Aerial Filming in Alaska for the Tongass National Forest
April 8, 2011
Aerial Filmworks was selected to provide aerials for the new Tongass National Forest visitor film. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the USA and dominates the Southeast Alaska landscape. Contracted by North Shore Productions, the production will take place over 2011 with the first shoot delivering aerials depicting the winter season.
View towards the Juneau airport from 6,000 feet in 60 knot winds.
~Dawn Smallman, Producer, North Shore Productions
Aerial Filmworks also worked with Director Rory Banyard of North Shore Productions to provide aerials for the Death Valley Visitor Film.
The Tongass aerial production was especially challenging due to high winds. Ron Chapple, Aerial Director of Photography, waited for 3 days until the winds dropped enough to allow for a small window of opportunity to film in the mountains surrounding Juneau, Alaska. Winds were gusting as high as 110 knots on the first day, but calmed to about 60 knots on the third day. Fortunately, the gyro-stabilization of the Cineflex V14HD can manage extreme temperatures and gusty winds. The wind chill at the Juneau Airport was minus 10, while mountain top temperatures were minus 40 degrees.
Mendenhall Glacier at sunset
Ice patterns in the Herbert Glacier.
Flying over the Herbert Glacier in a Eurocopter AS350 from Coastal Helicopters.
About Aerial Filmworks
Aerial Filmworks provides high-definition video Cineflex V14HD camera systems and aerial filming services to the international entertainment, documentary and corporate marketplace. Highly regarded by award-winning clients, the Cineflex V14 HD provides the highest level of image gyro-stabilization. Our dedicated, experienced camera operators, Gray Mitchell and Ron Chapple, have thousands of hours using the Cineflex for clients including Disney, Discovery Channel, BBC, CBC, PBS/Nature, National Geographic, History Channel, Planet Green, Red Bull, Burton Snowboards, Amazing Race and CBS/Survivor. Aerial Filmworks is a highly responsive company with over 25 years of aerial photography experience. Dedicated to providing Cineflex V14HD systems and services, experienced aerial filming crews work on location over 250 days a year.
Aerial Filmworks also provides Google Earth pre-flight visualization, GPS preparation and flight logistical planning; Geo-coded HD video and images for land survey or mapping; Google Earth integration of video, stills, 360 interactive panoramas, podcasts, historical imagery, topographic maps, data, etc.
With in-house HD video suite utilizing Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Aerial Filmworks also delivers professional editing and color-grading, and BluRay/DVD output using the robust 12-core MacPro, 32GB RAM, Snell ArchAngel restoration, AJA Kona3, HDCAM/HDCAM SR Decks, and fast h.264 encoding.
On the Road with the Cineflex V14HD in Maui, Hawaii. More than Aerials.
April 2, 2011
Aerial Filmworks has just completed a rolling cinematographic journey around the island of Maui, Hawaii. Using a Nissan Frontier Truck, the crew rigged the Cineflex V14HD to a set of Thule racks with a “Shock Mount” from Airfilm Camera Systems. Power was provided by a Honda generator and the Cineflex auxiliary box and Sony SRW1 HDCAM SR recorder were safely inside the back seat. This arrangement provides a cost-effective means for clients to extend the value of the Cineflex V14HD to film from moving vehicles at minimal extra expense.
About Aerial Filmworks
Aerial Filmworks provides high-definition video Cineflex V14HD camera systems and aerial filming services to the international entertainment, documentary and corporate marketplace. Highly regarded by award-winning clients, the Cineflex V14 HD provides the highest level of image gyro-stabilization. Our dedicated, experienced camera operators, Gray Mitchell and Ron Chapple, have thousands of hours using the Cineflex for clients including Disney, Discovery Channel, BBC, CBC, PBS/Nature, National Geographic, History Channel, Planet Green, Red Bull, Burton Snowboards, Amazing Race and CBS/Survivor. Aerial Filmworks is a highly responsive company with over 25 years of aerial photography experience. Dedicated to providing Cineflex V14HD systems and services, experienced aerial filming crews work on location over 250 days a year.
Aerial Filmworks also provides Google Earth pre-flight visualization, GPS preparation and flight logistical planning; Geo-coded HD video and images for land survey or mapping; Google Earth integration of video, stills, 360 interactive panoramas, podcasts, historical imagery, topographic maps, data, etc.
With in-house HD video suite utilizing Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Aerial Filmworks also delivers professional editing and color-grading, and BluRay/DVD output using the robust 12-core MacPro, 32GB RAM, Snell ArchAngel restoration, AJA Kona3, HDCAM/HDCAM SR Decks, and fast h.264 encoding.
