‘Going South, cycling through the Americas‘, is a Dutch production that subjected its camera equipment to nearly 27,000km of extremes.
It took two cycling teams on an expedition from Alaska to the southernmost point of Argentina, in search of exemplary climate projects. “The Dutch are especially threatened by climatic disaster because we only live five meters above sea level. Thus we got the idea of travelling by bicycle and toting a camera to visit people and companies involved in protecting the climate,” explained Brechtie Smidt, founder and director of deepeei film productions.
After they picked the best cyclist teams out of 100 applicants, they followed them with Panasonic AG-HPX500 and AG-HPX171E camcorders mounted on a Sachtler Cine 30 HD and Video 15 SB support systems.
“It was a road movie marked by extremes – from the chill of Alaska to the heat of the jungle, on dangerous roads or by boat in small shells. When filming for the project everything had to work right the first time. We usually didn’t get a second chance when rolling footage,” said cinematographer, Milan Collin.
All the equipment had to be light, robust, easy and fast to set up, and Collin praised the “stability and extreme precision” of the tripod systems. The camera and accessories can be easily attached to the fluid head thanks to its side-loading mechanism, making it easy to switch quickly between handheld and tripod operation.
“Filming time in Latin America was kept to a minimum for our own safety as well as that of the equipment,” he said. “The Speedbalance technology of the Video 15 SB enables you to work fast and accurately. The equipment is ready to shoot in no time. The Sachtler heads fully met our expectations.
“We had the perfect equipment to capture spectacular pictures and everything else went according to plan. The film project shows our ideas for mankind and nature to live in harmony – our aim is to inspire people and change their everyday life in a positive way.” The first edits have already been made, and completion and worldwide release of the road movie is planned for the end of 2010.
