How To Photograph & Shoot Video at an
AIRSHOW
Welcome to this short but sweet PRIMER on what has
been described as one of the more difficult video shooting
assignments you may ever run into. This is because of the
so many variables, flight line wind, crowds, bad audio
feedback and echo's from the multiple loud speakers and
God only knows what else can befall you!
First; what to wear. I like to dress for both the possibility
of cool breezy and damp weather and the possibility that
the erstwhile weatherman may get it right for once and it
is a bright sunny scorcher on that hot pavement. I wear a
pair of multi pocket safari Bermudas under a light weight
jogging nylon suit found under ten bucks at the discount
department stores. I wear an appropriate color T-shirt of
one of the aircraft that I particularly like and if it has a
shirt pocket, all the better. I wear on top of that the matching
zippered jacket to the nylon jump suit. I also wear a ball cap
to keep the sun and glare out of my eyes. I wear sweat socks
and a favorite pair of jogging or walking tennis shoes that
are very comfortable to me.
This make up works out quite well. If cool or cold, I am still
quite comfortable. If it gets hot and humid these clothes not
only shed easy and quickly but also store in a small area
in my carry bag which looks like a gym bag and not something
that looks like I am caring thousands of dollars worth of
electronic equipment and maybe the target of someone's answer
on how he is going to fund his drug habit for a month! I have my
camcorder wrapped in a small hand towel and both are inside
a large plastic zip top bag. I can use the towel to protect my
camcorder from the hot sun while waiting for events to start.
I can also use it to sit on a surface such as pavement or grass.
The plastic bag is also for keeping mist, sprinkles or other
moisture from getting on my equipment. I also like to carry a
fanny pack since both the 3CCD camcorders from Pana and the
TRV900 from Sony will fit easily with battery and with an extra
pack or two of mini DV 2 hour tape. Never carry the camcorder
with the battery attached. Connect it when setting up on the
tripod. This way you are never surprised to find a full charged
battery very warm and very discharged accidentally!
Carry twice the video tape and twice the battery you think you
will need. I also carry a pen and pencil and always get a copy of
the airshow program. If possible see if you can write down or get
a pilots copy of the flying performance times. If you want, you can
also bring a CB radio that will pick up the control tower conversations
with the pilots and with a stereo jack inserted into the microphone
jack you can have one sound track of the com link and the other
of the aircraft, crowds and announcer sounds. Use a directional
boom mic and select full front so only the sound from the direction
of the lens is picked up. Set your focus on to manual at infinity. Set
your W/B for daylight and the conditions you are shooting in. Set
the cam for interlaced mode as progressive scan will blur. If you
have a polarizing filter or skylight use it. Make sure the cam pans
left and right smoothly. Make sure the handle loosens and you
can tilt straight up as they will fly directly over head. Use your
view screen and remote control to make sure you can always follow
the aircraft no matter how fast or how high.
I usually like to position myself in the center where the trailer
truck has been placed on the center of the runway. I also like
to move back from the crowd so I get a sweep of the static
aircraft on display and the crowds are not near me so as to not
record individual conversation. I even look for a loud speaker
to be near by as well to avoid the echo effect of multiple speakers.
I try to position my elevation some how so if the crowds were walking
by in front of me, I would be shooting over their heads. Back of a
pickup truck or a small hill can work.
If I have two camcorders, I will set one up for the announcer
and the other I will use for the action and flying. If I have
an opportunity to shoot the same performance on two different
occasions, then I will shoot the second from the crowd line
which will give me the closest proximity to the aircraft while
parked before and after the flying routine. Actually, position your
self just off the needle pitot tube of the nose on one of the team
aircraft for good effect. Use extreme close ups of the planes, pilots
and the parts of the aircraft with special decals and details. This way
you can blend the distant shots from the previous performance
with these close-ups.
This is just an excerpt from an 18 page thesis that I did some years ago...
If you have any other areas you want me to address, just e-mail me
mailto:chuckmeister@supervideo.com
