KH Films

Currently I am in western Wyoming directing & shooting a running footage campaign for Arctic Cat snowmobiles and their 2011 line up of sleds.  This is my 6th year doing this shoot and every year the shoot is a blast and the footage looks awesome thanks to my tireless crew, a great client, and fantastic agency folks at Periscope based in Minneapolis.  I would love to show off the new sleds but because these sleds won’t be shown until the dealer show in March the new designs and styles are top secret so I have had to take some liberty in photoshop to disguise the new sled designs.

This year’s shoot is a cold one!  On our first day of shooting the temp was -26 degrees but the skies were crystal clear which has made for beautiful footage.  This year Arctic Cat has trucked out 26 great new sleds and like every year the sleds are incredibly fast and amazingly powerful.  I am shooting the main unit and aerials again this year in the always reliable super 16 format using an Arri HSR3 and a variety of great glass.  New this year I have decided to have my 2nd unit shoot rig mounts with the Canon 5D MKII and 7D DSLR’s and so far I could not be happier.  Once again I am fortunate to have been provided technical support and information from Canon’s professional technical reps on this project.  This rig unit is being helmed by producer Chris Keig and the rigging geniuses Matt & Mitch Stelling of Stelco Grip.   For this unit I have two 5D MK II’s shooting 30P and two 7D’s shooting 24P & 60P with a variety of lenses.  Despite the extremely cold weather and vibration associated with snowmobiles the Canon cameras have not missed a beat and the footage looks awesome.

I am also using the Canon cameras to shoot my snowmobile to snowmobile footage and what has certainly made this work well is Tyler Camera Systems new Mini Gyro Mount.  Once again I gambled on a piece of equipment I had not used let alone even seen before and I have to say I am very happy with the results.  From racing down snow covered roads at incredibly fast speeds to carving in deep snow the sled to sled footage I am shooting looks great and I would certainly not have been able to do it without the use of the Mini Gyro.

Working with me on the main unit is the always fabulous Creative Director from Periscope, Brien Spanier.  Also on board are 1st AC to the stars Tod Boyle who has worked with me for the last 5 years on this shoot.  My 2nd AC/Loader is Colin Witherall who is well versed in working in these conditions and was well prepped for the cold of this years shoot having just come from a project in Antarcitca.  My AD is the tireless Sean Waterman who is simply the glue to the operation and knows this drill inside and out.  Also on my unit is 2nd AD Eric Lohman and video assist/DIT/Photographer Tony Wilhelms. There is no doubt that without the help of this great crew I would ever be able to accomplish what I do on this shoot. This shoot always goes down as one of the most exhausting shoots of the year due to the cold weather and remote locations we are traveling to shoot in.  My unit sets out on snowmobiles each morning in the dark around 6:30am and travels to a location determined on the scout which is often several miles away.  All of the gear including cameras, lenses, sticks, & accessories goes on our backs packed up in Lowe Pro packs.  We move stealthily and fast and know the locations like the back of our hands and are therefore able to capture a lot of great imagery.  Brien Spainer, the CD at Periscope,  has told me that we get more done in one day than previous crews from years back used to get in consecutive days of shooting because these crews would attempt to work out of hard cases which they would haul along in a trailer towed by a snowmobile.  I simply can’t even imagine trying to do a shoot like this that way given the limited hours of daylight and extensive distances required to travel in order to get great imagery.

At this point we have had two beautiful days of shooting with clear skies and cold temps. Now the snow is falling hard which is welcomed as it provides for a variety of footage showing off the sleds in different environments. Fortunately our helicopter has arrived with the Tyler Middle Mount ready for shooting the aerials.  Mike Carisch, pilot extraordinaire from Bozeman, MT., will once again be flying the ship.  I have flown with Mike every year that we have been able to fly aerials on this shoot and he is hands down the best aerial pilot I have been able to work with for this type of a project.

Fortunately for us the temperature has gone up to a balmy +10 degrees and both units are cranking along capturing great imagery. Once again we are nearing in on the end of a great shoot for Arctic Cat!