Worked with The Travel Channel - Bizarre Foods

BigAl07

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Last week my wife and I (she's the V/O and our Safety Officer) had the pleasure of working for The Travel Channel here in North Carolina. We shot aerials for Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods down on the coast of NC.

Working with a full on production crew for 3 days was an absolute BLAST and the things I learned from them will help improve my work from that point forward. It's amazing how many people it takes to even do a 5 minute shoot in a closed environment on land let alone on the road and from the water.

I'm going to upload some pics in a moment and I'll link them here in this thread.
 
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That's sick man! Great experience for sure. Did they give pointers and asked what kind of shots they wanted? Did they bring their own filters, no filters, or your own? Details please!
 
That is really cool...
Was there other quadcopters involved in the shooting ?
Was Andrew as approachable as he seems on his shows ?
 
That's sick man! Great experience for sure. Did they give pointers and asked what kind of shots they wanted? Did they bring their own filters, no filters, or your own? Details please!
They were awesome and gave helpful pointers. They told me what they had in mind, asked if I could make it happen, and then when we reviewed the footage they made suggestions which I implemented immediately. My biggest challenge was interpreting their terms into drone terms so I could do exactly what they asked me to do. Terms like "Table Top" and "Miami Vice" were new to me but we figured it out quickly with their patience and guidance.

Not everything they asked for could be done "safely" but they were A-OK with that and just moved right along to the new idea without even a moment's hesitation.

No filters were used. I had my own but everything turned out great with just the factory UV filter. Every shot was reviewed immediately to make sure their idea and my product were one and the same. Of course I had to re-do several of the complicated shots but it all turned out great IMHO. If I get luck at least a few seconds of my footage will make it onto the show.

That is really cool...
Was there other quadcopters involved in the shooting ?
Was Andrew as approachable as he seems on his shows ?
No other aircraft involved just mine. All the other cameras were handheld and/or tripod mounted units. When they called for my shots everyone else cleared the area completely so as to not be involved in the shoot in any way. That added to the excitement but also added to the stress because literally all eyes were on our work.

Andrew Zimmern is exactly the same person on camera and off. His humor never turns off and he genuinely is always smiling and or laughing. He is "approachable" in terms of personality but not literally approachable physically. We had an armed security detail full time to make sure the area was closed to the public for many different reasons but mostly for safety. He did allow time to interact with people in the area between shoots and of course the required "pictures with Andrew". He was a genuine pleasure to meet and work with. He nicknamed me "Air Supply" LOL!
 
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Very cool! I was born and raised in North Carolina. Where about did you shoot on the coast?
 
Very cool! I was born and raised in North Carolina. Where about did you shoot on the coast?
We shot in Four Oaks (Goldsboro area) one day and Morehead City NC the next day. It was a LONGGGG drive from the other end of the state but more than worth it.
 
Thanks BigAl, is this shooting with a Phantom 3 Pro or Inspire 1? I heard the Inspire has a better camera.
 
Thanks BigAl, is this shooting with a Phantom 3 Pro or Inspire 1? I heard the Inspire has a better camera.
Phantom3 Pro and running at 1080P (their decision).
 
That's really awesome. I've noticed more and more drone shots in TV shows now that I own one. Thanks for writing it up and sharing.
 
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That's really awesome. I've noticed more and more drone shots in TV shows now that I own one. Thanks for writing it up and sharing.
Yes more and more is correct. It's almost a game now for my wife and I to be the first one to pick out a Drone Shot in a TV show or movie. To be honest sometimes they get carried away with the Aerials and when that happens it takes "something" away from the rest of the show/movie. You CAN have too much of a good thing unless you're the one getting paid to MAKE the "Good Thing".
 
Lucky you... they were total d*cks to me, made me run around for like 3 weeks getting ready for them and then casually said "Oh, we're not going to need you anymore" and left me holding the bag on a bunch of commitments. I vowed to never watch Zimmern's show again.
 
Lucky you... they were total d*cks to me, made me run around for like 3 weeks getting ready for them and then casually said "Oh, we're not going to need you anymore" and left me holding the bag on a bunch of commitments. I vowed to never watch Zimmern's show again.
Sorry to hear about your situation. That stinks big time.

I went into this under a contract and the way our contract was written I got paid even if I never took flight. They could have literally not even came into this state and my pay was secured via the contact. Ironically their lawyers wrote the contract and I only had to add one small amendment to make it acceptable in terms of how I handled weather/safety issues.
 
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Hi bigA what monitor are you using to see in direct sun Cheers


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Hi bigA what monitor are you using to see in direct sun Cheers


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
I'm flying with IPad Mini2

It could be a lot brighter and I may upgrade soon.
 

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