Filming in and from an Airplane!

Hey guys,

The amazing opportunity I had, just became real! I will be visiting Berlin in October, to shoot an image film for a flight school! (Not what your average 16 year old does ;) )

Well, I was wondering how I could pull this off!

I know how I will do all the ground shots, I know how I will shoot the interviews, but what I don't know is, what I would need to consider whilst shooting inside the airplane!

We will be flying around with your average training aircrafts! That means relatively small! 2 seats in the front and possibly 2 in the back.. One propellor in the front!

Now, i was thinking, of a normal shoulder mounted rig, like a double barrel, or a Zacuto Striker. I am planning to film this with a Canon 5D, and a T2i mounted on the outside of the aircraft with suction mounts and other secure solutions! This will all be according to safety regulations!

How about micro vibrations in an aircraft? Is it noticeable, or do you only have that in a helicopter?

Shooting outside the airplane, I have a couple of ideas! If there is the possibility of flying with the door open, I was thinking of attaching thick rubberbands to the doorframe, maybe two or 3 and letting them hang down. This should probably reduce vibrations and would be much better, than trying to squeeze a Tripod in there.
I had this idea, because, this is what some military personal do, with their machine/support guns!

What is there to consider?

Phil
 
I've spent a lot of time in small planes. Do you know what you'll be in? Most won't have room for much movement inside. Suction cups and mounts are or sure the way to go.

Turbulence and vibrations can be intense, but not always. I'd stick to really wide lenses. A few GoPro's would be great too.

I doubt they'll let you fly with the door open.

If you're doing anything with audio you'll have to route a recorder into their headsets. It's insanely loud inside.

Have fun man, can't wait to see shots.
 
I am not sure which airplanes yet!

I was wondering, does Image Stabilisation help in airplanes? I guess so, right?
 
I've shot small plane interiors a few times. The biggest blessing you can have is an overcast day because getting the exposure close to right on a sunny day will usually blow out everything outside. Other than that, early in the morning or later in the evening gives the best results.

See if you can find out what the comm outputs are in type and size and have the necessary cable and/or adapters on hand.

I don't know about exteriors with suction cups, but I would guess the wings are or may be out of the question. See if there is any way you can talk someone into having another plane available to do exteriors of your subject plane. Even a 10 minute flight will be more than plenty with 2 or 3 turns for variety.

Good luck and have a blast!
 
I will definitely be getting 3 suction mounts! One for every camera! Good thing is, that I can still check exposure and everything on the Zacuto EVF!

I will definitely be trying to shoot from another plane, to get a couple of good shots!
 
Aircraft wise, we have:

Eurostar:
ev-97_2.jpg


Cessna 150L:
1068_1_CESSNA%20150%20AEROBAT.jpg


Kiebitz:
1382834.jpg
 
I've been in the 150 series, it's like a smart car with wings haha. The open one looks awesome though!

If it is open to the outside, keep in mind you'll be going between 100-200mph. Not sure how to secure a camera for that speed. Most suction mounts I've seen are rated below 80.
 
If you can find a "soundie" to accompany you to build a sound library; not only a help to the current project but great to have in your library for future projects
 
I have found a high speed suction mount, which can supposedly be used on airplanes! One of them is $100! I need 3.. Well, i will see what I can do! I will talk about budget!

Regarding the soundie, I would love to, but I don't think, that there is enough space :)

Phil
 
Awesome! Just got confirmation! We will be flying helicopters as well!

Windows will be removed from aircrafts, for flights, where we will shoot the scenery!
 
Ok, got a couple more updates!

I can rent out Canon Equipment for free!

How do Canon 5ds, 7ds and 1ds sound?

We also have the possibility of using Carl Zeiss CP.2's, but that would be something for the shots on the ground, right?
 
I think 5D's would be your best bet. No crop sensor so get nice wide angles.

And CP2's are great, but their wider angles aren't very fast. I think you'd be better off with lighter weight photo lenses on the mounted cams. Not like you're pulling focus or anything.
 
EXCITED!!! Will be in the air in 5 days! Can not wait! Will do many many new things I have never done before!

Got Zacuto and Sachtler as Sponsors for this! Props to those guys!
 
Geeze dude, howd you pay for all that?

Just noticed the sponsor bit.. thats AMAZING.. do you get to keep it when your done ? Now that would be very cool!

GH2 and T2i. (me too!)
 
Back
Top