Filming Kitesurfing from the air - for under $300
Shooting from an RC helicopter
On days of old - filming kiteboarding from the air required a helicopter, plus several people and was risky exercise at the best of times. Now, advances in technology and a highly competitive hobby industry have lead to the influx of multiple rotor helicopters, used for carrying cameras, and it's a lot cheaper than a real helicopter.
If you've never heard of a tri, quad or octocopter - it's essentially a basic frame with several arms, each housing their own motor and propellor. Small microchips control the speed of each motor, allowing the aircraft to move in any direction by simply using the sticks on a radio control transmitter. They are incredibly stable, which makes them the ideal platform for aerial filming
As far as cameras go, there are several options from the most simple of 'keychain' cameras, to full on DSLR cameras filming in crispy high definition. This video was shot on the humble GoPro however, and it looks quite amazing in black and white. The best thing about the GoPro cameras, is their light weight and rugged build, which means they don't need a massive aircraft to carry, and if you crash, the camera should survive. They've even dropped one from the edge of space, and it was perfectly fine.
Ricard says that it's not his best, because he had to shoot from a long distance, and only by line of sight (Usually these copters are flown via first person view cameras). But it's one of the first real multi-copter video of kitesurfing that's been published. Hopefully Ricard can iron out the kinks, and get some really good footage soon.
If you fancy making your own aerial photography rig, the components can be picked up for around $300, including the transmitter and all the required electronics. It will make you a small, cheap tri-copter to get you started, and then all you have to do it learn to fly it. Add your own camera to start filming, but the best one to use is a GoPro Naked Hero HD. You can read more about them in the Seabreeze shop here.
Check out the video below - and expect to see a lot more kitesurfing footage being filmed by these little multi-copters.
Caloundra Sunshine Coast, QLD
