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How the Hell Did They Shoot This?!?

A look at the unseen, unsung camerapeople who capture actions sports "follow-cam" footage

By Rain Noe - February 25, 2016

in Photography | Video

Here's the absolute most fun-to-watch action sports video I've seen in the past year, and it was all shot in a single amazing take. Watching it, I was so in awe of the coordination required to pull this off that I completely missed a crucial production detail. First off, watch the vid, which we've cued up to the appropriate two minutes:

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As for that detail: How the hell did they shoot this? Rewinding back to the opening frames, we can spot the shadow of a cameraman toting a steadicam rig:

To be able to follow these pros while accelerating and decelerating at will, using only gravity and body control, and also while managing to keep the (heavy) camera rig pointed in the right direction is an amazing feat. But sadly, the cameraperson him- or herself gets no green flag.

The video was put out in collaboration between Burton and Green Label, the latter being Mountain Dew's promotional arm. Sadly I was not able to find any mention of the crew or cameraman involved in this project. I was, however, able to find a video released this week of Abe Kislevitz, Chris Farro and Caleb Farro, three of the follow-cam professionals that GoPro uses:

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To give you a further idea of what these follow-cam guys go through, watch this video of GoPro production artist Matt Cook striving to capture the perfect framing of Travis Rice getting air. What must the pressure be like, when your re-set consists of waiting for a helicopter to take you back up to the top?

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If anyone comes across any details of the Peace Park cameraperson, please do let us know in the comments; the man or woman deserves credit!

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Manuko Di Bangladesh

7 years ago

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Last year, I spent a very nice snowboard session with Yvon Labarthe.
Serge Dupraz called some peoples to set up a crew for filming at the Portes du Soleil.
As you can see, Yvon (world champion skateboard downhill) follow us with his board and a steady arm.

Get more info on his website : http://www.flyingfocus.ch/services.html#a
And for the result, enjoy : https://youtu.be/Rv0YL1SYE70

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Matt Chapman

7 years ago

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Love the footage. Did a bit of research. There is an interesting interview with Tim Manning, the Burton Snowbaords Film Director and Video Manager, here:
http://greenlabel.com/action/interview-burton-snowboards-director-tim-manning-gives-a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-making-of-peace-park-3/
He also mentions Corey Koniniec, who is a motion stabilization specialist. Apparently the footage, when they shot a similar sequence in 2014, was taken by a skier they hired. However on the Motion State website it lists Corey as the MoVI (camera rig) operator, like here:
http://motionstate.com/portfolio-item/burton-presents-2014-trailer/
Searching their names combined came up with a few others - Justin Eeles, Aaron Leyland, Gabe L'Heureux. Who all look like seasoned filmers.

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