We do a lot of air to air footage for the show and some of you wanted some tips for shooting your own. Today, David and Alex go over what they've learned over the years.
BALANCE
This applys even if you aren't shooting any footage. A well balanced craft is crucial for good performance.
DAMPEN
Vibrations with give your footage the 'jello', which is no good. If you followed tip #1 and balanced properly this will be minimal, but even sometimes you can't get rid of all the vibration. If you want to build a vibration dampening rig, check out Chad's for some inspiration.
COMPOSITION
Just like taking a pictue or shooting video on the ground, composing your shoot will make your footage look professional. This is why we don't use a board camera and a recorder separately when we shoot.
SOFT CONTROLS
Slow smooth movement is your best friend. Even if you think your controls are already soft, once you go FPV everything is amplified. It's a good idea to get in the air, see how it looks, then adjust as you go.
PRACTICE
As with any discipline, the more you do it the better you will become. As Bob Ross says, "Talent is a pursued interest. Anything that you're willing to practice, you can do."
WHAT'S IMPORTANT
One of the hardest things to do as a pilot is get over the fear of crashing. But as you crash and as you rebuild, and then crash again (it's going to happen,) you will become more and more comfortable with your abilities. Once this happens you will become fearless in your shooting allowing for more daring and ultimately more awesome shots. Don't worry about the craft. You can rebuild it. You can not rebuild that amazing shot you were too scared to get.
We hope this gave you some insight as to how we get our air to air footage and even more importantly the inspiration to go get some yourself!
How do you like to shoot your air to air? Let us know! Chat it up in the forums!
0 comments