Practicing Pans with a Sunset

RotorWash · Sep 15, 2019

I wanted to practice smoothing out my pan shots so figured a nice sunset would make a good target. Added some Alan Parsons Project for some mood. The West Point area is popular with tourists during the summer. The lighthouse area was flooded recently from a storm surge brought on by Hurricane Dorian passing through but the structure itself fared out well enough. The new temporary seawall took a bad hit though.

This pic was taken with a PP ND4/PL filter and cropped to 16:9. Didn't change my settings from what I was using for video at the time (manual mode: ISO-100, Shutter-1/60, WB-Sunny) but shot it in HDR mode which helped to even out the exposure in post. Location: West Point beach, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Dragonfly Joe · Sep 15, 2019

Nice flying and video RotorWash! the APP background music fit perfectly and set the mood for the vid. Thanks for sharing with us.

Tglass0000 · Sep 15, 2019

Nice pans and beautiful light!

I B Spectre · Sep 15, 2019

Smooth work, good exposures IMO, well time dissolves, love the Parsons' Project choice. HDR worked really well for this. It was so fine, I hesitate to offer a suggestion, but since the prevalent theme was on the sunset, wrapping it up with the moon rise would be a nice option for continuity. Thanks for sharing!

RotorWash · Sep 15, 2019

I B Spectre said:
Smooth work, good exposures IMO, well time dissolves, love the Parsons' Project choice. HDR worked really well for this. It was so fine, I hesitate to offer a suggestion, but since the prevalent theme was on the sunset, wrapping it up with the moon rise would be a nice option for continuity. Thanks for sharing!

Actually I did debate that moon shot for the ending!

I really appreciate the feedback, thanks!

NeedleNuts · Sep 15, 2019

Beautiful. It all works so well. You gotta be happy with that!!!

graywoulf · Sep 16, 2019

Most excellent panning technique and great location. Yes, the moon reflection was a great addition to this video. I hope to see more like it. ? ?

Flyfish · Sep 16, 2019

Seriously cool and a good example of what can be done with experience and practice. A standard to aim for.

John Carney · Sep 16, 2019

Real nice presentation. Wish I had the knowledge and technology to do this.

twickers14 · Sep 16, 2019

This fantastic filming and editing reminded me that I have one tune of theirs in my iTunes library and I went to play it straight away. Just about to buy their “Greatest Hits” or whatever it’s called so thank you.

Northwood Mediaworks · Sep 16, 2019

From 1:45 on that was solid gold... shows what a Spark can do. Alan Parson project stuff was good... remember HyperGammaSpaces? That would be good with some cinewhoop stuff!

Very nice work. Nature did her part for you too.

MarkBarnes · Sep 16, 2019

Nice Vid.

RotorWash · Sep 17, 2019

Northwood Mediaworks said:
From 1:45 on that was solid gold... shows what a Spark can do. Alan Parson project stuff was good... remember HyperGammaSpaces? That would be good with some cinewhoop stuff!

Very nice work. Nature did her part for you too.

Thanks! It's easy getting good shots when you have the most beautiful lady in the world to work with, Mother Nature!

RotorWash · Sep 17, 2019

Thanks everyone for your likes and kind comments, I appreciate it a lot! For anyone interested and has the patience, here is a scene that I didn't use any footage from but made for good practice. It's a continuous 2min slow pan while hovering in tripod mode.

The biggest challenge I had trying to keep it smooth was getting eaten by mosquitoes at the time. I had one on each hand and at least four on my face with one really helpful bugger hanging off an eyebrow! I should have taken a selfie and posted, would have been a hoot! I can honestly say that I bled for this unused footage, lol but practice was the mission so it’s all good.

Happy flying all!

Spark 317 · Sep 17, 2019

RotorWash said:
The biggest challenge I had trying to keep it smooth was getting eaten by mosquitoes at the time.

I put a small can of bug repellent in my Spark bag just in case.

It actually came in handy at dusk a few times.

nilanjan118 · Sep 17, 2019

Great job. Very smooth pans. And nature's color grading during a sunrise or sunset is always impeccable.

I B Spectre · Sep 17, 2019

RotorWash said:
...For anyone interested and has the patience, here is a scene that I didn't use any footage from but made for good practice. It's a continuous 2min slow pan while hovering in tripod mode.

Practice makes perfect. Very nice. Your sense of music well-supports the visual and that can make for a really special video. Thanks for sharing.