helmet cam at radio row, dallas

we arrived in dallas this week and before we started prepping for the superbowl we had a day to check out radio row. being our first superbowl, this was also our first time to radio row so we weren’t sure what to expect. what we saw was a complete media frenzy; rows upon rows of radio broadcasts, many of them going live to air, and then a handful of tv sets in the middle of it all. the whole operation took of two floors of the sheraton and allowed celebrities/players to roll through interview after interview by walking from one set to the next.

while we can’t chat too much about the piece we are working on right now, we can say that the media blitz was the perfect setting to start our POV story. throughout the day we got to grab some shots on the total access set, shake hands with some of the greats past and present, and find some other interesting scenarios to get the helmet cam into. since the black eyed peas are doing the half time show they also dropped by radio row to do a presser and answer questions. with all of the media attention they gathered everywhere they went it was probably one of the toughest parts of the day for the helmet cam. what was pretty interesting was that in the mayhem of the media the helmet cam operator stops thinking about filming and just focuses on trying to meet the talent. in doing so the interaction becomes very natural and often more authentic than had their been more time or more than one take.

we got lots of comments on twitter and here about why we chose a T2i over a gopro. while we love the gopro, the t2i allows us to use our primes and also stands heads and tails about the much smaller gopro in low light. in a POV piece, having exact choice of your lens and depth of field really adds a ton to you ability as a storyteller.

something else we learned on our first day of shooting was that the difference between having the lens at the height of your forehead and then dropping it just below your eyes was pretty dramatic when we reviewed the footage. the closer to where you actually see, the much more accurate and real the shots felt. we attempted to duplicate some of the POV action with the steadicam zephyr, which worked to some degree, but there is something to be said for the imperfection and rawness that only the helmet cam got us.

probably the most unexpected part of the day is how many times we were interviewed about the rig and what we were doing. being surrounded by so many hall of fame players, celebrities, and past superbowl winners, we surely didn’t expect anybody to take a second glance at a dude wearing a camera on his head.

P.

a crazed fan finally gets to meet our helmet cam (which in this case is me standing in for one of the talent). technically i might get a stunt double credit here too :)

tat and i reviewing some of our shots on our last minute arrival from ikan. we originally had a wireless monitor but that got shut down by the RF coordinator at the event. ikan had sent us their VX7 monitor for the shoot and it couldn’t have come at a better time as we were able to switch to a cabled setup and get our eyes back, which was huge in getting composition and focus.

myself and larry fitzgerald, wide receiver for the arizona cardinals, giving each other a warm welcome for the piece.

the highlight of the day for me, getting on the total access set with the helmet cam. this happened in the five minute span between live broadcasts and we had all of two minutes to get the shot, but it was pretty wild to walk onto the stage and interact with the on air talent.