FFU123 0 #1 August 22, 2007 So i was wondering what it takes to become one. What type of training is involved,certain amount of jumps? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CSpenceFLY 1 #2 August 23, 2007 No short answer to that. I started jumping with a camera with around 140 jumps. Now a days people have a stroke if you mention camera at that level and to an extent I agree. Thinking back at what I knew back then I would have died if I had had any kind of mal that included a helmet snag. In todays DZ environment you can always find someone to take your money and train you. When I started, I did practice jump after practice jump and watched and got advice from the camera flyers that would give it. Sometime they won't because they want to protect their slot in the video rotation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimblair13 0 #3 August 23, 2007 Just get a setup and throw it on, duh. Don't let anyone tell you different! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
packing_jarrett 0 #4 August 23, 2007 Here! Here! Thats the way I did and thats the way YOU [/Uncle Sam Point] should do it to. But seriously, you should wait until you have atleast your A-lic or more than 25 jumps. **Edit----------- Not really serious at all in this post. ( I really need to find a better way to waste mine and others time) Na' Cho' Cheese Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
velocityphoto 0 #5 August 23, 2007 Where is your profile info? A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
velocityphoto 0 #6 August 23, 2007 Why would you tell someone not to listen to anyone and just throw a helmet with camera's on there head? W have enough problems with incidents without that kind of stuff. How about getting some jump experience 1st ,then talk with the local camera guys to get there opinion if they think it is time for him to put on a camera ? :) A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
velocityphoto 0 #7 August 23, 2007 25 jumps ? I hardly think so! Accident waiting to hurt our sport... A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #8 August 23, 2007 fair questions... here are some answers.... it takes A LOT more than just the abilty to buy the cameras. it takes a REAL and solid comfort in the air. that can come to some people quickly, and to others, not so quickly.. i'd say at LEAST 300 jumps,,and regular attendance at the local DZ. If many of your jumps are to "get current again".... then the cameras should stay on the ground... It IS serious business It takes the ability to FLY naturally, at different fall rates, and the know - how to move forward, back, up and down,,,as second nature. it takes patience, good neck strength, consistant and relatively gentle main openings, and extreme awareness, in the air, in the plane , and on the ground.....You must be able to avoid a tunnel vision approach, wherein the amount of attention you devote to your video subject, detracts from your sense of awareness of EVERYthing else that's going on around you and to you, during a skydive...Ask around and be willing to learn from those who will share, and be willing to respect those who have come up through the school of hard knocks, and who might be reluctant to share... NOT everyone had a mentor... and there WAS a time when NOT alot of jumpers were flying cameras...( as seems to be the case today ) so many old school video folks were 'self taught'.... That's where the "patience part " comes in... be aware that new cameras, helmets etc etc, can cost more than the price of a second rig, so be ready to skydive with the same gear for a while... Humility goes a long way... accept the fact that cameras DO add a serious element to your jumping, and be prepared to pay for a bunch of jumps while you fine tune your technique... Oh yes.. be ready for that inevitable request from ANY ONE with whom you jump, of, "hey man can I get dub of that"???? which means get ready to invest in a recorder, a mixer, extra batteies, tapes, Dvds, music cds and peripherals... I aint just ALL about , " dropping a Credit card " on a counter top at a camera store, or through the internet. much more to it... it's a marathon, not a sprint..skydive safely, skydive often, skydive with friends.... jimmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beowulf 1 #9 August 23, 2007 I started at about 400 jumps. The recommended number is 200. I really think that 200 isn't enough. You should be very good a flying your body in just about every atitude, especially if you plan on doing freefly video. The quality of your video is dependent on how good you are at flying your body. I have seen people strap on a helmet with the minimum jump requirement and get frustrated and disappointed by the results. For safety 200 is probably a good number, if you want good video more jumps will most likely be required. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyhathaway 0 #10 August 23, 2007 I had 750 jumps before I put on a camera. So, that number seemed to work out well for me! My O.C.D. has me chasing a dream my A.D.D. won't let me catch. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #11 August 23, 2007 hahahaha i had 1,750 jumps and 23 years...........when i started freefall video .I've always been kind of 'behind the curve'jmy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyhathaway 0 #12 August 23, 2007 at 750 jumps, i borrowed a guys helmet. I shot HIM on the jump with his helmet. I had about 1200 when I bought my own set up. i now have close to 11,000 camera jumps.My O.C.D. has me chasing a dream my A.D.D. won't let me catch. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #13 August 23, 2007 Thanks for bringing some maturity to this thread. Why is it that people tend to be so impatient when it comes to this topic? The sky will always be there. Why rush? ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #14 August 23, 2007 Quote Why is it that people tend to be so impatient when it comes to this topic? The sky will always be there. Why rush? I don't think we have any evidence that the OP is rushing things. He just asked a question and has an empty profile, as far as I can tell. I had 400 jumps and I still did something stupid, focused on the camera too much, landed off in really gusty winds behind a treeline and almost landed on a 3 foot wooden pole in some farm field that would have literally ripped me a new asshole. www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peej 0 #15 August 23, 2007 Here's my story: I had about 300 jumps when i first put a camera on my head, our local parachute organisation, PASA says that jumpers should have 100 jumps, which i don't agree with, so when people ask me about flying camera i use the USPA recommendation of 200 jumps. Over the space of the next 9 months i did about 100 jumps just freeflying with mates and getting used to the feel of the bigger helmet and added weight. Then after a while i filmed two mates in a freefly competition and we came second or something. At around 400 and some change i was asked by a girls 4way team if i could fly 4 way camera for them and i told them i hadn't before but i was willing to try, so we struck a deal. I would do 20 training jumps over the space of a weekend with them, i would pay for the first few slots and if the footage was good they would cover the rest. I sought out the advice of the more experienced guys on my DZ and viola! The footage was cool from jump one. So i started training with teams and doing a bit of four way camera. Thereafter i was picked up by one of our top teams and in the space of a few months leading up National champs i cranked out a lot of jumps in a short space of time with a lot of advice from a guy who had been with this team to a few world meets, etc. Basically when the team was done debriefing their jump we would look at the footage and debrief the camera side of things too. In between all this i decided that i'd like to get into tandem camera and went and spoke to one of our TI's. So i started paying my way onto tandems and flying outside camera a lot and he and his main cameraman were really good to me, they would be continually telling me to come in and get closer, etc etc. Then one day one of the tandem operations were short a camera guy and they asked me to fill in. I have been working for them ever since. (About 1.5 years) Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimblair13 0 #16 August 23, 2007 QuoteWhy would you tell someone not to listen to anyone and just throw a helmet with camera's on there head? Calm down, it was a joke and FFU123 knows that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #17 August 23, 2007 QuoteI don't think we have any evidence that the OP is rushing things. He just asked a question and has an empty profile, as far as I can tell. The question wasn't directed at the OP. ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
velocityphoto 0 #18 August 23, 2007 This is my point you had 400 jumps and still bad things happened to you. Everybody wants to be a cameraman way too soon then bad shit happens. I had around 4 to 500 i think and was pretty dam scared with my old pro-tec camera helmet . And it wasn't until later on after 1oo or so camera jumps that it really got scary ,when i started realizing all of the possible scenario's that could go bad! A friend will bail you out of jail , a REAL friend will be sitting next to you in the cell slapping your hand saying "DUDE THAT WAS AWSUM " ................ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KennyP 0 #19 August 23, 2007 How's your landing skills? Can you land in a cross wind on your feet? Face plants and PLFs can cost more than your pride when you have a few grand riding on your helmet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #20 August 23, 2007 Quote How's your landing skills? Can you land in a cross wind on your feet? Face plants and PLFs can cost more than your pride when you have a few grand riding on your helmet. That was very well said! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyjump11 0 #21 August 25, 2007 24 August 2007 Please, do yourself a big favor and wait until you have 200 jumps before you start thinking about a camera. Your attention span changes when you've got a camera on your head and (honestly) can get you killed in a hurry. There will be a lot of good choices when you are ready but first, get to be a good flyer and that will keep you safe. Since my son is not around to tell me not to talk about the 'old' days I will say, My first camera helmet was a motorcycle helmet with an 8mm camera bolted to the top. The days of a pre-made camera helmet were far off. (And one of these days, if you stick with it, all of your friends will have your photographs in their homes and offices and that, my friend, is a great feeling of satisfaction.) When I started jumping with a 35mm camera, I took a jump glove and attached metal rings to the thumb and index finger, ran a wire inside my jumpsuit, up to the camera as a make shift shutter release (little did I realize that my hand touching the metal on the plane would complete the circuit and fire off all my pictures...ah, we live and learn.) And yes, you probably weren't born when that happened. grace, peace & blue skies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #22 August 25, 2007 QuoteHow's your landing skills? Can you land in a cross wind on your feet? Face plants and PLFs can cost more than your pride when you have a few grand riding on your helmet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That was very well said! Maybe we should worry less about the dollar values of the cameras, and more about the effect of several pounds bolted to your head will have on your neck it you take a tumble on landing. I seem to remember a broken neck on a jumper who took a bad tumble with a camera helmet on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimmytavino 16 #23 August 25, 2007 tumbling, face planting, and even PLF's really have no place in a camera persons' repertoire... first of all good canopy flying skills, and a sensbile 'approach",,, both literally AND figuratively, should result 99% of time, in a decent landing... In the cases where one is experiencing a speedy landing...( no wind days, or having to make an avoidance turn just before touchdown..) i would recommend taking a page from the tandem masters book,,, and "sliding in" the landing.... as opposed to trying to run it out..... the slide when done correctly, keeps your body between the ground and your head ( cameras)... and lessens the likelihood, of a misstep, or of tumbling right ONTO the cameras... and hurting either THEM,,, or yourself..... I use a technique whereby I lay back upon touchdown,,, as though i was shooting downwind accuracy, ( ask an oldtimer @ the Dz what that is ) into pea gravel, and was gonna come up a meter or so short,,, ( used to be called 'stretching for the disc' ) .. then just like a TM,,, but without the added complication of having a passenger in the way,, I slide,, just as though i was 'stealing second base',,, ( drawing on my past years of experience,,, doing just that ), and can pop back up onto my feet, very easily...using the last bit of momentum to stand... true enough it does tend to beat up my jumpsuit legs and booties, or at least get grass stains on them,,, but it works well for me,,, and if done gracefully is FAR superior to rolling around on the ground... PLUS it keeps the helmet and it's components safe.....and that keep your head and neck safe... It's like most things in this sport. It takes some practice, and some repetition and some confidence that it can work...jmy A 3914 D 12122 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jumpah 0 #24 August 28, 2007 You'll need to learn how to edit video, make it snappy and interesting. Learn the tools of editing...Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier, Apple Final Cut HD, Avid, boards, etc. You'll want to be a fast packer (or date a packer). An "average" weight will make some jumps easier...I gotta work on that. Save money from each jump...since you are using your own gear, when it breaks you'll need to replace it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #25 August 28, 2007 You just described how to be an editor and packer... not a videographer.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
