In Broadcast - November 2013 - 62

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 25 - NOVEMBER 2013

N E W S

InGEAR

Wildlife Videographer Gregory And
Sachtler Ace M Brave Black Bears
F

62

or more than two years, Bertie
Gregory, a 19-year-old wildlife
videographer from England, shot
the fauna on Vancouver Island,
Canada.
The island, the largest in the
Paciﬁc in North America, is not
only home to black bears, one of
Gregory's main subjects, but also
wolves and pumas.
He recently finished his
16-minute documentary 'West
Coast Adventure' in which he also
narrates and presents about black
bears on the island.
Since he did not want the bears
to feel threatened or scared in their
habitat, he shot from a boat with
his Nikon D7000. Filming from a
safe distance while remaining close
enough to capture detailed photos,
the best time to see the bears was
at low tide, when the bears turn the
exposed rocks over to find crabs.
"I ﬁlmed everything from the boat
except for the aerial footage. This, of
course, made the project particularly
demanding, as any small wave
makes footage useless. That's why
I always tried to ﬁlm in narrow bays
or in the particularly quiet morning
hours," says Gregory.
The Ace M tripod system with
ground spreader offers a ﬁrm stand
and weighs only 4.6 kg (10.1 lbs).
It can be easily assembled and

guarantees controlled, smooth
camera movements on shaky ground.
"The key feature of the Ace M, for
me, is the compact construction. I
was easily able to put the tripod
system on my shoulder and
sometimes run 100 metres with
it. This way, I was always able
to get to the right place quickly.
This is indispensable for wildlife
documentaries," says Gregory.

Shooting Talent
As the presenter and shooter of
'West Coast Adventure' he said that
the Ace M was a perfect system for
young talent or any other beginner
in the film industry.
With a payload range of 0 to 4
kg (0 to 8.8 lbs), it is ideal for small,
video-enabled DSLR cameras and
features a height range of 57 to 173
cm (22 to 68 in).
The five-step counterbalance
allows for fast and easy adjustment
of the set-up. With three vertical and
three horizontal grades of drag (+0),
patented Sachtler SA-drag damping
enables particularly smooth pan and
tilt movements - genuine Sachtler
broadcast feel, even when using
systems designed for beginners.
"I usually ﬁlm all by myself, as I
work with a very tight budget. Ace
M easily ﬁts into my luggage when I
ﬂy to the ﬁlming location. The design

Bertie Gregory ﬁlms from a small boat with the Sachtler Ace M.

of the tripod system is fantastic, and
it is fun working with it.
"The counterbalance and the
damping perform amazingly well
and feature ergonomic and simple

© B Gregory

operation. This way I can, for
example, set the damping while
following my subject at the same
time," says Gregory.

Schneider Optics ND Grad Defies San Francisco Fog
S

an Francisco is one of the
most beautiful cities to
shoot - hills, architectural variety,
Mother Nature's beauty - and the
inevitable fog.

That fog was something that could
have hampered photographer Alex
Pitt's recent time-lapse shoot, "had
it not been for the Schneider Optics
4x4 ND.3 SE ﬁlter," he says.

"The ﬁlter simply took the images to another level," says Alex Pitt of the
Schneider Optics 4x4 ND.3 SE ﬁlter

The project was a video of artist
Mark di Suvero's eight monumentally
scaled sculptures being installed on
San Francisco's Crissy Field, against
the backdrop of the Golden Gate
Bridge. "It is presented by the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art
(SFMOMA) in partnership with
the National Park Service and
the Golden Gate National Parks
Conservancy," he explains. "di
Suvero's massive steel sculptures
are on exhibit until Spring 2014."
For over four weeks, Pitt had
a variety of Canon cameras (5D
Mark III, 5D Mark II, 5D and two
Rebels in waterproof boxes - with
solar power), carrying a variety of
Canon lenses, and a Kessler Cine
Slider capturing the progress of the
installation. When he knew that the
San Francisco fog would impact his
shots, he added the 4x4 ND.3 SE to
one of the set ups, moving the ﬁlter
to a different camera when he felt
it would help the shots. "The ﬁlter
simply took the images to another
level," Pitt says.

"The heavy San Francisco fog took
away any deﬁnition while exposing
on my subjects. By adding it to a
designated camera, I could expose
properly on my subject and get
deﬁnition in the sky, thus creating a
far more dynamic shot," he explains.
Pitt says it was the superior quality
of Schneider's optics that gave him
the conﬁdence to add the ﬁlter to
his time-lapse set up. The 4x4 ND.3
SE is a Graduated Neutral Density
Filter. 50% of the ﬁlter is clear and
50% has a Neutral Density of 0.3 (1
stop). The transition from clear to ND
is gradual via a soft edge transition
so there is no line.
Independent filmmaker and
photographer Alex Pitt specialises
in creating commercial time-lapse
films for clients such as Buick,
Amtrak and Sherwin Williams
(where he shot and produced the
restoration of The Hollywood Sign).
"The Schneider Optics NDs simply
give me more control of an otherwise
uncontrollable documentary style of
shooting," he concludes.

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In Broadcast - November 2013

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