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SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch with 4 Sony cameras


DougJensen

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A few years ago, I relocated from New England to Florida’s space coast so I could better service my clients in the aerospace industry.  No matter how many rocket launches I cover at Cape Canaveral, it never gets old.  Due to the weather, time of day, time of year, type of rocket, the particular launch pad used, and other factors, no two launches are ever the same.  That means some launches are more photogenic than others, but they are always fun and challenging to shoot.

Sometimes I will have as many as eight cameras shooting 4K (usually in slow-motion), and other times less than half that number.  It depends on many factors, including the needs of the client.  Having multiple cameras allows me to get wide, medium, and tight coverage.  The cameras I use most for launches are my FX6, Z750, Z280, F55/R7, FS7/R5, a1, a6300, and S1H.  Eight cameras can get a little hectic to manage, especially if the launch is at dusk or dawn with constantly changing light. 

I shot this launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy last Sunday as it put a couple of satellites for the US Space Force in orbit.  Sunday’s launch was a Falcon Heavy rocket which is basically three regular Falcon 9 rockets strapped together in order to get a super heavy payload into orbit.  For most SpaceX launches, the booster will land on a special barge hundreds of miles at sea, but occasionally the payload will be light enough that the booster(s) can come all the way back to the Cape.  For this launch, the center booster was allowed to splash down into the ocean, and eight minutes after launch, the rocket's two side boosters successfully landed at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zones 1 and 2.  Seeing the rockets return to the Cape is just as cool as the launch itself.  Amazing technology at work.

I decided to shoot this launch with four cameras:  FX6 with 200-600mm lens (4K @ 120 fps) Z750 with Fujinon 24x7.8 lens (4K @ 60 fps) Z280 (4K @ 60 fps).  The fourth camera was my a1 shooting in 8K @ 30 fps, but I didn’t include that footage in this YouTube video.

On this launch, I started out operating the FX6 until the rocket had reached about 15 miles in altitude and then I jumped over to the Z750 (24x7.8 Fujinon lens + 2x extender) to track the rocket as it got higher and farther away. 

Resetting all four cameras for the landing caused me to miss part of boosters returning in the dark sky, but that is a risk I take with managing multiple cameras.   Sometimes I nail it, and sometimes I don’t.  This one was kind of in the middle, as far as success is concerned.

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SpaceX stakeout, looks like fun! Do you find you want to have timecode sync in a shooting situation like this? Or does that not apply here?

Good question about timecode sync.  No, it isn't necessary and wouldn't provide any benefit in post.  And because the cameras are shooting a mix of 24p and 30p at 60 to 120 fps, the numbers would never sync up.  In fact, in the video above, some of the shots are not even in true chronological order.

Also, another thing to realize that some of the clips are 5x longer than real time.  I start the cameras rolling one minute before launch, and most of the action is over 4 minutes after launch (unless there is a booster landing).  In that amount of time, a camera like the FX6 rolling at 120 fps has created a 25 minute long clip! 

That's where Catalyst Browse really helps reduce the amount of footage that must be offloaded and backed up.

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I always enjoy your launch footage. Four cameras at once shooting live action and no external monitors? I'm sure you have a reason for this but I have no idea what it is? 

Steve

Hi Steven, I'm glad to hear you like my launch videos.  They are certainly fun to shoot.

All my cameras have excellent electronic viewfinders, so external monitors are not needed . . . or wanted.  I've never used monitors on any camera I've ever shot with and never will! 🙂    There is no substitute for a good EVF.

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Wild stuff Doug! Thank you for sharing and I enjoyed the video. Can you shed a bit of intel into your stock footage model? I know most folks are using third-party sites but you're selling it all direct? Can you elaborate a bit on your system and experience for those that may be interested?

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Wild stuff Doug! Thank you for sharing and I enjoyed the video. Can you shed a bit of intel into your stock footage model? I know most folks are using third-party sites but you're selling it all direct? Can you elaborate a bit on your system and experience for those that may be interested?

Thanks Julien.  No, I'm not selling stock footage direct except in a few rare instances for some big budget documentaries that need help curating what they need.  95% of my stock footage income comes from the big three agencies:  Shutterstock, Adobe, and Pond5.  In my opinion, those are the only three that are worth submitting to.  The little boutique agencies will never bring in enough revenue to make it worth your time contributing to them.  And if you tried to sell direct, you'd get eaten alive in fees and marketing costs.  It's just not feasible.

If you want some insight into how I run my stock footage business, I produced a 5-hour master class that details every step of my workflow.  Some of the information is a little out of date now because Shutterstock has changed their royalty structure and pricing, but the overall information is still valid. I share everything from what to shoot, where to contribute, how to create excellent metadata (more important than the footage itself), how to edit and grade the clips in Resolve, submitting the clips, maintaining a portfolio, etc.   https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sellingstockfootage

Here's a free 18-minute video that addresses your questions and provides a good overview of how to run a stock footage business.

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I did this class. My $150 dollar investment is now a total earnings of $3,000. All I do is dabble in stock with Pond5. I am lazy about it. I have more footage sitting on HDs than I have posted yet. It's kind of fun to get emails once in awhile that say you made a few bucks. I gave up on Shutterstock and went exclusive with Pond5 because Pond5 was what worked for me. Now that Shutterstock bought Pond5 I am wondering what will change but so far nothing seems to have changed. If I put some effort into it I could do much better. The whole thing is a learning experience. Before Doug's class I was just wasting my time. The class made all the difference in the world. 

Steve

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I did this class. My $150 dollar investment is now a total earnings of $3,000. All I do is dabble in stock with Pond5. I am lazy about it. I have more footage sitting on HDs than I have posted yet. It's kind of fun to get emails once in awhile that say you made a few bucks. I gave up on Shutterstock and went exclusive with Pond5 because Pond5 was what worked for me. Now that Shutterstock bought Pond5 I am wondering what will change but so far nothing seems to have changed. If I put some effort into it I could do much better. The whole thing is a learning experience. Before Doug's class I was just wasting my time. The class made all the difference in the world. 

Steve

Thank you very much Steven for the kind comments.  I'm really happy to hear that it helped get you on track and give you a push in the right direction.  For anyone who really enjoys shooting video (not just looking at what we do as a job) stock footage is a no-brainer.   I hope you have great success with it.

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Hi Steven, I'm glad to hear you like my launch videos.  They are certainly fun to shoot.

All my cameras have excellent electronic viewfinders, so external monitors are not needed . . . or wanted.  I've never used monitors on any camera I've ever shot with and never will! 🙂    There is no substitute for a good EVF.

Curious, with four cameras (and four and EVFs) what's your strategy for focus?

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Curious, with four cameras (and four and EVFs) what's your strategy for focus?

Good question.  Whether I'm shooting a launch with four cameras or all eight (Z750, F55 w/R7, FS7 w/R5, FX6, Alpha1, Z280, S1H, Z90, every camera is set for full manual focus and full manual exposure.  Since I only have two hands, most of the cameras are on locked-down shots either aimed at the launch pad, or at some point in the sky where I know the rocket will pass through.  All of those cameras are pre-focused using peaking to judge the focus.

During the launch, I will operate one camera the entire time, or sometimes switch from one camera to another in mid-stream.  Each camera/lens combo has it's own unique advantages  so sometimes it is necessary to jump over from camera to another in mid-flight. But I know in advance that I'm going to do that, so everything is pre-set on the 2nd camra.  On either of the two cameras that I'm operating (with a high-power telephoto lens) to track the flight, I am just focusing manually using peaking as my guide.  Usually the two cameras I operate manually are the Z750 with it's excellent Sony EL30 viewfinder or the FX6 with a really nice Zacuto Gratical EVF mounted.  Both of those viewfinders offer edge-enhance peaking, so I am not stuck using inferior colored peaking.

On some of the launches, the booster(s) return to land back at Cape Canaveral, and that is really stressful to pick them up in the sky and track them back down. Also very hard not to bobble with when the sonic boom hits.  I know it is coming but it still just about knocks you off your feet.  But a lot of fun.

 

 

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