Friarpuk

Thanks Captain Really appreciate you down loading the pics!

On an average news shoot for a 90 sec story with three interiviews we would shoot up to 20 minutes of raw footage. In the good old film days crews would go out with 5 mins of film and have to get interviews and overlay for the whole story. But for us today with chips that can hold more vision than our batteries would last this is not the issue. At least when I was in the industry we had video tape we could record over if need be but film one only had one crack of the whip. The same as still photographic film! I too shoot my fair share of what we technically called in the industry "crap", but we all do, especially if experimenting. Zooming is a last resort. Even when on a tripod zooming is generally only to reframe to the next shot. But we were taught if needing to do a zoom in a certain circumstance one needs to hold the shot static for five seconds, then zoom, and then hold the stopping shot for five seconds. Doing this means one has three possible shots to use, two static shots and a zoom. This is the same for pans and tilts too. In editing a story one tends to lay the bed of the story with all audio and associated pictures, and then go back and fill the "black" between the grabs and natsots (natural sound off tape). So holding the shot before and after the movement allows one some time of grace if one wants to put a seven second movement into a ten second hole, etc. But in unstable aircraft I would not zoom. It's just too wobbly! In saying that I mean zooming in or out while recording, or, zooming into something distant, to record a telephoto shot! When we shot out of choppers the pilot was the cameraman, in as far as panning and tilting, and the cameraman just hung on and tried to keep the shot steady. The pilot put one on the shot. But its a little easier to fly sideways in a chopper than a plane. When flying mates around for still photographics one can side slip and fly out of balance, but not as sideways as a chopper. Most of the time if we had one, we'd attach the wide angle lens for aerial vision, and I notice today the cap city stations all have gyro m0unted remote cameras on their choppers. In saying all that, one can cheat if wanting to use a wobbly zoomed in shot , by slowmoing it a little. I've done that in some of my skyranger videos, and have done so in a way that was not too obvious (hopefully)! THis is starting to become a mamoth yarn so more on editing another day. But editing is generally opposite to shooting. Whereas one needs to think slow when shooting, slow to button off, slow to zoom, pan, tilt, etc. but when editing, keep the shots moving, by editing tight, to the beat of music, not jarring but not allowing for the brain to take all in in each shot. Scott what is happening to you in my videos, I suspect, is that the shots move through reasonably quick and a choice of disolves or cuts are chosen not to jar or upset the brain, but being short enough for the brain to fill in the detail of each shot, adding a sense of excitement, or expectation. One that I don't get having shot and edited the material, and if I do it's only months after the fact when my brain has forgotten what is really in each shot. I'm not so bad now, but when I was in the industry, I was a bugger to watch movies with as I could always pick the mic coming into shot and reflections in windows and car doors of cameras, crew, lights etc. Television and movies involve many tricks on the mind with lighting, sound, and editing. Done right it can be very emotive for the viewer. Advertisers politicians and social activists have been hijacking our emotions since the 70s. Its all smoke and mirrors. Enjoyment for us but a powerful tool of manipulation for others. Friarpuk

Its all in the combination of shots! But any shot that I'm not doing something stupid is always a start! The fisheye wing shots look good in some situations, landings if one does a good job of it, and tight turns looking down at the ground kinda look impressive. Side by side air to air are a favourite, late arvo and early mornings give warmer softer pics, but then again the variables are greater and instead of getting really nice pics one might end up with really dirty looking pics. It's trial and error when you can't be looking down the viewfinder and need to do the primary job of keeping the spinner out of the ground!

Thanks for this! I was not even aware there was a strip at Murgon. But I'll keep the day free if possible.

And I am still seeking somewhere to hangar her too! There maybe a place at Nanango! But all going well would like to by a place and have my own strip! Oneday perhaps!

It looks okay! I have not yet had the pleasure of greasing my wheels onto either of the strips there yet!

Neither! It's still in the hangar in WA. I am I going through withdrawal? Yes big time! Will go and get it when the seasons change and the trade winds start blowing the fronts across southern OZ and we are getting clear frosty weather up here in the Roy! Puk

Hi folks! Having been a television cameraman/editor in a previous life, my advice to all avid aviation cameramen and women is to not worry too much about the how good or bad a camera might be technically. Good vision on a crappy mobile phone is still good vision, whereas crappy vision on a technically brilliant camera is still unuseable. When I was learning the trade I was encouraged to shoot often, over shoot, don't create the action with the zoom, pan or tilt, and edit your own stuff. One quickly learns how to improve shooting when trying to edit your own unusable vision. Use your camera often! Mount it on your kid's bike, or whatever, get heaps of vision and play with it. In doing so you will have to time to sort out the finder details of camerawork and issues with equipment as you go. Even the canon and Fuji lenses on my 100g sony betacam had trouble with fogging up in humid weather, especially taping floods in Northern NSW out of choppers. Just a quick hint on that: I have spent many a time sitting in the car with the heater on full to rid the fog from inside the lenses of my tv camera. It's not very comfortable on a 36 degree day with 90 percent + humidity. As for what equipement to purchase, I have always been quite a scab when it comes to spending money on lipstick cameras. Expensive cameras don't give the the best pics, experienced cameramen do though. Before going out and buying a great camera (Drift HD or GoPro, and the like) practise with el cheapo still cameras with a video option. Editing programmes are numerous, and my opinion a dime a dozen. But a couple of things to look for is the ability to be able to create videos in various formats, and to have a computer powerful enough to run the software smoothly and quickly, or alternatively prepare yourself to be taught a lesson on patience waiting for the computer to digest all the information you're thr0wing at it. One doen't need to necessarily purchase more than one camera. However, when purchasing the camera think about how it mounts to objects (your plane), and how its mount system may or may not allow for correctly aligned horizons, especially on wing struts and the tubing in the cockpit, etc. My first lipstick camera was a poseidon 720 hd camera and it was arguably easier to mount in any situation than the Gopro or the Drift, but stress on the mounts soon cracked them and spare parts were as rare as hen'e teeth. I now have a drift hd and spares are common. I believe Gopro are too. But if you are only new to the videoing and editing game, I would still encourage folk not to throw hundreds of dollars at the latest technology, especially if you are not sure how much you are really going to use it. There seems to be some second hand Gopro stuff around that is still more than adequate to make aviation videos and the like. With regard to mounting for different angles, the more angles you have the better. One needs not have lots of camera's, just one you can mount in different spots without damaging the plane, upsetting its balance, or losing the camera in flight. There are a stacks of differnt mounts one can purchase off ebay for cameras that have the standard 1/4 inch spigot of most still and video cameras. Also the 1/4 spigot mount also allows for inventive souls to create their own mounts. And one word of warning. Editing is a tedious and frustrating task, but time taken will also improve results too! Much great vision has beem wrecked by inexpericence and hurried work in television and movie edit suites! Hope this comes in handy and I'm not telling folks how to suck eggs!

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Yeah! I grew up with that iconic shot of the concorde lifting it's nose off terra firma to the same music!

Yeah what scott said Friarpuk as in Pastor Heath Pukallus i.e. big bloke in white dress on Sundays

Last service is on the 30th December. Furniture leave on the 5th of January and we leave on the 6th in the car and caravan. Will come back in autumn/winter to fly the plane to QLD once the SE winds calm down a bit. For those who don't know I am a Lutheran Pastor but taking time off from the chruch to have a break and will be looking for some work in solitude behind a stearing wheel (tractor/mower) or ground keeping etc. around Toowoomba, Oakey or the Downs. Perhaps even being a home dad if Erica can find some full time work, so I can do some work on the house at Oakey Regards Friarpuk

Hi guys Most of the shots were from my new Drift HD camera (Drift Stealth). Only a few shots were from my Poseidon 720p and they are noticable by the colour being a little more washed out. The Drift can be set on 1080 but I only ran it on 720. It cost me around $200US plus postage from a bloke in Florida and was here in WA in five days. I sought it through Ebay. Most of the shots were from the one camera repositioned after a couple of circuits each go. I am very happy with the Drift, as the Go Pro priced themselves out of my price range. However I have heard elsewhere that competition has brought their price back to about the same as the Drift. Features fo the Drift are: 1.5 inch view screen, external audio jack, 300 degree rotatable lense so the camera can sit cockeyed and you can get the image horizon horizontal. The camera has various mounting systems but the camera will mount on a standard 1/4 inch spigot. And unlike my poseidon spare parts are readily available. Thanks for the all the positive coments. 13 years as a tv cameraman/editor has obviously been beneficial

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Sorry I meant the fuse fabric!

G'day Jim It's taking shape. Exciting times! Once I got the floor in I didn't move it. I don't reckon you'd get the floor back in if the covering were on it anyway. If I was to do the floor again I would used carpet on thin aluminum sheetings as it bears no weight only feet when flying, and you're seated then. I reckon trying to mould the center console in with the floor might save a bit of weight too. You would then just have to mount the battery in a different way as there would be no floor where it usually sits. Few pics in PDF below Have fun lacing the floor. Puk Doc1.pdf Doc1.pdf Doc1.pdf

G'day Jim Have you decided on those gauges yet? I reckon the steam gauges are better, but that's just me. Although I have been coveting the new AH from Dynon at 15oo dollars seems like a much better option than a 3000 electric gyro AH or having to strap a venturi to the side of the plane. I had a failure in one of my circuit breakers and started losing engine instruments, electronics can add another level of failure, and for RAA and VHF flying, eyes are meant to be outside the cockpit, not looking at all the pretty electronics inside. Nevertheless, I am envious that you're building. I'd love to be building again, but Greg won't give me a kit for free, nor will the minister for finance (also minister for warfare) wave her magic wand and make the dollars appear. Also I have used nylon locknuts throughout and on replacing some in the engine bay found they were as good as the day I put them in. When using them in conjunction with locktite there shouldn't be an issue. Friarpuk

Yep they are the little puks. Going to make another video soon (time permitting. i.e. when the weather gets bad for flying)

Not sure what you mean? But yep ABC choppers have all the bells and whistles for flying just about 24/7. Apparently the haze over lake Eyer is quite bad at low levels, making the horizon near invisible in the daytime, let alone the night. But fwiw I'm guessing the accident it will have occurred due to catastrophic falure of the chopper or the pilot's health while in flight. Not to preempt the investigation. Must go! Time to don the clergy garb!

You should get your friend to contact the NT news with this shot as it is a one in a million shot. I am speaking as an ex tv news cameraman. FWIW

There is a bit of video after the fact on the NT newspaper site. Despite this being a terrible accident, the photo of the strike is a one in a million. If there is video of it then I'm sure the ATSB would be interested in seeing it!

Not having flow over Lake Eyer my self, I've spoken to plenty who have, and many have testified to the difficulty of seeing the horizon. Some have said it's even more difficult to do during daylight hours when there are a heap of other planes about too! I guess the ATSB might shed more light on the accident in coming weeks.

I awoke to the news and immediately felt sick. I owe much to cammeraman John Bean for teaching me the craft which set me up well for a 13 year career as a television cameraman/editor. Hanging out the door of a chopper with a camera was a rush. These days I have given up the camera in favour of the ordained ministry but still love flying. Although these days it's a fixed wing Skyranger. My condolences to his wife and family! Friarpuk

Up at Narrogin doing my BFR this morning. Hands free 2500 this morning on the way up. Home smooth at 7500 to avoid the chucky thermals below. Hung back for a PC 12 RFDS to get into Katanning before me but he also backed off and arrived late due to the thermals. While up at Narrogin I was speaking to Don Briggs, he gave me the name of a mob in the USA that do indistructable retreads called Desser tyres www.desser.com Also Solid Service in most capitals http://www.solidservice.com.au/ do the Trelleborg in the classic ribbed used in aviation. They are not specificially aviation tyres but are 6 ply and sturdy. Thanks for those who replied. I too sourced one Trelleborg at the local Katanning Tyrepower for my Skyranger and he charged me $100 including freight and inner tube. Turns out that's pretty good. He's always been a pretty helpful bloke! Cheers