Used my Solo in a feature film on bush flying

[Zzz]

I make bush flying short films under BackcountryPilot.org. Last year I added the Solo to my arsenal of cameras a couple months prior to going up to AK for some bush flying with friends. This community has been an awesome resource.

I promptly bought a Hero 4, modded it with the Backbone Ribcage Air, and tried a few lenses, settling on the 5.4mm, mainly to get a look that is distinct from the ubiquitous wider appearance of Mavic Pro footage. I've made no other mods, though I intend to upgrade to Open Solo soon.

As it turns out, my assistant picked a Mavic Pro up right before our trip and literally unwrapped it the morning of the shoot. Results were mediocre as his color profile and sharpening, exposure, etc were all b0rked. See if you can pick out the difference in the two in the film. I will say that shooting in 4K is an awesome tool in post-production if you only need to export 1080p. The cropping allows for some great flexibility.

I still struggle a little with vibration. Still running the stock props, even after trying the MA, which were not smoother. I balked on the HDMI ribbon mod after reading mixed results.

Anyway...

For best viewing, cast this sucker to your TV and kick back with a beer. Thanks for watching!

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I also wrote a little trip report about the...trip.

Déjà Vu, Alaska - The Story

 

[DaveB]

This has to be one of the best video I have seen, thanks to you and your pal's.

 

[pyrate]

amazing what talented people can push out of that little camera
well done

 

[IrishmanPDX]

I make bush flying short films under BackcountryPilot.org.

Déjà Vu, Alaska - The Story

This is fantastic! Well done. Will absolutely watch this on the big screen at home!

 

[lyk2fly]

I really enjoyed this film. Incredibly beautiful scenery! Good storyline...I was hooked from the beginning. Thank you for your hard work.

 

[Ed.it.Ed]

Cessna Porn

 

[Zzz]

Thanks all.... glad to do it with a Solo.

 

[AlienPanda]

I make bush flying short films under BackcountryPilot.org. Last year I added the Solo to my arsenal of cameras a couple months prior to going up to AK for some bush flying with friends. This community has been an awesome resource.

I promptly bought a Hero 4, modded it with the Backbone Ribcage Air, and tried a few lenses, settling on the 5.4mm, mainly to get a look that is distinct from the ubiquitous wider appearance of Mavic Pro footage. I've made no other mods, though I intend to upgrade to Open Solo soon.

As it turns out, my assistant picked a Mavic Pro up right before our trip and literally unwrapped it the morning of the shoot. Results were mediocre as his color profile and sharpening, exposure, etc were all b0rked. See if you can pick out the difference in the two in the film. I will say that shooting in 4K is an awesome tool in post-production if you only need to export 1080p. The cropping allows for some great flexibility.

I still struggle a little with vibration. Still running the stock props, even after trying the MA, which were not smoother. I balked on the HDMI ribbon mod after reading mixed results.

Anyway...

For best viewing, cast this sucker to your TV and kick back with a beer. Thanks for watching!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

I also wrote a little trip report about the...trip.

Déjà Vu, Alaska - The Story

I am amazed with the beautiful scenery of Alaska as well as the awesome quality of the video. Was all shooting done with Gopro?

Thank you so much for sharing!!!

 

[Zzz]

Thanks!

Was all shooting done with Gopro?

I wish I could say that, but no. Only the aerials from the Solo, the strut/wing cam, and the shots from inside the hangar are GoPro. The wing cam is a stock, unaltered GoPro. The one I used in the airplane-loading time lapse and slides has a 3.4mm rectilinear lens.

Other cameras used: Blackmagic Design, Lumix GX8, Google Pixel.

 

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As it turns out, my assistant picked a Mavic Pro up right before our trip and literally unwrapped it the morning of the shoot. Results were mediocre as his color profile and sharpening, exposure, etc were all b0rked. See if you can pick out the difference in the two in the film. I will say that shooting in 4K is an awesome tool in post-production if you only need to export 1080p. The cropping allows for some great flexibility.

I still struggle a little with vibration. Still running the stock props, even after trying the MA, which were not smoother. I balked on the HDMI ribbon mod after reading mixed results.

...

Awesome video, very professional! Your assistant's experience just underlines the importance of practicing with a new camera. Heck, I've been flying a year now, and I'm still learning new things about my camera.

I agree with you on the vibration issue. Skip the HDMI ribbon mod (I tried it). I also tried modding the gimbal isolators and installing damping material (moon gel) on the board and I didn't see a lot of difference there either. But what I did notice was that at times I flew and didn't see vibrations. Or one shot will have parts that are very smooth, and others sections are shaky. So I think a lot of it comes down to wind and weather conditions combined with the aerodynamics (or lack thereof) in the Solo+GoPro. Plus the motor pods themselves add to it as they adjust speeds to keep the bird airborne. I have decided that I will just use the shake reduction feature in Premiere Elements as a standard part of post work on all my videos. It works beautifully.