Shooting sailboats in extreme conditions

[Richard Gooderick]

Originally Posted by Odile Patra

I thought the Fig Rig was something like a Steadicam, unusuable in wind...I understand I was wrong, and it's very interessant. Not too expansive, nor heavy. Any shooting to show, Richard?

Hi Odile
Thanks for your input. More useful information. I may be asking you for advice at some future time.

OK. Here are some extracts. I put a password onto the site because the voiceover is a little embarrassing! It's not meant to be _the_ voiceover. It's my way of writing it - I find it easier to record and re-record until it sounds alright. I don't like writing it down as a script.
Here's the link:
http://www.vimeo.com/764336
The password is:
blue water

All of it was shot with the Sony A1 in the Fig Rig but I'm not sure about the last shot. I think that I may have been using a Manfrotto superclamp with universal joint and tripod plate fixed to the companionway handrail.

Looking at it for the first time in a couple of months I must say that the picture looks a bit rubbish. I think that is a result of my encoding. I use a different method now. You can see the frog film on the same site looks a lot better.

I hope it's useful.

[Richard Gooderick]

Jim
Thanks for the link to the video. It brought a smile to my face for sure.
While we are at it. For those who haven't seen it here's another way to film a sailboat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKGupz_9mGc

Another idea I looked into was putting a camera on the end of pole. On a rolling boat the Sony A1 would have been too heavy but it might work with a bullet cam. But HD versions of those aren't cheap!

Here's a video taken from what looks like small rib and it's quite smooth although the ride looks quite choppy. Actually this may be just an excuse to link to a video of one of those amazing foiler Moths which is tacking. Never seen them do that before. Amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZwM...eature=related
....... on second viewing, it's not that smooth. Probably handheld. I think I was too knocked out by the boat to focus on the filming :-)

[Odile Patra]

Thank you Richard.
This is ( the link to vimeo ) a great footage, nice to see how the boat is pitching, while horizon and waves are staying horizontal.
Your encoding way looks very good too ( better that most of videos on Vimeo)
I enjoyed the wonderful "frog party" too, and not only because I am french.

It's the first time I see this kind of shooting with kite ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKGupz_9mGc) except kitesurfing with bullet camera.
Bullet camera is a good way to get amazing pictures, I use it in windsurfing, as here:http://blip.tv/file/363552/
But even with 550lines cam, the quality is about the same as Hi8, difficult to match with HDV...

[Jim Cancil]

I love the footage of the Moth.. It reminds me of iceboating back in Wisconsin. The footage seemed pretty stable to me - I suspect it would have been a mess in the average chop of an open bay with the same wind.

Here's what I call a 'kite cam'..



It's attached to the center strut of one of my kites. I've made a variety of rigs for this Sanyo. I'm making a WP, plexi box for the Canon HD HF10 so I can park it on a tripod in the shallows - then my local crew can act up in front of it. I expect to seal the box on shore and operate the cam with Canon's hand remote in a sealed baggie. A camera is a magnet - it's like watching people walk past a mirror.

Jim

[Richard Gooderick]

Hi Odile and Jim

Very interesting posts!

Odile - I loved your film. The bullet cam works so well from all angles. Wow, those gybes. Makes me want to try it.
The music worked really well. Did you get a friend to drum to the film or was it a recording?
BTW my encoding was done using the presets in Avid Liquid. It was shot interlaced and converted to WMV as 720p in Liquid and uploaded to Vimeo who, of course, convert to Flash. I'm not very technical. I think I've got that right.

Jim - Thanks for the photo.
Do we get to see any footage of what you've shot? It sounds like you are doing some great stuff too.
I haven't seen this camera before. Is this the one you are using:
http://us.sanyo.com/entertainment/ca...productID=1495

BTW is that Wet Stuff holder something you can buy off the shelf?

I know nothing about kites. Do you have any tips? I'm wondering if I might use a kite cam myself.

[Odile Patra]

Thank you Richard.
This is a free music from "smartsound" available in ...Avid Liquid !( named "Tribal theory")
I'll try your way to encode for vimeo. I thought I had to use H264 720p, the files are less heavy, but the results after encoding to flash is not so good
as WMV HD...

[Richard Gooderick]

I didn't think anyone else still used Liquid but I suppose it's natural if you are a sailor ;-)
I think it's straightforward but send me a message if you have any questions about settings as we are a bit off topic.

[Jim Cancil]

Sorry for the delay Richard..'got busy. That's the camera. It's a sweet little piece to fart around trying some stuff... Amazon has it in the US for around $400.

Wet Stuff is me. I made clothing for the surf trade for a decade - before the Chinese made better product at 1/2 the price. I do these little bits half-heartedly. It keeps the taxman out of my sports.. Here's the same item attached to my leg. I had to change the position to the inside of the leg because it got knocked off. ..I found it later. (..then added a neon float. It was HARD to see in rough water!)



Stick with the single-line kites like you see that singlehanded sailor on YouTube, if filming is your sport. Kitesurfing kites are very demanding. Somebody, worldwide, dies about every 8-10 weeks doing it.

Getting ready to add it to a rowing shell. I want to put it well outboard of the end of the rigger, so you can record the stroke. Who knows...

Cheers.

Jim

[Richard Gooderick]

Thanks Jim
That's very cool. I bet you get some good footage with it.