A cameraman's guide to shooting from a chopper.
There is no simple way of learning to shoot from a open door of a helicopter.
The biggest impact on the quality of the picture is the pilot, the weather and just how comfortable you are feeling in a banked turn with nothing between you and a 1000 ft drop but 1G and a safety strap.
Weather
Consider scheduling a wide as possible window so you can choose the time with the smoothest air. If the weather is bad consider changing direction of the shot. Ask the pilot if there is there anything he or you can do to make the flight smoother. Sunrise and sunset offer the least flat lighting of a landscape.
Pilot
Choose a reputable company if available. If you are flying low or fancy choose a pilot who has at least 5000 hours flight time. But beware, every pilot will have had a cameraman in the back at some time or other and so can claim to have filming experience. Do not fly in a private rich kids or corporate chopper with unknown plot except for the simplest of flights.
Your comfort and experience
If you have not flown with the door off then perhaps a short dynamic flight in low cost chopper is a good idea to familiarize yourself with he experience. If the experience is not to your liking then employ a operator for the shot and ride along as his assistant to get flight time.
There are two ways to work from an open or removed door.
One is to sit on the floor with your feet dangling or resting on the skids. This gives maximum panning and tilting scope. But is useless at higher speed because your legs and the camera are in the slipstream.
Your mic will become unusable due to wind noise unless you lean backwards out of the slipstream.
This position is good for shooting uncontrolled subjects at low height and low speed (not necessarily a safe way to fly)
It is possible to get shots looking straight down when the aircraft banks. You can also rig it so the camera can be hand held between your legs, looking straight down when in a hover.
This position requires a harness for you and a safety strap for the camera. Take your own harness along and carabinas.. if you trust your life in your own hands that is. All carabinas should be self locking or screw type that can't be accidentally opened (tragically this happened in a televised bungy jump in the UK)
If the harness does not have a front release mechanism then strap a divers knife to your ankle in case you need to get out in a hurry.
Gaffer tape your trouser legs to stop them flapping or tuck them into your socks:)
Wind-chill could be very high so consider silk or cyclists gloves.
Sitting on one inch of foam, securely taped to the floor is an idea.
There can be a lot of turbulence in the cockpit with the door off so make sure there is nothing that can get blown about. More to the point prepare a bag, that can be strapped down, that has a zipper so you can access what you need.
Your shooting angles are more limited, but you are out of the slipstream and generally more comfortable. No silly looking leg ware and changing or batteries and mags or tapes is easier as is communication with the pilot and director. If you are a big chap the camera may come into contact with the roof every now and then.
If you are shooting video take a battery that can be cabled to the camera this will reduce fatigue and give you more scope to tilt down. In general do not use any power from the helicopter.
The seat cushions are usually velcroed in consider removing one, with pilots permission if the camera is too close to the ceiling. More of a problem with video.
I use a small Kenyon gyro that attaches directly to a camera. It helps reduce high frequency vibration. The key to reduce the low frequency oscillation is to be very relaxed so your body acts as a sponge on one hand and a self leveling device on the other. This is not possible to do if you are tense!
I wouldn't recommend a home made bungey for your first flight.
Preflight
Which door to be removed? If you want to get technical then wind direction can have a bearing on which door to remove. Tail rotor effectiveness and hence tail stability is affected by wind direction. So it may be on a crappy day that the pilot will suggest (if you let him) shooting in a particular direction which will enable him greater control of the tail. If you are on the ball you will know which door to remove.
You can't shoot a counter clockwise orbit of the subject from the starboard side or a clockwise from the port side. If you have a particular shot that develops from a specific landmark then consider which door to work from in advance. Will you be heading clockwise or anti clockwise around the subject?
Plan the shot well in advance if you can. In Europe at least, every few seconds costs a dollar or so! Coordinating action on the ground with a specific aerial maneuver should be avoided unless you have experienced production staff.
Coordinating air to air action is somewhat easier because you will be in the hands of the pilots who shouldn't take off unless they are sure of what you want.
Coordinating a air to air shot with a specific ground feature in the background is very difficult for the inexperienced.
Arrive with plenty of time to setup. Allow a 30 minute briefing with the pilot and a one hour rig. Prove to the pilot that you are safety conscientious and have made a effort to plan and he will be more likely to take you seriously! Production often schedule only 30 minutes to "jump on board".
Ensure all members of the crew are aware of how to work safely around a helicopter/airfield. Pickup the smallest of yours or anyone else's rubbish. If you are moving seats about and you find a screw on the floor give it to the pilot. Take as few passengers as possible. Generally this will give the aircraft more performance or greater flight endurance and he pilot needs only be concerned with the comfort of a single passenger.
Don't expect mid and long lens shots to be steady for more than a few seconds. Leave the long zoom lens on the ground. Go close and low if practical. It is possible in post, to track the horizon or remove a wobble (up to a point) 35mm and HD offer more scope to do this than 16mm in my opinion. Sometimes it is not possible to go as low as you need. One way around this is to get permission to land near the site you are filming. During the landing and takeoff phase you may get the shot you need. Plan plan plan if you can. Shooting hand held involves compromises!
Insurance
Ensure that the production insures you as your own insurance generally, will not. Take note that your loss of earnings insurance, mortgage insurance and life insurance by default do not cover you when working in a helicopter.
Although the charter company will have legal liability insurance you or your widow will have to sue them in a court of law and prove they were legally liable ie negligent. This could take years and will only pay out if the pilot or charter company were negligent. So make sure that you have a accidental death policy that covers you for helicopters.
Chain those commands
Expect a safety briefing. Get into the habit of walking around the front of the aircraft, never duck under the boom, even when the rotors are stationary. When the helicopter is on the ground and the rotors are coming up speed or are slowing down a severe gust of wind can deflect them down below head height. When the rotors are turning you should only approach the aircraft on the signal of the pilot or ground staff. Camera assistants, don't be pressured into running up to a helicopter because the director or camera operator is beckoning you!
In flight, with a pilot I haven't flown with before, I preface any *unplanned* suggestion for a new maneuver with "if it is safe to do so, could we..." This reinforces the proper chain of command in the cockpit, especially if there is a demanding director onboard putting the pressure on if the schedule has gone pear shaped.
Camera mounts
This is a big subject. By far the best mounts for HD are gyro stabilized remote head systems. These systems consist of a ball with a lens pan tilt head and just the bare bones of the HD camera. The rest of the camera and the recorder are in the cockpit. Thus the ball can be as small as 14 inches in diameter. A small ball means it has less effect on the aerodynamics and performance of the chopper. If the recorder is in the cockpit tape changes can be made with the need to land. The lightweight ball can be fitted to the nose of the aircraft and so can shoot forward vertically and left and right.
The crew are nicely cossetted away in heated/airconditioned comfort with no danger of anything or anyone falling out. With the door shut it is few decibels quiter too!
The second type of stabilized mount is like a hot head or remote pan and tilt head with spinning mass gyros fixed to it. It can accept different types of camcorders. They are larger and generally can only be used on the side of aircraft. They are not as stable as the smaller gimbals. Wescam and Spacecam have versions that will take HD cameras as well as 35mm and IMAX cameras.
There is a range of non gyro systems made by Tyler that fit on the floor of the helicopter. They are balanced systems, a little like steadycam. Simply put the camera on the sytem, and balance it. The camera operator pans and tilts the camera manually. It is much less steady than the gyrosytems but much cheaper. Tytler also make a nose mount that can be tilted up and down from within the cockpit.
If you can't go low consider a wide angle lens and a 250 ft access platform, on a windy day it wobbles as much as chopper...
copyright Michael Brennan