| An interesting technical problem presented itself when we were considering how to get high overhead shots for an AT&T Wireless ad campaign. One of the ad layouts called for a bird's-eye view of a blurred police car speeding down a New York City street. The others included a construction site with a foreman and workers in motion, an assortment of ductwork laid out with moving workers taking inventory, and a delivery truck making a delivery at curbside with moving pedestrians on the sidewalk. For the New York City street shot, the camera had to be perfectly still to allow 1-second exposures free of visual obstructions (e.g., the support structure of a scissor lift). A cherry-picker was out – it would move even in the slightest breeze. The camera would have to be sent 40 feet up on its own to avoid movement caused by wind and people. We rented a jib crane and mounted the camera to it's head. I pre-focused the camera matching the distance the camera would be from the ground when aloft, attached a long air-release to the shutter, pivoted the crane arm up to a position we were able to duplicate each time and shot the job. A video camera was mounted next to the camera - its feed to our ground level monitor allowed us to frame the shot and direct the talent. With my feet on the ground, I was able to save my voice while directing crew and review the images with the creative director. Her reaction to the unconventional crane solution was, "simply elegant." |
