Slamfest came to Darwin in August 2012 and I was approached by the team who film and produce SBS Speedweek to do the start line camera work...
Slamfest came to Darwin in August 2012 and I was approached by the team who film and produce SBS Speedweek to do the start line camera work for it.
Of course I took the opportunity, I mean who wouldn't? besides the best seats in the house on one of the biggest horsepower shows of the drag racing season in Darwin I also got valuable experience filming for a seasoned TV show that just happens to be smack bang in the same genre we run the HighRPM series in.
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Filming the start line at Hidden Valley for Speedweek - Glidecam X-10/HD-4000 |
I have enough steadycam experience under the belt to believe myself competent enough to use it for big events with dynamic action now, so this was the perfect time to set up the lightweight X-10/HD4000 Glidecam rig with the Panasonic AG-AC160. I got a new bit of kit just in time for slamfest. The PG-PZ remote zoom control from VariZoom which allows me remote operation of the cameras zoom functionality via one of two dedicated remote conrol ports at the rear of the camera.
I absolutely loved the gig. In terms of pure fun I was absolutely spoiled, to the point where I didn't even feel the pressure of catching the moment. Usually at these big events I have to concentrate on the big picture, ensuring all parts of the production such as mutliple angles of action, interviews, event information all make it to the edit. Instead I got to focus purely on film and capture from the start line right in amongst the smell, noise and action. Hope they ask me again next year!
Check out the Darwin round of Slamfest from Speedweek below. All my start line footage is from Lane 1 (closest to the crowd)and Ed Forman is the camera on lane 2
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