Film & Editing Blog - Behind the Scenes

Sometimes size and weight are a real consideration when filming outdoor adventures. And this is certainly the case for filming Machu Picchu tomorrow. I'm in the hotel getting ready for tomorrow (and enjoying the fact that there is a shower and a real bed after many days of trekking). The challenge is to take our hybrid field runner Digital SLR filming rig and strip it down to the bare minimum while still being able to record professional sound and video. It has to be light and small so it fits into a typical day sack and be carried around for a day in very very hot conditions.

You Need Great Video AND Audio For The Best Results

The great thing about our filming rig is that it's versatile. So we've dropped the shouder mount, one of the handles and attached the Marantz PDM661 pro audio recorder with Senheiser K6+ME66 shotgun mic under the belly of it all. This rig still has 3 points of contact (eyepiece, handle and follow focus) which allows us to capture great quality images and also audio while being compact and easy to handle and carry.

The camera is not shown in the picture but what you do see (big black piece with two metal tips) towards the left of the picture is the battery grip mounted. By removing the camera at the grip point the camera could be quickly freed to become a stills camera making this setup even more versatile!

It's all about the final shot

In the film industry there's a saying that "The world is held together with gaffer tape and cable ties" and there's certainly a lot of truth in that. What this rig demonstrates is that sometimes you have to adapt and change the way you use kit to make sure you get the best results no matter the conditions. Thinking out of the box is part of the fun when it comes to solving the challenge of getting the right footage. In the past we've:

• Wrapped cameras in clingfilm to protect them from dust while filming on building sites
• Mounted cameras to people to capture sport
• Mounted rigs out of sunroofs, rear & side doors of moving vehicles to capture action
• Then there was the time I put a camera inside a fridge freezer... but that's another story - got a great shot though ;)

At Spartmedia we're constantly keeping a keen eye on the latest technology and reviewing kit to make sure we have the right equipment for the job. We're really pleased to be adding the following HD DSLR shoulder rig to our family of action filming cameras. This rig allows a professional Canon 5D MK II to be used as an HD film camera with Zacuto's Z-Finder Pro 2.5x and Genus Follow Focus. Pop a variable ND filter on the front and mount it on a JAG35 field runner rig and we're all set for mobile action filming. The picture above shows the rig with the Canon EF 24-70mm 1:2.8 L USM lens.

"It's about having the right kit for the job. Every filming job is different and the benefits of a rig like this are that it allows for filming with a wide range of lenses in a very portable and customisable way. Filming outdoors and action events we often find ourselves hanging off the back of motorbikes or out the window of moving cars, cycling across Europe, hiking up the side of mountains and trecking in the jungle! A flexible rig along with our classic ENG and action cams opens up a lot more creative opportunities! It's about having the right tools for the job and with our wide range of Canon L series pro lenses we have an even wider range of filming styles and options at our finger tips with this latest kit."

Mark Z, founder of Spartmedia.

Special thanks to Ash at Spartmedia for doing a lot of research and for Graham and the guys at the Flash Centre in Leeds for supplying kit and helping out!