How To Make Aerial Videos

Overview

This page is here to tell you how the videos on the Videos page are made. It lists the specific equipment I use and where it came from. It is not designed to advertise for a given reseller or product or in any way endorse or promote them. DadsFunPage in no way endorses any of the suppliers or manufacturers listed below.

Equipment

Spidermite Transmitter and Receiver from BlackwidowAV.com

This transmitter is very small and works well on my 26” Mini Zagnutz wing and on the GWS Tigermoth. Included are the Transmitter, Receiver and wiring. To be 100% accurate I have to say that I started with the system from RCToys.com, but later bought a camera from BlackwidowAV.com and spliced it in. The rep from BlackwidowAV.com says it is essentially the same system. No audio was available at the time I bought mine or I would have bought it. Because of this, my wiring is different than if I’d have bought the whole system from BlackwidowAV.com NOTE: This may require a HAM License. It is your responsibility to know, not the seller’s.

Panasonic CX-161 Color CCD Camera – NTSC from BlackwidowAV.com

Originally a CMOS type camera was used for some of my videos. While a CMOS camera is lighter, smaller and cheaper, the quality of a CCD camera is much higher. You can see this difference demonstrated on the Videos page. It is much cheaper to buy the higher quality camera than it is to buy the cheaper one and later decide that you want the higher quality.

2 Cell 240 mAh Lithium Polymer Battery Pack

Both the camera and the Transmitter require 5v of power. A 2 cell lithium pack will supply approx. 7.4 – 8v. Because of this a voltage regulator is required. I found one at Radio Shack and followed the instructions on the back of the package for wiring. After verifying using a volt meter I hooked it up and it worked great. A lithium pack is certainly not a requirement. 4 AAAs would work fine and give the correct voltage without regulation. Other specialty batteries could be used as well. The li-poly battery is just much lighter and provides longer duration.

10 Cell AA Nimh Battery Pack

This is used to power the receiver on the ground. It is easy to transport and has sufficient power duration to outlast my camcorder battery pack while recording. I snipped the plug off of the wall power unit that was provided and wired it into the battery pack. The warranty is thus voided. Alternatively, a 12v battery could be used instead or what ever is on hand. Another option if you want to use the wall unit is to use a portable car jumpstart kit and a power inverter. This would be a lot of equipment to lug around, but could also power other things such as the camcorder.

Sony TRV-350 Digital Camcorder

Digital is preferred here because it will easily upload to your computer. When shopping for a camcorder, be absolutely sure that it can bring video in from the receiver or you’ll be very disappointed. The camera comes with software that is sufficient to upload videos to your computer and perform some basic editing.

Pinnacle Studio Version 8 Software with Fire Wire Card (optional)

This part is gravy. It is certainly possible to make videos without this software and card, but here are the advantages. The fire wire card allows for digital control of the camera from the computer. Video can be captured at low quality taking up less space. Then, the video can be edited. The remaining video (usually only a fraction of the original) is recaptured automatically at the highest quality setting for rendering output. This saves tons of space on your hard drive.

The software also includes Smartsound TM music. This is a great feature. It allows you to choose from a number of different tracks in the background and will automatically end the music where you want it. It doesn’t just chop it off or fade it out, but actually calculates a way to end it so it sounds like it is the end of the song. Very nice!

Tips/Tricks

Camera Mounting

Check the Center of Gravity on your plane before mounting the equipment.

Mount the camera equipment on your plane before going to the field if possible.

Make sure the camera has the proper angle and field of view.

Be absolutely sure that the C of G is still correct after mounting.

Make sure everything is good and snug.

It is a good idea to protect the camera from crash damage by placement and by surrounding it with padding.

For best reception the Transmitter should be mounted below the wing/fuselage so it does not have to transmit through it.

Reception

Generally you will get better reception by placing the receiver higher off the ground. I can tell a big difference when I place it on top of a trash can or fence post rather than just on the ground. Perhaps you can rig a portable pole of some type.

With the system I use, reception is better when the receiver is pointed toward the plane. An assistant is helpful here. I have a large family so usually have an assistant available.

Recording

If you use the Pinnacle Studio package, be sure to “stripe” the tape first. This basically lays down an index on the tape so there are no gaps. This will make it easer for the computer to control the camcorder.

Don’t worry about wasting film by shutting off the camcorder. Instead worry about remembering to start the thing recording!

Quality

I really enjoy the look of the early to mid morning and evening. The tones tend to be more golden and surreal and you catch lots of shadows.

If you place the with lots of light color showing, such as a white wing or fuse the ground images will appear much darker and less crisp.

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Last update: 03/05