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Shooting video from a boat
What kind of equipment is available, I’m looking for inexpensive if possible. I have a prosumer 3ccd camera and I am wondering if there is something I can get to shoot decent video (of wakeboarding) from a boat. (water is generally rough, not really calm)
Thanks in advance!
Jana
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7 Replies
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First and foremost you need to use some sort of waterproof or splashproof cover jacket or cover for the camera.
In you are shooting on the ocean salt spray is quite corrosive to any camera. It make take months to discover actual corrosion which has worked it’s way into the camera body. I recommend treating the outside camera body with a salt corrosion fluid in advance. Do a search on the web for salt removers which can generally be found at a Marine supply shop. Just make sure to verify that it will not do damage to the rubber components of the camera body. Do not use any fluid which has an acid in it.
In terms of lenses you might want to consider a camera which has an image stablizer built in or can accept an external stablizing lens. The stablizing lens is ideal for dealing with the up and down motion on a boat.
But in anycase protecting the camera from exposure to the water and salt spray is paramount.
Tony Salgado
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See if you can rent a gyro setup from a video rental house… Typically, this may run you in the area of $250 a day or less, (You might get a deal for $150 or so) and hang this between two pieces of anchored rubber hosing, or some sort of semi long (At least 18 inches or so) elastic or heavy duty rubber bands… You will be amazed at the results…
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Most important is a big and heavy (even if ugly) shooting boat. That not only keeps the spray away, but solves the boat motion problem. Stay low in the boat to reduce the effect of pitching and yawing. Best on the water shoot I ever did was from the back of an 80 – 100 ft tugboat. Big sailboats not under sail are good too – the keel keeps them level. No tripod. Even on something as stable as a tug, the tripod transmitted small vibrations. Maybe a cine-saddle type thing.
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I have used a steadicam to shoot from boats with great results.
You might try one of the many low-end steady units that might fit your budget. -
The water is generally calmer in the early morning, before the winds come up. The lighting is a thousand percent better then, too.
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Argh, matey. Hoist the jib, lower the boom, gaff the lights…. (few people realize that most early Hollywood stagehands were in the Navy)
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I’d use a glidecam or steadicam that has a spring loaded arm and then I’d either hook it directly to the boat or if you have to hook it to the vest (yourself) then you’d need to brace yourself against something to keep you stable. If you can mount it to the back of the boat (maybe mount it onto some wood and then ratchet strap that to the back of the boat, you’ll be able to do some pretty cool stuff. If you look at glidecam’s website, they sell equipment that lets you mount a unit on the back of a truck, so borrow that idea and do something similar on a boat. I wouldn’t do it though, until you have some kind of protection for the camera.
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