Advice on shooting from a helicopter

[Marcus Martell]

Chuck please post a picture for us!!

[Andrew Smith]

A picture, Chuck? Chuck? .... Bueller? Bueller?

BTW Martyn, I really enjoyed watching that video you did. Thinking it would be really neat to be able to drop in there virtually via Google Earth.

Andrew

[Chuck Spaulding]

Hi guys,

regarding pictures of my setup I don't currently have any, but when I get the time I'll go to the airport and shoot some pictures and a video tutorial of how and why I do what I do. The setup won't be the same for different camera's, lenses and helicopters etc., but if you understand how to identify the different types of vibrations you'll see how simple it can be to isolate them and you can figure out the right setup for yourself.

[Stephen Henderson]

Nice work, Martyn! Thanks for all the helpful info here, Bruce and others, I'm planning a helicopter shoot, and this came in useful.

[Robert Turchick]

Well, since my first suggesting the Kenlabs gyro, I've had the chance to use one. Works great if you have a pilot who gives you enough time for the gyro panning to take place. Doesn't happen all the time. Came up with a MUCH better solution….Here's the first test of my rig for shooting from a small heli (Schweitzer 300)
DJI Ronin with C100/Canon 16-35 f4, Zacuto grip relocator and Ninja 2 recorder.
Works pretty darn well. Did some tuning on the Ronin and really need the thumb controller to make it perfect. The entire rig is safety wired to the seat belts of the heli.
And there is no post stabilizing on this footage.

Ronin Test on Vimeo

My buddy Jay Beckman took the photos of the flight.

[Jim Michael]

That's real nice Robert. Do you have to hang it outside in the wind?

[Nate Haustein]

Shoot. With all the drone craze going on, I never thought of using a full-size gimbal on a full-size helicopter!

From when I rented it, the Ronin comes with a 4-channel transmitter. Has anyone tried simply securing the ronin to the heli and using the remote from the cozy backseat? Or even just having a second person hold the gimbal without having to worry about operating it?

[Andrew Smith]

Very nice indeed, though I noticed a tiny bit of steppy-ness in the smoothness of the motion. Not super crucial, but enough for a picky person like myself to see if I look for that sort of thing.

What shutter speed were you shooting at?

Andrew

[Robert Turchick]

Might be the encode…the pro res looks flawless! 1/48 shutter 24p

As for questions..
The Schweitzer has no room to maneuver the rig inside so yes it has to hang outside. For getting from airport to location it is easy to set on my lap.

If you were shooting from a Long Ranger or Huey you'd probably be able to secure the Ronin using 4 bungees and use the remote. This is why I'm anxiously awaiting the thumb controller. Most situations don't have the room to put a second operator in the aircraft. I do plan to build a rig for shooting from a Bonanza A36 or similar plane for higher speed A2A shooting. I do a lot of aviation related shoots.

If my wife will let me get a welder (once hell freezes over) I will be exploring adapting my Glidecam arm onto a plate to hold the Ronin. Theory is the plate could just slide into any aircraft and allow a bit more freedom than the bungees. I already have the adapters to use the Ronin on my Glidecam arm/vest so it shouldn't be too hard.

Poor man's Cineflex is what I want!!
Can't justify $4k/hr to most clients!

[Marcus Martell]

What about the bungees in a Huey heli? Where do u guys suggest to place em without having a ronin or a gyro but a camera in a sled/rig?

[Chuck Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Robert Turchick

Well, since my first suggesting the Kenlabs gyro, I've had the chance to use one. Works great if you have a pilot who gives you enough time for the gyro panning to take place.

DJI Ronin with C100/Canon 16-35 f4, Zacuto grip relocator and Ninja 2 recorder.
Works pretty darn well. Did some tuning on the Ronin and really need the thumb controller to make it perfect. The entire rig is safety wired to the seat belts of the heli.

Nice work. The most expensive part of this solution, and the one we have the least control over is the helicopter itself. This discussion also runs the gamut regarding budget. Robert I think this is a great "medium" priced solution. As you may have gathered I'm not a big fan of attaching gyros to a camera.

I would like to make a few points that might help you in future aerial shots and others who are still trying to figure out how to shoot good aerial. Putting a Ronan on the end of a bungee was the next logical step to what I recommended in post #14. Generally this works great, however most gimbals suffer from horizontal drift and there's quite a bit of it in the video that you posted. Adding the thumb controller will make it easier to frame shots but won't help with the Horizon. The other constraint with a gimbal is the balance, you couldn't use a 70-200mm lens for example, of coarse most aerial is going to be shot with wider lens so that might be a non issue. But, if you use the right bungee, match the elasticity with the weight of the camera and lens, you can use longer, heavier lenses and still get similar results without the gimbal.

When talking about gimbals there are quite a few good choices, one that I think is very well suited for this type of shooting is the Gremsy H3: https://www.gremsy.com/product/gremsy-gstabi-h3 This gimbal is much lighter and because of its encoded motors more powerful than the Ronin.

There's so much that goes into capturing good aerial I try to keep things as simple as possible which is why I like using bungees. I agree adding a gimbal can certainly be an improvement as long as I don't have to spend a lot of time balancing and tuning. It might be tempting to add steadicam arms, operating the camera remotely etc., but I think you'll find that will add a layer of complexity beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Again, it depends on the camera, gimbal and access to mounting hardware on the helicopter that will determine that. But I have yet to show up for an aerial shoot that I couldn't figure out how to get good aerial with just a bungee. Having said that, now I never show up for an aerial shoot without my gimbal ; )

[Chuck Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Marcus Martell

What about the bungees in a Huey heli? Where do u guys suggest to place em without having a ronin or a gyro but a camera in a sled/rig?

Depending on the model of Huey there might be some differences. Most UH-1H and newer have soundproofing that is snapped in, generally you can unsnap it near the door you want to shoot out of and you'll see some "cubby holes" with circular holes and the occasional support bar that are easy to attach your bungee too.

Obviously don't just start unsnapping the sound proofing, talk to the pilot, and probably a mechanic, tell them what you want to do and that you've done it before and they will unsnap the sound proofing. The circular holes in the bracing can be a bit abrasive, so wrap your bungee with Gaffers tape where it goes through the hole, it will protect both the bungee and the aircraft, and tie-wrap the join.

Don't attach it too close to the door, give yourself room to be comfortable and it you fly with the doors pinned back you'll have a huge vista without having to be in the slipstream.

[Marcus Martell]

Chuck thank u! The link of the gimbal doesn't work!
Now....we are curious to see your aerials:)
Where can we found em?