When National Geographic magazine challenged DOP Greg Wilson to create a shot
tracking a sprinting cheetah—in the spirit of Eadweard Muybridge’s 1878 image of a
running horse—he turned to the Sound Devices PIX 240 Production Video Recorder for
the shoot’s dailies, monitoring and backup.
Combining the resources of National Geographic and the Cincinnati Zoo, and drawing
on the skills of an incredible crew, Wilson and his team were responsible for
simultaneously capturing motion picture images as well as high-resolution stills of the
cheetah for use in the magazine. Employing a Phantom Flex high-speed camera
filming at 1200 to 1600 frames per second (fps), the team zoomed alongside the
sprinting cheetah, capturing every nuance of the animal’s movement as it reached
speeds of more than 60 miles per hour (mph). For the still images, the crew used
three Canon EOS-1D X digital cameras, shooting at its fastest speed, at full
resolution.
“We wanted to create beautiful images of the world’s fastest land animal using the
most sophisticated technology of our day,’ says Wilson. “To do so, I needed to move
a camera system, configured with the Phantom camera and the three Canon 1D X
cameras, all at the same speed. When in action, we needed to reach 65 mph in 40
feet, hold that speed for 300 feet and then decelerate safely back to a complete
stop.’
Wilson and his crew teamed up with Doggicam Systems in Los Angeles to design and
build the custom dolly system that would move the camera along the 410-foot track.
Using a modified version of its Super Slider System and a Sparrow 200 remote head,
along with high-powered motion control motors provided by Romano Stunts, the
camera was able to reach a speed of more than 65 mph in less than three seconds
and then return back to a resting position accurately and safely.
The crew’s first AC and Phantom technician Edward Richardson built a control unit for
the DSLRs. “This allowed them to run in sequence at 14 fps with zero overlap of the
images and a perfect cadence, allowing us to capture, effectively, 42 fps at 18.1
megapixels per frame,’ notes Wilson. “We were operating with a very small crew and
didn’t have the resources for a standard video tape recorder in the field, so we used
the Sound Devices PIX 240.’
Richardson says that he and the crew wanted the ability to reference any shot over
the entire three-day job. “With the Phantom Flex, we aren’t able to review that
footage without transcoding dailies. With the PIX 240, however, we had an ongoing
library of all the takes.’
As is often the case when working with wild animals, Wilson and his crew faced
several environmental challenges. One major concern was that the cheetahs might be
afraid of all the gear, and wouldn’t run. “The cats were a bit unsure around the
camera once a run was over, so we couldn’t move the camera from the end of the
track until the cheetah was relaxed, which sometimes took up to an hour,’ adds
Richardson. “This presented a problem with saving the take. If the Phantom loses
power before a take is saved, the footage is lost.’
To resolve this, Richardson used the battery-powered PIX 240 not just as a recorder,
but as a portable monitor as well. After each take, Richardson walked to the end of
the field with the PIX 240 and used the on-camera controls to save the take. He then
recorded the shot into the PIX and brought it back to the main monitoring area for
everyone to view. “Another bonus is that we then had another backup of the footage,’
he says. “The PIX 240 performed flawlessly. I wish every piece of gear was this easy
to prep and use. If we didn’t have the PIX, we wouldn’t have gotten the shots we
did.’
Another major challenge was syncing the dolly system with a wild animal like the
cheetah. The cheetahs would chase a lure/bait attached to a long line, using a hand
controlled on/off switch held by one of the cheetah handlers. At the speeds the cats
were traveling, a quarter of a second or a few feet per second off and the gear could
result in a hundred feet off by the time the cat hit the lit area of the track. Working
with five cheetahs, it was also very difficult to anticipate how fast they would come
out of the gate and what their top speed would be, among other parameters. “It was
a learning process the entire time, but in working with the cheetah handlers, we were
able to experiment with the speeds and timing,’ says Wilson.
“Sound Devices gave us the opportunity to have a small monitor and recording device
in an all-in-one product, which I could use to show the cheetah handlers our progress
as we were shooting,’ Wilson concludes. “I don’t like to have many monitors on set,
so the PIX 240 was perfect because I could have it around my neck or on the cart and
show the people not working by the main monitors what we had captured. It really
brought us together as a team and kept me organized. I have a feature film and
several other projects coming up, and I’ll certainly be using the PIX 240 again.’
The story, titled Cheetahs on the Edge appeared in the November 2012 edition of
National Geographic. The video footage can be found at
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/cheetahs/be
hind-the-scenes-video. Additional behind-the-scenes footage is also available at
http://vimeo.com/53129783.
