Film & Editing Blog - Behind the Scenes

It's our first proper day on the Inca Trail. Yesterday we warmed up at the Inca site Sacsayhuaman and today we're heading off into the wilderness so to say. No more hotel beds or showers for the next 4 days. It's campsites and walking all the way along the Inca Trail.

We asked our driver Marcus to stop so we could take in this amazing view of the valey on the way to the site. I got some great footage using the 5D mark II on the Zacuto/Jag35 rig. Our guide Willow snapped this picture. It really shows the scale of things. Especially when you consider we started at Cuzco (Qusco) which is over 3000m above sea level!

Our guide, Willow, a local man from Qosqo (the Incan spelling of Cuzco) took this picture of me while filming using the 5D mark II on the Zacuto/Jag35 hibrid DSLR rig.

Sacsayhuaman which means "Satisfied Falcon" is an amazing site to visit. We leared a lot about the Inca architecture. As you can see there are no two blocks the same and the doorway has a trapezoid shape. This wall zig-zags along it's entire length, which gives it more strength to resist earthquakes. Also you can see that the walls taper upwards at an angle of about 13 degrees, again to provide more strength. Another feature is that there is no mortar in the walls, instead the blocks simply fit together like pieces of a puzzle! Lastly you can see that there is a stone mantle across the door. When the Spaniards destroyed the Inca's and took over their sites they would rebuild these but replace the mantles with wood.

As you can see it's a very hot day and it's great to be out here and filming! This place is extraordinary and it's amazing to think that people built this hundreds of years ago!

It's day one of filming the Inca Trail in the Peruvian Andes. I took this picture, a self portrait in the mirror of my hotel room in Cuzco (or Qusqo as the Inca's called it). As you can see I'm using the National Geographic Large camera bag and strapped to the back of it you can make out the Jag35/Zacuto Rig with the Canon 5d Mk II and Sennheiser/Marantz sound system.

I'm also carrying a Canon 550D with an L series telephoto lens for stills photography. In the bag is also a Canon HF s21 and a spare batteries, Macbook Pro, charging units and GoalZero solar panel kit. We're still acclimatizing to the altitude as Cuzco is at an altitude of 3400m above sea level and so today is going to be a more relaxed day.

Our first port of call will be Sacsayhuaman which means "Satisfied Falcon" and I'll get some pictures on here when I can.