Gasoline, TNT & Soldiers

Last summer we were filming pyro shots with our Red Epic to Finnish Defence Forces. It was a longer project that combat camera platoon was filming, but we were hired for two days to make the explosions look bigger & greater.

There was a big war rehearsal going on in Rovaniemi area and we used the soldiers as actors. Defence Forces had hired a well known pyrotechnician Mauri Tikkanen to set up explosions for us to film. The size of the pyro effects that we did was something new for me. It was really good that we were filming under strict discipline of Army. Placing an actor on wrong place etc. would have caused fatalities or serious injuries.

The reason I´m writing this story now is that Defence Forces just released the film that we were filming. It´s a new way of combat, how to defence the country with smaller amount of soldiers. Here´s the film:

 

Aerial filming in -27 celsius

10.02.13 We were filming some promo material for company called Heliflite. It´s a company providing helicopter services in Lapland. Helihikes, fishing trips, charter flights and flights for film crew. I´ve been filming many times from Heliflite helicopter and this was a nice gig to take.

It was pretty cold morning when we started from Rovaniemi. Sky was blue and about -20 celsius. When we started to reach our destination Levi, the sky seemed more foggy and cloudy. In some areas you couldn´t see the sun at all. At Levi the temperature was -27 and the whole area was covered on thin fog layer at altitude of 50 meter.

Down in the road everything looked bad and foggy, but when we drove on the top of the hill next to restaurant Tuikku, whole new world opened. Sky was blue and the ground area was covered on white silk (fog) and only the hills pushed them selves through it.

I met the pilot on a helicopter platform and we set up the camera. We started filming some takeoffs with customers. Helicopter taking off from snowy terrain just looks so good when filmed in slowmotion. Snow and snow blocks are flying as the giant helicopter is just lifted up in the air.

Picture by Dominik

Then came our turn. I was ment to sit in the same place where I normaly do. I´m sitting outside the helicopter on a ski cage. It gives me really good ability to film handheld to all possible directions. Much better than filming from inside next to door. I think that my skydiving hobby is helping me with this one. It´s normal for me to be hanging outside the plane or helicopter.

Heliflite handheld setup. This picture taken autumn 2012

Heliflite handheld setup in action autumn 2012

We went airborne. After 2 minutes I had to ask my assistant Dominik to loan his goggles. The wind that I was having to my face was so cold that I couldn´t do anything without them. I thought that I can´t film with goggles because of the tint and fog and that´s why I didn´t put them on in the first place. Luckily Dominik had them and saved me by giving his goggles on my face.

Under the fog layer: Picture by Domink

The weather was beautiful, but very difficult to film. When we went under the fog, the air was somehow very moisturized and cold. -27 but still foggy. It really felt extreme. Dominik and I had to work really hard to keep the camera filter clean from fog. I really have to thank Dominik for assisting me because without him it would have been almost impossible.

Anyhow above the fog layer everything looked really nice. As soon as we got the fog layer of the filter, we started filming some moneyshot pictures of Levi and cafeteria Tuikku. We flew quite low to film the snowy trees with the landscape and the hotel Panorama which is on the halfway of the slopes of Levi.

After we went second time under the fog layer to film Levi village, I started to feel extreme cold on my face (which was fully covered) and fingers. We flew once over the village and landed shortly after that. It was a bit diffirent aerial filming this time, but really worth it. Some of the clips are maybe best I´ve filmed so far.

Picture by Dominik

I bet that the promo for Heliflite will be posted here as it is edited.

Operation Porsche Camp Canada: On the set

The film set of Porshce Camp Canada was near Esterel, at the Megaclisse motorsport park. Porsche is having Camp4 and Camp4s there. We were there to film the commercial for those camps.

The weather was terrible when Pera (our producer) arrived Montreal. It was +10 celcius and everything was melting. After first day it turned to -20 celcius, so quite slippery to drive. Even with Porsche.

Pera Scouted the location and visited CinePool rental at Montreal to rent a dolly and tracks for us. Nice coincidence that the new music video for Nightwish was filmed in the studio next door and the staff from CinePool were also involved in the project.

CinePool staff were bit surprised that we have come all the way from Finland to film a commercial for Porsche Camp Canada, but what so ever they wished us good luck for the project and were really helpful with the cine tools.

During our filming days the weather was quite cold. From -18 to -28 celsius and the wind was blowing 4-10ms, so the fact about the wind factor was proven us every day. Sun light was another thing that was different from Finland. Sun was much higher and much harder than in Finland this time. Hard contrast in light and the fact that trees didn´t have snowcover made it bit challenging to film, but the time around the sunset was beautifully colored.. We didn´t have any sunlotion nor sunglasses with us, cause Lappish mind don´t count them in accesories in January. So we were redskins, like the original americans.

Beside the track, we were also filming the briefing and dinner in the Hotel Esterel. It was nice to notice that Porsche is using a film made by us all over the world when they brief the ice driving. So it´s good to end this blog post in that video. Now we are in Finland and we are preparing to film the new Porsche Promo 2014 in Finland