Time to lighten up…too bad, that I pulled the trigger on launching the new FKTV.IS site on the same day of the Paris attacks and that the messages since have been dire or expressing dark humor about this direness, which hangs over us, so I thought it was time send something beautiful from my friends at Epic Drone Videos, who make compilations from clips sent to them by the ever-growing community of drone pilots from around the world.
This is a relatively new camera rig, which has given flight to cinematography, with the ability to fly in confined spaces, at very low altitudes, without creating the “wash” of turbulence of choppers. It can take shots from very high altitudes, as well, provided that the pilots are themselves operating at high elevations, as seen here. Best of all, this technique makes aerial footage available to many more independent filmmakers, with the added bonuses described above.
Back in my music video-directing days, I helped to develop a rig like this, using a WWII gun camera, which shot 16mm film, with a special mount, engineered to minimize the jitter from the blades of the radio-controlled model helicopter, to which it was attached, beneath.
I actually received permission from the Mayor’s Office of New York City – and I did shoot scenes with this rig in Harlem and in Central Park but the maneuverability of a quadracopter and the High Definition of a practically weightless HERO camera were simply not available, at the time, so the results were nothing like this. (The group was dropped by their label, MCA, when they got wind of their offensive lyrics, so alas, it and our invention were never aired. Luckily, the record company paid me every dime they were contractually bound to pay).
Enjoy!
Add comment