Tandem Videos

Be Professional

February 2004
A tandem video is more than a way to earn some spare money, it’s a showcase of our sport. A professional, good quality result will replay the story, convey the excitement and show the student’s reaction to the skydive.

Gary Wainwright explains how in this step by step guide. He suggests handy ideas to try and gives advice on avoiding pitfalls. It’s aimed primarily at the fairly new cameraflyer but even an old hand may find a new trick here...
Students pay good money for their video and want to see themselves in close-up. It should be clear it’s really them, not a stunt double. They want the finished videotape to look slick and professional.

Storyboard
My finished videos are 8-10 minutes long. They consist of:
Title
Student & instructor walking to the plane
Take-off (fade-in music)
In plane antics!
Somebody else exiting
The tandem skydive
The landing (fade-out music)
The student’s reaction
Freefall again with freefall noise
Slowmo freefall with music
Credits including advert for the centre

I have a brand spanking new non linear editing system at home. I don’t use it for tandems! It is too time consuming. I shoot the video as I want the final version to appear and pretty much dump it straight down to the tape with an added music track.

Techniques
To do this and still have the video look professional there are a variety of techniques you can use:

Fades
Your camera will probably have a fade facility. After the initial title I fade into a sign on the DZ that says ‘Welcome to Langar’.

Panning
This means smoothly moving the camera between one shot and another. On take-off I point the camera at the student then pan out of the window. I only start the camera recording after the plane has started its take-off run – that way I don’t get a sudden lurch in my video. If I’m lucky I get the plane’s shadow disappearing as we take off, then I pan back to get the student’s reaction. It can be difficult to keep the camera steady whilst doing this – try to brace yourself against something because nothing looks worse than a
wobbly image.

Cutting
This is when you simply stop filming one scene then start filming another. Always remember what the last scene you recorded was and don’t have the following shot looking too similar. This is known as a jump cut and looks shoddy.

Special Effects
Your camera may be able to do various tricks. A popular one is to record an altimeter then cross-fade out of the window (overlap fade on Sony cameras). Don’t overdo the effects though unless you want the video to look like something off Top of the Pops circa 1980!

Camera Settings
A lot of people use the sports mode or fast shutter mode on their video camera – one advantage is that it gives a slightly better slow motion effect. However, I don’t like to use it because it looks bad if you have to face into the sun (on exit, or if you orbit the tandem) and it seems to produce a ‘ghost’ of the drogue bridle under the tandem in certain conditions. I use auto exposure – if you ever sell footage to TV companies they will much prefer this.

 Vary the Shots
Look for things you can record for variety on the way to altitude. There should be a healthy dose of the student in close up interspersed by shots out the window, other people in the plane, perhaps an altimeter and there may be stickers that you can use, eg, at Langar there is a ‘Danger – Sudden Drop’ sticker by the door.

As a general rule of thumb keep these various shots a maximum of 3-5 seconds long. An exception would be the panning shots where you could perhaps shoot 3-5 seconds, then pan, then carry on shooting for another 3-5 seconds.

I typically shoot tandem videos from a Let 410 or Caravan (but have done everything from a C206 to an Antonov 72 including an interesting one out the side door of a Casa 235 from 8,000 feet running in at 140 knots!). Tandems will usually be last out so you can easily have 30 seconds from the first person out until your jump. Some people record everyone getting out; I only video the group out just before my tandem otherwise the jump run seems too long. I video the door being opened then pan back to my student... cut to the last group before my student in the door and video their exit... pan back to my student and try briefly to get a reaction... then climb out.

Tandem Photographs
Using portrait (vertical) stills can result in some exceptional shots. However, I think you will get a better percentage of good shots using landscape (horizontal). Try both and see what you prefer.

Briefing the Student
Remember that everything you tell the passenger is secondary to their main briefing from the instructor. I have a short chat with the student and remind them:
Don’t stare at the ground
Adopt the position as per the brief, they will look better on video and
make your job easier!
Smile with a fairly fixed grin to avoid looking like they are performing fellatio on the invisible man.
Exit
Exits are a very important part of the experience for the student. The key to good exits and a good video all round is communication with the instructor. Think of you as a team whose aim is to give the student a safe, enjoyable and memorable experience. Know what exit count the instructor will give and be prepared. Initially stick to a rear float exit. As soon as you have left the plane pull your wings in and start driving towards the tandem pair.

If you leave late you increase your chances of hitting the drogue. If this is combined with a tandem instructor who deploys the drogue immediately out of the door then all three of you could be in trouble. If you think you are going to hit the drogue then get your wings out and try to get out of its way.

Freefall
Hopefully the tandem instructor will face into the sun fairly soon after exit – this helps your video and stills by keeping the sun behind you. Try to get close quickly to get that ‘wake-up’ moment when the student realises that they are actually doing it and it is fun! The ‘money’ shot is close enough to fill the frame and a couple of feet below. If you are above or even just level you will not be able to see the student’s face properly – particularly if they are not looking up.

You do not need to be able to sit-fly or be a contortionist to get a great shot from below looking straight up. Check out Andy Ford’s great cover shot of Brit Chicks 50-way, October 2002 – he was flat when he took that. Adopt a slightly wide mantis-style arm position then push down a bit more with the palms of your hands. Keep driving forwards with your legs whilst doing this. You have a great opportunity on every deployment shot to practice this technique.

The exit altitude determines what you can do. On lower ones I just stay in front of the tandem, as this is the most important shot. If time permits you can get a bit more creative.
Varying the Angle
I have already described the money shot (right). I vary the angle from below (so the drogue is hidden by the tandem) to pretty much level. The on-level shots are so that you see the ground, giving non jumpers a sense of perspective.

I also like to take some photos slightly offset (maybe 20-30°) to get the student’s body length in the frame (below right).

Shots I really like include doing an orbit around the tandem while the tandem does gentle 360’s the opposite way, and going up and over the drogue (not directly over), back down the other side and back in front. The customers seem to like the perspective with the ground in this shot. I only do one of these shots in a typical video from 13,000 feet.

If you want to try something funky, don’t make the customer pay for your practice. If you want to nail that front float or barrel roll, practice when you’re paying your own slot.
If you fancy taking grips on the student, make sure they’re briefed; eg, if you plan on them holding your feet, tell them when to let go!

Some tandems are ballistic – others are incredibly slow. Some go straight down the tube – others you have to chase around the sky. When you are having to work very hard just to keep a decent standard shot, then concentrate on the basics and leave the fancy stuff for the next jump.
Deployment
This is an impressive shot for the customer because they get that sense of speed as you carry on in freefall. Backing off a few feet when the instructor waves off is the easiest and safest shot initially – the student’s legs can swing up ferociously!

Another option is to back off and grab some air so you go up to drogue level looking down – you get a great shot of the bag coming off and initial deployment this way. If you can smoothly transition to head-down then this can look great on deployment. If you are jumping landscape stills you can take the opportunity mid-transition to get a portrait deployment shot.

If you have a steady nerve and there is total trust between yourself and the tandem instructor you can be directly below the tandem. When the ‘trapdoor’ effect occurs they drop to within inches of you before being pulled away. It looks very dramatic but I wouldn’t recommend doing it to anyone! I’ve only seen one very experienced (6,000+ jumps) videographer do this. Make sure you can get out of the way if you’re going to try it – better still, don’t try it!

I watch the horizon on deployment so the video shows lots of wobble and the occasional(!) off heading opening. None of this looks good on video, so after the tandem has deployed I look straight down then turn my camera off before deploying.

Landing
I very rarely shoot any footage under canopy. Instead I concentrate on getting down to set myself up for the last 10-20 seconds of the canopy ride and the landing showing the student’s reaction – a very important part of the video. The ideal student gets down and tells you how fantastic it was. If they are quiet you can interview them but I don’t like to for two reasons;
1. The disembodied voice sounds weird on tape
2. My Wolverhampton accent sounds even worse!

When the student has finished talking I pan up to the sky and hold that shot for about five seconds to give some room to edit later on.

 If it goes wrong
This can be difficult. At Langar we shoot video and stills. Occasionally if there is a failure of either camera we offer them half of the camera fee back. If everything fails you’re going to have to give them the whole fee back – and hope they don’t want a free tandem as well.

If for whatever reason you have only taken a couple of photos then pray that you have a good one and offer them a free enlargement – or try and lift frame grabs directly from the video.

My worst nightmare was on one of the first tandems I filmed. I fell off the step of the Porter while climbing out and got nothing! When the tandem landed I filmed it anyway and them apologised profusely for my cock-up. The guy just turned around and said, “No problem mate, I didn’t want video anyway – the missus made me have it!”
Top Tips
l Remember that tandem instructors have got more stuff to deal with than you – particularly if they are new.

Have stock footage of tandems landing from a distance. If you don’t get the tandem landing for whatever reason then still get a reaction from the student and edit in your stock footage. (this is even easier at Langar – all students wear red jumpsuits!)

If the student throws up on the ground then don’t embarrass them further by showing everyone (wait until they have gone and then show it in the bar!).

Remember that what you are producing is also an advert for your centre – keep it professional.

Never sacrifice safety to get a cool angle (not unless it is really really cool!).