Attendees listening to Stan's safety portion of seminar.
Pilots Dirk Vahle and Evan Jensen.
By Stan McClain,
soc
T
he SOC held its first training session for SOC assistants and operators interested in using aerial camera equipment, on September 20, 1997. The event was co-sponsored by Tyler Camera Systems and Helinet Aviation. I contacted Nelson Tyler in August and asked if he would be open to an in-depth training workshop, and an unprecedented event resulted from his company 's efforts. A group of twenty SOC members took advantage of this first ever practical aerial cinematography workshop and seminar. We met at Helinet, a wellrespected aviation company based at Van Nuys Airport and converged on the flight line around a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. I spent a half-hour sharing my knowledge about helicopter safety, then turned the conversation to the professional relationships that occur between the assistant, operator and pilot. We moved into the hangar where George Tarub, the rental manager of Tyler Camera, had placed Page 26
The Operating Cameraman
Tyler Camera Workshop two Tyler Major Mounts unassembled in front of a Long Ranger and a Jet Ranger. He spoke for an hour and demonstrated how to assemble a mount from the bottom up and how to balance it. Then the members were invited to install the two Major Mounts, one with an Arri III, the other with a Mitchell Mk II. Leading aerial camera assistants Jacques Amet, Mark Leins, Kent Hughes and Greg Collier (all SOC members) were there to help guide the group through the procedures and spoke about the duties and responsibilities that are unique to camera assistants on an aerial unit. Once the mounts were installed, I spoke about techniques I use in my daily work and answered many well thought out questions. We concluded the SOC part of the workshop, then rolled the two helicopters out to the flight line. Those who wanted to experience the Tyler Mount in flight stayed for the next phase. Veteran movie pilot Dirk Vahle, and Helinet's main line pilot, Evan Jensen joined the group as we held a pre-flight production meeting. Dirk's mentor was the late David Jones (recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award for Mobile Camera Platform Operator). He added January-June 1998
Dirk to his team on several major projects, which included Airwolf, At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Courage Under Fire, Co nAir, and Jag to name a few. There are two basic types of relationships between aerial cameraman and pilots. In traditional filming, the dolly grip or crane operator is subordinate to the camera department in that the DP and operator set the shots up and the grip moves the mobile camera platform per the DP's suggestion. A seasoned movie pilot understands this and knows how to accommodate the aerial operator or aerial DP. Sometimes the camera ship pilot, or mobile platform camera operator, is also the aerial unit director. In these cases, they sometimes like to set the shots up. The key to a successful aerial shoot is where a strong aerial cinematographer and a veteran movie pilot collectively apply their talents and bring together camera movement, composition, and light quality. If one has too much of an ego, only frustration results. Both Dirk and Evan work well with newcomers and seasoned veterans alike. I suggested to our operators, as it =*> was their first time behind the article ,page 29; participants' comments, page 2 7