UWOL #7 "Glider" by Meryem Ersoz
 

ah yes, the ol' feedback thread!

I had a lot of ideas for this one. If I had enough time, you'd be reading a thread for something called "In Search of the Jackalope" but instead you're joining me for a short glider ride through the Colorado skies.

I received a gift certificate for this trip as a Christmas gift, and I decided to use this theme to test out the possibility of using gliders for aerial footage--my studio shoots a triathlon for TV broadcast, and I was thinking that, if this test run worked out, I might add some of this type of footage to the broadcast in July. It's always better to check these sorts of experiments out, in advance.

My idea was to intercut this footage with birds, to show the animal/human contrast, but I totally struck out on that account. Those birds don't always cooperate when you want them to...I did finally get some decent footage of the birds, but it just didn't intercut well in the edit. So I had an effect in mind but couldn't pull it off. It's always interesting to witness the difference between what gets in your head and what the final outcome is.

So enjoy two minutes of hovering over my beautiful city, because that's all I managed to get! It was an adventure, though...

Meryem, sure that was an adventure for you. Your aerial footage was very nice, nice colors and exposure. It can not be easy to control in the cockpit of a small glider?
It was some hard cuts in the start and end, but that was minor.

Thanks for showing us your adventure!

yes, inside the glider, i shot with an HV10 and stabilized it with a stiff piece of foam rubber to brace the camera.

the outside stuff shot with an HV10 on a monopod....so super-light rig through. the HV10 is not a good birding camera! but i'm having a little tendinitis in my elbow, so i have been shooting super light set-ups whenever i shoot for fun, to let it heal...

none of that jib, studio tripod, and long lens stuff like you do, at least not until everything is right in the elbow!

Hi meryem I can't find the link to your video.

Alan

hi alan:

go here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=115643

click the link, mine's the first one on the list...you have to right-click or control-click to download--the good news is that you can download all the films from the list, not just mine...

we are having some techie difficulties and had to throw up a stop-gap list for downloading....

it's a very modest offering this round...one of those where i had big ideas, and only a short time to actually execute...

I liked it...
It brought back memories of the time I went for a ride in a glider....

I was anticipating the moment the tow cable was released, but you didn't have that in the video...shucks.

let's just say that bit of footage was a little on the shaky side, along with the big full-on zoom that i had of massive long's peak. it would have made you a bit sea-sick!

Meryem,

Thanks for the tow! As a glider pilot, I appreciate your efforts. Winter is not always the best time to try and catch birds on the wing from a glider. Usually, you'll have more luck shooting them inside thermals, which are more prone to form in warmer conditions. Ridge soaring and wave soaring are great in winter time though.

I have vivid memories of soaring in Phoenix, and looking up at hawks riding the same thermal as me, seemingly in formation together.

Meryem,

I liked the Glider video, have you considered using your last shot"the bird taking off" and inserting it as shot two, after the wide shot pan of the airfield and the plane taking off.

Bob

Meryem:

Made me want to try that adventure... I have toyed with getting into one of those one of these days, and now you got me excited to do it again.

Meryem,

Nice use of a title to set the mood of your film.

Your music sure fit the piece.

I think it turned out just fine without having the birds to intercut.

I'm a little confused though. It looks like it's a high wing plane that's pulling the sailplane but then when it cuts to the interior shots, it's a low win plane.
It looks like your plane is actually coming in for a landing as the other plane is pulling the glider. Obviously you can't be in two places at once so you have to take some creative license.

The only other thing was that in your first aerial shot from the glider you could hear the wind noise but in subsequent shots you've eliminated it.

I bet it was an incredible experience even if you decide not to use it for the marathon this year.

It was very peaceful, serene and relaxing.

Would have been nice to have had some soaring birds but it wouldn't be a challenge if things were easy now would it? :)

The high wing plane towing the glider at take-off looks to be an O-2 BirdDog, and the low wing airplane towing the glider that Meryem is in is an "AgCat". You'll also notice the little piece of yarn taped to the outside of the canopy near the top of the frame, that's the glider's "Yawl" indicator.

Nice aerial footage, I bet it was hard to keep that lil HV20 as still as you managed to do. With only one camera it would have been difficult to get shots of the same plane taking off to cut-in, so I understood that. I liked the piece, made me feel like I was right there in the cockpit.

What a wild ride.You are very good at keeping that camera very still in flight,or is it just very calm up there in the glider?The flight did not look too long,so I am sure with more time up in the Glider you would find even more inventive ways of filming.

you folks know a bit too much about airplanes and gliders! i can't sneak anything by you people. my shooting strategies are unmasked!

i thought it would be more interesting to cut back and forth from interior/exterior shots, so the film would not be too monotonous, shot from one perspective. the exterior shots in the take-off segment are a different glider and different airplane.

if you freeze the frame of take-off, that is not me in the front seat, ho ho it is my stunt double! (actually, it's a guy, and a complete stranger to me...).

the magic of continuity editing was supposed to make this appear seamless, but you people are too dang observant. you've unveiled the gaps in the narrative.

and who invited the glider pilot aboard to give me away?? just kidding, richard, it's great to have your input and knowledge about gliders...loved your story about riding thermals with the hawks.

it would have never occurred to me to take this trip, without a gift certificate to goad me. but i'm glad i did. why i love UWOL is that it shows me corners of the world that i might not otherwise encounter.

i think i did okay steadying the footage, for a first effort. i think i can do a little better, if i do this again for our triathlon broadcast. it was only a 15-minute flight, so there wasn't a ton of time to acclimate to the shooting environment. some of my best-looking footage was actually dumped because it didn't fit the continuity of the 2-minute version.

but it was an ADVENTURE and an interesting camera experiment. thanks for the comments, my friends!