First flights
I love watching first flight videos, that once-only capture of the builder's proudest, most triumphant moment.
But I cringe a bit when they're badly done. You only get one shot at a first-flight video, so whoever is on the ground operating the camera needs to know what they're doing.
Tips:
1. Yes, your camera has a 30x zoom, but you shouldn't use it. Extreme telephoto means the camera will be shaking so much it'll be impossible to get a good shot, even if you have image stabilization turned on. Consider moving the camera closer to the action rather than maintaining distance and using extreme zoom. Nothing worse than missing the first-ever touchdown because the camera has shaken so much that it's out of shot.
2. Try to avoid changing zoom during a shot. Look at TV news footage: hardly ever shows zooming shots, instead the camera operator will have planned and set up the focal length in advance to get the best most perfectly focussed and framed shot.
2. Related: have your camera operator do some thinking about where they need to be to get the best shots. If the touchdown zone is 150ft from the threshold, that's where they should be near to get your landing, prepared, with the camera already pointing at the right place. If you're expecting the takeoff point to be 600 ft from the numbers, maybe the camera should be there.
3. Get them to practice on other aircraft before your momentous milestone.
4. Use a tripod. The less camera shake the better. Tripods for video cameras aren't the same as tripods for still cameras, the video versions have supports and bearings that make panning shots stable, smooth and easy.
5. Whoever is doing the photography should be able to take care of it without bugging the pilot. The priority for the pilot is a safe, uneventful first flight. Messing about with cameras is the last thing you should be doing, that's why you delegate the photography to someone else.
6. Depending in what you've built, you've probably spent between $50,000 and $200,000 on your airplane. Maybe it's okay to spend a few hundred bucks on a pro to capture the first flight, properly?
You'll never get another one, so make it a good'un. Brief your camera people to make sure they know what you want, then enjoy your first flight, then enjoy reliving it over and over again by watching a high-quality video. It ain't that hard, it just requires the same kind of care and attention to detail you've put into the rest of your build.
- mark
