Hi and Happy New Year

Hey guys and gals,

For most of my adult life I have flown radio controlled helicopters in international competition and as a consultant to the defense industry. In 1998 I was asked to fly in the motion picture called "The Mighty" starring Sharon Stone. Ever since I have been obsessed with using large helicams to capture film and video. For the last 2 years I have been flying the HVX200 on very large and stable twin cylinder gasoline powered models. Here is an example of the types of shots that are possible.

http://www.vimeo.com/2638134

These helicopters can carry cameras weighing up to 25 lbs with full gyro stabilization. I am very excited about the possibilities of using this technology with other creative people to do really exiting things. This looks like a really great place to learn and do exactly that.

Cheers,

Wendell

That's some nice-lookin' footage you're getting there.

How the heck do you operate the camera? Remotely, as well, or set it to run before takeoff?

Come to think of it, how can you even tell if what you want to shoot is in frame?

Thanks!

It's a two person operation. I fly the heli and the camera operator has a separate radio system that is used to control/position the camera. The video image is down-linked to a set of video goggles. We have in-flight adjustment of record start/stop, zoom, iris and gyro response.