Steadicam style antlers for other applications....

[Peter Hoare]

Hi,

 

I have recently started doing aerial mast photography for corporate, TV and press. I was at the Jade Goodie funeral yesterday, had a feed to sky one and we were doing papparazzi from 90ft up with a Canon 5D.

 

One problem though, the mast wobbles a lot in the wind, which made me think that some antlers would help. The weight ontop of the mast is about 10kg (head and camera)

 

Just wondering if theres any kind of mathematical calculation or any basic rule which dictates the weight or size of the antlers? I can either stick them up at the top or afew feet down from the top or wherever necessary. Capacity of the mast is 20kg, so we have about 10kg extra in the budget for some antlers.

 

You think antlers would help?

 

Thanks a lot for any input,

 

Pete.

 

 

[Lawrence Karman]

Since it looks like your little camera is hard mounted to the top of your big pole, antlers of any length would be useless. In fact it might make it worse with more surface area to catch the wind. BTW, paparazzi suck.

[Peter Hoare]

Since it looks like your little camera is hard mounted to the top of your big pole, antlers of any length would be useless. In fact it might make it worse with more surface area to catch the wind. BTW, paparazzi suck.

 

Mm yes I suppose, I was just hoping that spreading the weight would stop it swaying too much.

 

True paparazzis are pretty bad, but the stuff we do isnt so bad. For a start we arnt in peoples faces, the photos we take usualy show a huge area rather than some poor celebrity sneezing or something. Its not like we are following people home from the Ivy and photographing them putting the rubbish out.

 

In any case, I just rig the mast ;-)

[matt allsop]

I also think the antlers could make matters worse for you.

 

I have seen quite a few people who operate in high mode and have stiffening device attached. Good quality wire attached down the sled and anchored onto monitor batteries etc.

Helps stiffening and stops wobble.

 

Could be hard as urs telescopes way out of reach... Jus food for thought!

[Jess Haas SOC]

Guy lines seem like the best practical method for stabilizing things. 3 ropes attached to the top can do a lot to stop the swaying.

 

~Jess

[Erwin Landau]

I think you'll get into trouble trying to get through door ways...

[Ed Moore]

Guy lines seem like the best practical method for stabilizing things. 3 ropes attached to the top can do a lot to stop the swaying.

 

~Jess

 

I'm with Jess... why not have three guy lines with ratchet strap style tightening mechanisms on them and tie off to either objects in the surrounding area, or even industrial strength collapsible water containers which you could fill up with a hose?

 

E

[Lawrence Karman]

I think you'll get into trouble trying to get through door ways...

 

 

LOL

[Jerry Holway]

Peter-

 

Antlers work great in Steadicam (balanced) situations to increase angular inertia. I think they'd only increase the pole's wobbliness.

 

Guy wires or ropes are probably the easiest and cheapest solution. Just be careful you don't over-stress the mast.

 

Jerry

[Peter Hoare]

Ok thanks a lot for the help.

 

The mast is pneumatic so if you pull down on it with too much force it just compresses the air a little bit more.

 

Maybe some kind of sliding weight system that compensates for the wobble. Sounds like a challenge.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

[Ed Moore]

Ok thanks a lot for the help.

 

The mast is pneumatic so if you pull down on it with too much force it just compresses the air a little bit more.

 

Maybe some kind of sliding weight system that compensates for the wobble. Sounds like a challenge.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

 

If you really wanted a solution that would be insanely more complicated, heavy and expensive than some simple guy wires (!), you could try building a miniature version of the tuned mass dampers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuned_mass_damper) the Japanese build into skyscrapers to make them more resistant to earthquakes...

[Peter Hoare]

You know me ed, always up for a building challenge.

 

 

I was thinking of something electronic with sensors and sliding weights... :-D

[Lawrence Karman]

True paparazzis are pretty bad, but the stuff we do isnt so bad. For a start we arnt in peoples faces, the photos we take usualy show a huge area rather than some poor celebrity sneezing or something. Its not like we are following people home from the Ivy and photographing them putting the rubbish out.

 

In any case, I just rig the mast ;-)

 

Not all that much different really. Saw this on the news wire today:

 

The family of Jade Goody is threatening to sue the People for gross invasion of privacy after the red-top published pictures of the former Big Brother star's burial.

 

The People, which is owned by Trinity Mirror, yesterday ran pictures of the private burial in an eight-page pullout supplement called "funeral tribute".

 

Carter-Ruck, the law firm representing Goody's family, has today sent a letter to the editor of the People, Lloyd Embley, threatening legal action and asking for, a minimum of, a front-page apology.

 

Carter-Ruck phoned the newspaper's legal head yesterday to lodge a complaint over the publication of the images and calling for them not to be reprinted.

 

The images in the supplement ran across two pages, six and seven, entitled "Circle of tears at secret graveside" and showed an aerial shot of the family gathered at the burial.

 

The law firm said that all other newspapers respected the request not to publish images of the actual burial - made specifically by agents representing Goody - and that the legal action has been taken for "gross invasion of privacy".

 

 

I suppose it's not my place to judge but at the end of the day you have to be able to feel good about how you make a living.

[Felix Forrest]

Ok thanks a lot for the help.

 

The mast is pneumatic so if you pull down on it with too much force it just compresses the air a little bit more.

 

Maybe some kind of sliding weight system that compensates for the wobble. Sounds like a challenge.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Pete.

 

If you really wanted a solution that would be insanely more complicated, heavy and expensive than some simple guy wires (!), you could try building a miniature version of the tuned mass dampers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuned_mass_damper) the Japanese build into skyscrapers to make them more resistant to earthquakes...

 

was thinking the same as Ed - I remember seeing the Hamster off Top Gear talking about ....

[Iain Baird]

"I suppose it's not my place to judge but at the end of the day you have to be able to feel good about how you make a living."

 

I'm not trying to start a philosophical debate here.....but.

 

The only people to blame or get angry at are the people buying the magazines and watching the shows or logging on to TMZ. Every other person in the food chain is just trying to make a living. The photographer, the publisher etc, they are only giving the public what they are asking for. If PEOPLE MAG were to decide that they were only going to publish feel good, stay at home mom, or home town hero makes good stories then guess what, they'd be out of business pretty darn fast, and you can bet another magazine would fill the void. If there was no market for this stuff then there would be no Paparazzi. You can question Peter or anyones morals in doing what they are doing but if he didn't do it, it's not like the photos wouldn't have been taken, someone else would have done it. By making a stand Peter would be out of a job, out of the money and the photos would still have been published. I don't like it any more than you may but we only have ourselves to blame and it doesn't look like the publics appetite for this stuff is slowing down any.