Call of the White
We filmed in Norway, New Zealand, Chile and Antarctica. Temperatures dropped below -35 degrees centigrade (still air temperature) and winds hit 120 Knots which saw the Twin Otters, anchored to the ice, technically flying at one point. The kit and team were tested to their limits. The main camera was the Sony XDCAM EX1 which in size, image quality and being tapeless makes it the ideal camera for the job. The Miller DS20 and Solo legs are ideally suited to working with the EX1 and together facilitate high quality filming with a physically small and light kit. Together with a Mac Book Pro and several hard disks, the rushes could be downloaded and backed up quickly with batteries being charged largely from solar panels.
The Sony EX1 lived in a Portabrace Polar jacket and hand warmers were used to keep it warm. Inside the jacket (which is a struggle to operate the camera quickly in) the heat was retained well and both the pads and the cameras own operating heat kept it warm and the batteries performed well throughout. Battery charging was done from solar panels and inverters and they also kept the Macbook Pro running (just). One thing I did learn is that next time don’t make a Mac to the Pole. Macs are so power hungry that they aren’t suitable to have in those conditions, plus they are incredibly heavy. I’d recommend a light-weight PC instead which lasts longer on battery realistically it will not even be doing anything other than copying the rushes from the SxS cards to external drives with ShotPutPro.
Light is a huge problem in Antarctica; there is a huge amount of it and lots of UV too. Seeing without special goggles is no possible for humans so one could expect the camera to struggle too but the Sony EX1 held back the UV well but was using all the built-in ND plus a polariser and 2 stops of extra ND, plus a grad too just to keep the light within levels for -3bd of gain and 1/33 shutter speed.
I also shot with the Letus Extreme 35mm adapter and Nikon prime lenses in Antarctica. Predominantly for GVs, the 35mm system didn't work well at -20 as the rubber within it became too stiff to properly allow the ground glass to spin and keep the image quality up. Sadly, the rushes weren't acceptable. Had the Canon 5DMkII been out at this time, I would have taken one instead for these shots.
The EX1 was equipped with a Genus matte box which is superb. It coped will with the incredible winds we had and enabled me to successfully use polarisers, NDs and grads the whole time. Highly recommended.
Timelapse sequences were filmed on Nikon stills cameras. I had two with me; Nikon D2x and D3 with an array of zooms and prime lenses. Cameras were powered from lead acid car batteries and ran for 24-36 hours when possible to get shots of the sun moving around and the changing weather. One thing which never ceases to amaze me is the quality of Nikon kit both in build and optically. My D3 spent 12 hours shooting directly into a 80Knot wind with balls of ice flying into it. It survived without a mark and didn't miss a frame, in fact in the final sequence you'd not really even appreciate the conditions it was out in. None of the Nikon kit ever came inside a tent (to avoid condensation) and instead lived outside the whole time at -30 or below in either a peli case, or sledge back, or out in the elements on a shoot. Great, faultless kit.
I also shot on a Panasonic TM300, full 1080 HD min-cam shooting to SD cards. It's a stunning little camera and with 3 CCDs produces superb results in progressive. A top mic keeps the audio useable but the lack peaking is frustrating but it has zebras and audio levels. Overall, for a tiny camera it was very useful and enabled shots from magic arms which otherwise wouldn't be possible.
Shooting this project was a once in-a-lifetime opportunity. It presented an enormous number of challenges, personal and professional. Simply keeping yourself going in environments such as Antarctica can be a full-time job on top of which working with camera and sound equipment which isn't designed to operate in those conditions makes every day tough and challenging. It's so often the simple things which cause problems, such as operating the buttons on the camera, changing batteries, or the locking off the tripod – all easy to do in the average day but with three pairs of gloves on in a blizzard they become much harder. However, being challenged like this is a rare opportunity and an unforgettable experience. It's great to discover your own personal weaknesses and that of the equipment too and you derive a better understanding of both as a result.
There was about a week in Antarctica when we endured consistent winds up to 120Knots blowing through the camp. There was a section of blue ice used to land aircraft downwind of the camp and the loose bits of ice the size of tennis balls on the runway were picked up in the winds and tore through camp. Being hit by those makes paint-balling an enjoyable experience in comparison! Tents were destroyed and people injured. I was out filming on one occasion and in one gust of wind both myself and the camera, complete with tripod, went flying. Luckily no harm was done, but it's testimony to the conditions that you're working in.
A film documenting the Kaspersky Commonwealth Woman's Antarctic Expedition: eight woman, eight countries, one goal.
Over the course of 2009 a group of eight woman from eight commonwealth countries prepared to be the first to walk to south pole. Their preparations and expedition were filmed for a documentary. Owing to the extreme locations, environmental conditions, and financial constraints the crew had to be kept to a minimum – just me! The expedition was conceived and lead by explorer Felicity Aston and she wished from the outset to have the expedition being documented and not lead or steered by the crew. Self-shooting helps keep the crew footprint to a minimum and also keep things flexible in order to react to the team and what they are doing.We filmed in Norway, New Zealand, Chile and Antarctica. Temperatures dropped below -35 degrees centigrade (still air temperature) and winds hit 120 Knots which saw the Twin Otters, anchored to the ice, technically flying at one point. The kit and team were tested to their limits. The main camera was the Sony XDCAM EX1 which in size, image quality and being tapeless makes it the ideal camera for the job. The Miller DS20 and Solo legs are ideally suited to working with the EX1 and together facilitate high quality filming with a physically small and light kit. Together with a Mac Book Pro and several hard disks, the rushes could be downloaded and backed up quickly with batteries being charged largely from solar panels.
The Sony EX1 lived in a Portabrace Polar jacket and hand warmers were used to keep it warm. Inside the jacket (which is a struggle to operate the camera quickly in) the heat was retained well and both the pads and the cameras own operating heat kept it warm and the batteries performed well throughout. Battery charging was done from solar panels and inverters and they also kept the Macbook Pro running (just). One thing I did learn is that next time don’t make a Mac to the Pole. Macs are so power hungry that they aren’t suitable to have in those conditions, plus they are incredibly heavy. I’d recommend a light-weight PC instead which lasts longer on battery realistically it will not even be doing anything other than copying the rushes from the SxS cards to external drives with ShotPutPro.
Light is a huge problem in Antarctica; there is a huge amount of it and lots of UV too. Seeing without special goggles is no possible for humans so one could expect the camera to struggle too but the Sony EX1 held back the UV well but was using all the built-in ND plus a polariser and 2 stops of extra ND, plus a grad too just to keep the light within levels for -3bd of gain and 1/33 shutter speed.
I also shot with the Letus Extreme 35mm adapter and Nikon prime lenses in Antarctica. Predominantly for GVs, the 35mm system didn't work well at -20 as the rubber within it became too stiff to properly allow the ground glass to spin and keep the image quality up. Sadly, the rushes weren't acceptable. Had the Canon 5DMkII been out at this time, I would have taken one instead for these shots.
The EX1 was equipped with a Genus matte box which is superb. It coped will with the incredible winds we had and enabled me to successfully use polarisers, NDs and grads the whole time. Highly recommended.
Timelapse sequences were filmed on Nikon stills cameras. I had two with me; Nikon D2x and D3 with an array of zooms and prime lenses. Cameras were powered from lead acid car batteries and ran for 24-36 hours when possible to get shots of the sun moving around and the changing weather. One thing which never ceases to amaze me is the quality of Nikon kit both in build and optically. My D3 spent 12 hours shooting directly into a 80Knot wind with balls of ice flying into it. It survived without a mark and didn't miss a frame, in fact in the final sequence you'd not really even appreciate the conditions it was out in. None of the Nikon kit ever came inside a tent (to avoid condensation) and instead lived outside the whole time at -30 or below in either a peli case, or sledge back, or out in the elements on a shoot. Great, faultless kit.
I also shot on a Panasonic TM300, full 1080 HD min-cam shooting to SD cards. It's a stunning little camera and with 3 CCDs produces superb results in progressive. A top mic keeps the audio useable but the lack peaking is frustrating but it has zebras and audio levels. Overall, for a tiny camera it was very useful and enabled shots from magic arms which otherwise wouldn't be possible.
Shooting this project was a once in-a-lifetime opportunity. It presented an enormous number of challenges, personal and professional. Simply keeping yourself going in environments such as Antarctica can be a full-time job on top of which working with camera and sound equipment which isn't designed to operate in those conditions makes every day tough and challenging. It's so often the simple things which cause problems, such as operating the buttons on the camera, changing batteries, or the locking off the tripod – all easy to do in the average day but with three pairs of gloves on in a blizzard they become much harder. However, being challenged like this is a rare opportunity and an unforgettable experience. It's great to discover your own personal weaknesses and that of the equipment too and you derive a better understanding of both as a result.
There was about a week in Antarctica when we endured consistent winds up to 120Knots blowing through the camp. There was a section of blue ice used to land aircraft downwind of the camp and the loose bits of ice the size of tennis balls on the runway were picked up in the winds and tore through camp. Being hit by those makes paint-balling an enjoyable experience in comparison! Tents were destroyed and people injured. I was out filming on one occasion and in one gust of wind both myself and the camera, complete with tripod, went flying. Luckily no harm was done, but it's testimony to the conditions that you're working in.
See a selection of stills from the expedition, visit my archive
