Shooting on a helicopter

[Noah Kadner]

wear your seat belt… But seriously look into setting up at least a bungee rig of sorts out the window. And be sure to buckle up…

Noah

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[Steve Wargo]

Hang on to your ass. Make sure you’re tied in. I almost took a long plunge once because a producer failed to hook my safety line.

Don’t look through the viewfinder unless you have too. It could make you air sick. If you get queezy, look out at the horizon.

Put the stabilizer on and test it. Sometimes it’s better off. The BlackHawk has 4 rotor blades so it’s very stable. Two blade copters always shake.

Don’t employ the shutter.

Be aware of the shadow from the rotors.

Have a fantastic time. There’s nothing like it.

Ask the pilot to do a “dip”.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

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[Clint Fleckenstein]

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate the input. I was expecting to go out today but got bumped (generals take priority I guess) for a few days. I took the opportunity to climb around a Blackhawk this weekend and note places to hook a bungee rig to, then played around with a simple setup in the studio yesterday. That combined with the other advice will likely make this go very smoothly!

Cf

[Greg Pasztor]

Make sure there is nothing the slightest bit loose on the camera because Blackhawks pull some pretty serious g’s. I had a lens hood sucked off my camera circling the remains of the “Giant” set in West Texas. Be sure to tell the pilot you’re up for anything (they’ll regard it as a challenge to get you sick).