Camera work in Australia

[za_skydiver 0]

Hi all,

This is more a question for all the Aussie tandem camera flyers out there.

My wife to be wants to move back to Australia after our baby is born. And i just wanted to know if there is any work for a full time camera man in Australia filming tandems. I heard a lot of dzs are using handy cams in Australia and not outside camera anymore, is this true or nonsense?

Can i earn a living in Australia doing camera work?
(I know i will never become rich doing it.)

We are planning to be somewhere near Sydney, or at least that side of the country. If that makes a difference.

Thanks for the info.

Blue Skies

Phielix

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...

[tonyhays 86]

I was there a couple of months ago..Sydney Skydivers (picton) went to all hand-cam, Simply Skydive (penrith) openly advertises for nothing but hand-cam. Wollongong was doing the same.

Try "Just Jump Skydiving" in Hunter Valley...they advertise an outside cameraman will video the experience.

Or...you could just do tandems!!

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

[za_skydiver 0]

Thanks for the info. I would become a TI, but i think i need a few more jumps first

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...

[bob.dino 0]

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I heard a lot of dzs are using handy cams in Australia and not outside camera anymore, is this true or nonsense?

True. Not too many outside camera places left.

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Can i earn a living in Australia doing camera work?

At this stage, I'd have to say doubtful.

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We are planning to be somewhere near Sydney, or at least that side of the country.

Picton & Wollongong are both handcam. Not sure about Warnervale & Penrith, but they're smaller operations.

Methinks you'll need a tandem rating or a job outside skydiving.

[bob.dino 0]

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Thanks for the info. I would become a TI, but i think i need a few more jumps first

Picton normally wants 1000 jumps before allowing someone to get a TM rating. The APF minimum is 500.

[peckerhead 0]

That sucks! What is the reason for this? I was in Picton less than two years ago and they were still using camera flyers with the tandems.

I had a chance to jump with a tandem using a hand cam last spring. I was visiting this small DZ and they used a handcam when no camera flyer was available, just as a back up in case someone wanted a video.(I would have done it but I was on vacation and didn't bring my camera helmet) Anyway, the video was actually better than I expected but still nowhere near as good of a product you would get with a camera flyer. And no stills either. To me the video looked more like someone on a rollercoaster than on a skydive.

Also, the TI kept fiddling with the camera all the way to altitude. We were planning on exiting together and on jump run he told the pilot to go around because he was having a problem with the camera so he disconected the student and fixed his problem and then hooked her back up. We burned at least another five more minutes of fuel.

After first hand experience I hope this doesn't catch on here in the states. I think the quality of the video is weak, no stills, and the TI has enough responsibility with his student. They just don't need the added distraction of a camera.

I would be curious what other TIs feel about this. I have talked to a few that said they simply would not do it. The main concern being the student and not the video. It sounds like it is mandatory in Australia if you want to do tandems.

[Squeak 17]

If you are not nailed in to Sydney, you might be more seccessful up in Queensland at one of the Tandem Factories Like Mission Beach

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[za_skydiver 0]

Cheers for that Squeek,

We are actually thinking of Queensland...

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...

[tonyhays 86]

You can actually do stills with handcam, by using frame grabs on the video. The quality is absolute crap, but you get 'em.

As a TI, I like handcam only for the additional income it gives me. However, it's one more thing I have to worry about and would rather have an outside vidiot come along. The quality is much better and I think the student has more fun with a vidiot that interacts with them.

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

[peterpan 0]

If you are thinking about coming to Mission Beach, then you had better get your tandem rating and do handycam as will.
As both the tandem skydiving company here do both outside camera and handycam. Pretty hard to make a living just off outside camera these day up this end of the world.
If you are looking for a DZ on the east coast Bryon bay is still one of the only DZ in Australia that have just outside camera people.
Most of the DZ in Australia are going toward handycam these days. The day of the outside camera person is coming to and end!
Hope this helps.

Regrets are just unfulfilled dreams

[za_skydiver 0]

If what you say is true (and im not saying it's not), then its a great shame. I think that outside camera looks a hell of a lot better than those handycams. Have both maybe, but not only handycams. You can't take stills with a handycam. Yes you can grab frames off the video, but like tonyhays says, the quality is crap, and a videot's interaction with the student also enhances the students experience.

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...