Pro Moviemaker Winter 2018

ACADEMY ACTION FILMMAKING

my life. Death or injury can be waiting around every corner, so you need to be aware or employ amountain guide who is. Action gear My preferred camera at themoment is the Sony FS5, which features Super SlowMotion mode that can be used in combinationwith End Trigger to ensure I don’t miss anything, in-camera variable NDs and RawSDI that can be output tomy Convergent Design 7Q+. The camera is pairedwithmy current favourite lens, the Zeiss Batis 18mm, which can fit into a rig that can be taken from the tripod and put into a DJI RoninM. In this configuration it’s light enough forme to manage all day and even ski with it, tough enough to stand up to the knocks and cheap enough to be considered replaceable should the worst happen. I can pop the FS5 into a housing and swim out to surf, while when I’mon the beach filming in seamist it will keep ploughing on. Should I need something smaller I can use my Sony A7RII; the two cameras grade well together. While I will always opt for the FS5 Raw to the 7Q+ for preference, the 4K results from the A7RII are pretty amazing froma package this small. Being used to shooting Raw in stills cameras and editing through Bridge, I love the extra control this givesme. For sticks I use Vinten (who I represent) and Sachtler as well, and if I need some extra continuous light I workwith two Lightpanels Astras powered by Anton Bauer Digital Series 90 batteries. I alsoworkwith

“I’ve been on 12,000ft north face glaciers that have avalanched and killedmany people”

plume of snow– it looks great, but if your camera’s not properly protected the snow will melt and swiftly put lenses, cameras and monitors out of action for the day. Safety is the biggest issue you’ll encounter. I’ve been on 12,000ft north face glaciers that have avalanched and killedmany people and have been saved only by reading the conditions andmaking decisions that saved

Winter sports Another big strand of what I do is winter sports, which is about as high octane as you can get and is full of perils for the unprepared. I’ve got a lot of experience in the area having once lived in the Alps for ten years, and I’maware of the risk and opportunities it presents. Stills photography kit is easily transportable in a backpack, one body, three lenses, but once you add a filming camera, monitor, bigger batteries and a heavy duty tripod the shooting day gets tougher andhelp transporting all that kit becomes essential. If you forget something – it will take the best part of the day to go back to the hotel to retrieve it, so have a checklist and go through it in themorning and againwhen you return at the end of the day. Have ameeting the night before to assess everyone’s needs, hopes and dreams, so you knowwhat they would like to achieve from the day’s filming. I shoot a lot of snowboarding and the athletes I workwith are tough, as you need to be if you spendmost of your life sliding downmountains on planks of wood at high speed, often purposely upside down in the air, spinningwith great skill, with style and at great risk to yourself. They’re consummate professionals so you’re unlikely to hear anymoaning, but on the flip side they expect the same of you and for them to get great footage to please their sponsors. They will fly off themountain sides sometimes with vertical drops of 100ft spinning through the air and pulling off a perfect landing, so you’d better be ready, be in focus and nail the shot. You have to have equipment that can performand you need to protect it from the elements too. If one of themrides a powder field past you, throwing up a rooster – a large overhead

ABOVE David’s footage of a thoroughbred stallion turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime shot that’s been used multiple times.

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PRO MOVIEMAKER WINTER 2018

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