Ideas for great content

Hello everyone. I am looking for ways to set up a video/ photo shoot for climbing. I want it to be as real as possible ( no telling climber how to pose ect) and I want really cool angles. I am pretty new to vertical photography and videography but I am pretty experienced as a climber. I would like to incorporate something with a tripod, maybe build an anchor for a camera and have it shoot continuously as I move around, ect. Any ideas or suggestions would be very helpful. Pictures of systems are nice too

Thanks Tyler

I should add that I am not new to photography, just doing it in the vertical world of climbing

I just picked up the 10/11 2013 issue of Gripped Magazine. It has an article on this very topic. It covers a few camera options (GoPro style, mostly), various camera mounting options, scene composition, shooting tips, audio, and post-processing.
It also mentions a link to Youtube tutorials: youtube.com/blurMEDIAPhotography

Thanks, but I don't know where to get this? I live in the Boston MA area

I have an old Rock and Ice article from the 90s. I'll try to scan it but unlikely I'll get to it. One of the more inventive things I saw was to rig more or less an "A" of aluminum tubes. Using one (or two) ropes the photog set the "A" up parallel to the ground with the feet of the "A" against the wall. He then climbs out (while roped in) to the top of the A giving a perspective you don't often see.

I'm sorry but I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Is this set up like a ladder, or resembling a portaledge?

I use one of the tripods that has the linked ball feet that you can move around to grip trees and stand on irregular surfaces.

It's really useful and I use it mid pitch sometimes to focus on a cool move and hang the camera from a mini anchor. Have my second clean it on the way up. This can work, and the tripod is like 20 bucks.

It's called the gorilla pod.

You feel like a real poser when you're using though. Meh

Medic741 wrote:I use one of the tripods that has the linked ball feet that you can move around to grip trees and stand on irregular surfaces. It's really useful and I use it mid pitch sometimes to focus on a cool move and hang the camera from a mini anchor. Have my second clean it on the way up. This can work, and the tripod is like 20 bucks. It's called the gorilla pod. You feel like a real poser when you're using though. Meh

I have tried the gorilla pod and I find that it is too heavy for both my camcorder and my DSLR. it works really well for my point & shoot, but that's about it. Is there a larger version out there that would work?

A climbing partner used the heavy duty version and it worked really well.

amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000KFRS…

Probably a little more than you're looking for, but this video has been a favorite of mine since it came out, not to mention it comes with a behind the scenes! Some ideas to try to replicate on a low budget perhaps.

Time In The Pines: Flyin' Silver from Deep Roots Media - Dane Henry on Vimeo.

Flyin Silver - Behind The Scenes from Deep Roots Media - Dane Henry on Vimeo.

Medic741 wrote:A climbing partner used the heavy duty version and it worked really well

Thanks I will look into this.

Another question, how do you back up the camera so that if the tripod slips, is bumped, ect you don't lose your $700 DSLR? It's my parents so that is a big concern of mine

Photog on an a-frame

Bad photo taken with my computer, but it gives the idea. The photographer who set this up was Simon Carter ( onsight.com.au/). Issue was Rock & Ice #78. Article: "42 Tips from Climbing Photographers". Pretty neat. Good luck bud.

He had a cordallette tied to each of the metal clip ins in the dslr that you normally clip a neck strap to. Tie an overhand on a bight and clip it to an unweighted piece for some redundancy but without much extension so if the piece supporting the slr fails you're not screwed.

When you're doing this try for interesting angles you wouldn't otherwise get. Shooting sideways, angling down, focusing on a key crimp or jam etc.

Thanks for all the replies. They have been very helpful.

Medic741, what do you mean by an "unweighted piece?"

Buy one of those little helicopters that takes pics and videos. Have your buddy master it and hover it over yourself or your buddies while climbing etc.

I would avoid all of this complicated rigging and just go out and shoot from a fixed rope off the anchor of the route or near by route. Learn how to set up and clean your fixed line, how to ascend a rope and stay in position (and not get in the way) as your climber gets higher. Get good at managing the rope so its out of the shot, avoid a cluster, etc… There is a lot of room for experimenting and learning here. If you want to use a tripod for stability bring it up with you and experiment shooting with it. But there is likely no need to rig it up to hang independently.

Just like in photography and climbing, get the basics dialed in and then you can move on to more challenging scenarios as you encounter them on specific routes/conditions/terrain.

Best of luck

saguaro sandy wrote:Buy one of those little helicopters that takes pics and videos. Have your buddy master it and hover it over yourself or your buddies while climbing etc.

How much are those and where can I get one? I think this is a little out of my league now

Just get a decent quality monopod, back up your camera by attaching a runner to its strap, then the runner to your harness. Then just hang out on a fixed line adjacent to the climb you're shooting and use the mono pod to get some distance from the rock to shoot back to the rock and down on the climber, or from the side.

You'll get some upside down or sideways footage at times, but just fix that in post-prod.

Yeah, those are neat rigs. Tho it would probably be a lot less effort to just buy a remote controlled heli with a go pro on it. That is assuming you're used to buying $1,500+ lenses(you said you're into photography right?).

I like to pack an additional 100+ ft line to attach to the anchor. I fix the anchor with one end. then build a ground anchor some distance from the wall. I then just clip a quickdraw to my haul loop + the additional line. Really easy to go up & down while maintaining some distance from the wall. Not to mention you dont have to spend oodles of time explaining to everyone on the ground what the A-frame is for.

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Ryan Palo wrote:Yeah, those are neat rigs. Tho it would probably be a lot less effort to just buy a remote controlled heli with a go pro on it. That is assuming you're used to buying $1,500+ lenses(you said you're into photography right?).

That is correct. I am into photography. But so I have any budget whatsoever? No. I am limited by what my parents have. And right now that us a camcorder, a point n shoot, and a DSLR whith 2 lenses. But the keep it simple plan sounds good to me. What kind of rope do you use? Dynamic? Static? What diameter?

use a thicker static rope for that kind of rig. You'll probably want to look into ascenders too. Though, a prusik is probably sufficient.