M ABC lightweight crane, boy can you pull of some interesting moves with even a simple crane, maybe the boss will be nice and buy a hot head to go with it.

Bob.

Grazie wrote on 8/21/2006, 12:51 AM

Oh yes, Bob, for sure there is more to this than just editing. For sure.

Is this the jib? http://www.tvcameraman.info/aequipment.htm

Phhaorghh .. . Bit bleedin' good?

I'm presuming a "hot head" is one that is electro-mechanically manipulated/activated? If so this seems essential!! If you get any grief from the "Boss", say Grazie says it is totally essential! Right?

Anyways, what do you think of a remote-helo doing this work? There are some truly spectacular work here that I just can't work out the wires and so on? Remote-controlled Camera-Helo?

farss wrote on 8/21/2006, 3:25 AM

Our crane is the lighter weight one still, so light you can climb a mountain with it, I jest not, made of some superstrong super thin Aluminium. It'll hold a 31lb camera which is about double what it weighs.

Here it is:

http://www.abc-products.nl/dutch/speedy_e.htm

Cranes as I've discovered are for more than just getting a high shot, put them on a dolly and then you're really living, pke them through windows, up stairs, use them to track talents etc. We've also just got two very slick wheeled dollies, the Dinky Dolly and the Matador, kitted out with Liberty seats etc. Wee but hey Mum no brakes!

But back to the vid in question, yes, I'd say RC helo was used, maybe Technocrane (drool, drool) for some of it.

But it's more than just the hardware, truly shot by people who had a good eye. Put that with the best kit and that's what gets the great results like this.

And here's a question, why are those slow, low fly over shots so emotive? My bet is because that's a very common thing from our dreams, it hooks into our unconscious mind.

Bob.

Spot|DSE wrote on 8/21/2006, 5:14 AM

The DinkyDolly is terrific! I do like the Hollywood Microjib for a short crane tho.
Those RC Helos seem to be getting cheaper. We recently were sent footage to edit from Toronto that had a lot of really good, DV-based footage from a "pocket" helo. I was surprised. Supposedly this helo is very easy for any one tokeep stable, as it has props on four corners rather than just the main rotor and stabilizer.

Jay Gladwell wrote on 8/21/2006, 6:40 AM

Based on the stability of the aerial shots, I'd imagine they were shot from a full-sized helicopter. The RC models, based on what I've seen, are not nearly that solid in delivering such a stable image.

riredale wrote on 8/21/2006, 9:00 AM

Wow.

I'll bet that promo piece wins some awards for the camera work. Just beautiful.

I'm a newbie at this, but I'd have to guess that a small flying platform was used for some of this stuff--I can't imagine a full-sized helicopter on some of those scenes, and I don't see any obvious arc left by a sweeping crane device. But I really don't know much about this stuff.

One thing I DO note is that the player is yet another one based on Flash8+. This format is sweeping the Internet.

rs170a wrote on 8/21/2006, 12:24 PM

The RC models, based on what I've seen, are not nearly that solid in delivering such a stable image.

Then you forgot about the link to this site that someone (Grazie?) posted a while back.

Mike

farss wrote on 8/21/2006, 4:40 PM

Exactly,
a huge amount of footage for TVCs is shot on RC helos, they're probably more stable than the real thing, 4 blade props that spin faster. These are anything but toys, serious jet engines, gyro mounts etc. Needless to say very serious money too.
Bob.

apit34356 wrote on 8/21/2006, 7:05 PM

Grazie, nice find. The video and music was well done, I could start liking golf again.

Jay Gladwell wrote on 8/21/2006, 7:40 PM

No, I didn't forget. In fact, I compared the footage, and the footage of the golf course is far more stable than the demo footage shot with the RC model.

Grazie wrote on 8/21/2006, 8:12 PM

Well, folks, I believe Jay has it! Not RC Helos

Subsequent to yesterday's ( for me, London here! ) some further postings have been made and . .. well .. . here are some links to feast your eyes on!

Fluid Images the guys who have the Golf Course on their website

The 100' Camera Crane - Strada 100: The first 100 Foot Camera Crane

.. and this of the Panavision site

rmack350 wrote on 8/21/2006, 10:42 PM

Could very well have been a remote helicopter for some of it. I was wondering about it as I watched. Oft-times a golf course doesn't want you out there with a heavy jib.

Other stuff certainly was jib work and yes there'd probably be a hot head. If a jib was used it was long and that usually means you don't seat a a camera operator on the end of it. To much weight, too much counterweight.

All in all, I think they pulled a bit of gear out to Bend for this. Can't imagine who'd ever watch something that long though.

Rob Mack

rmack350 wrote on 8/21/2006, 10:44 PM

You can get rid of the arc by putting the jib on a dolly or truck.

Rob Mack

rmack350 wrote on 8/21/2006, 10:52 PM

I saw something similar at Showbiz Expo several years ago. One of the features was that the camera/head unit could travel up and down the length of the crane. So you have 70' or so of crane but the camera can travel from 5' to 70', very fast.

Unfortunately, the one on demo buckled and crashed on top of 70' of booths. Better not to use these with people underneath.

Rob Mack

Jay Gladwell wrote on 8/22/2006, 3:50 AM

Grazie got it!

Yesterday, I wrote the folks at Pronghorn and asked who produced the video. It was Fluid-Images. As Grazie suggests, visit their web site and see some amazing footage taken with the Strata crane!

Grazie wrote on 8/22/2006, 4:06 AM

Comes of waking up 10 hours before you do Jay! What with the Earth turning and so on?

But yes, it would scare the pants off me to use one of those!! I'm freaked when I'm rigged up with my DvRigPro!!! 100 foot crane jib?!? YowSha!

Grazie wrote on 8/22/2006, 8:00 AM

Superb! What a Fleet to fly - eh?

http://www.visualair.co.za/news/why/index.htm