Filming POV
- More
- 1
- 2 of 2
-----------------
A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
Phyter said:
You know the only reason for any of this is they don't want you dropping the cammera and whopping some poor shmoe on the head. I find the policy just a little hypocritical considering that these very same parks FORCE you take a purse or hand-held wallet onboard. Does anyone else agree?
I believe parks that have these dual policies should provide sliding cabinets like they have on rides such as The Racer at PKI. You can stow money and expensive items there and provided the ride-ops work the system correctly they won't get stolen. The system seems to work well but I've only seen it on a handful of rides. Wonder why?
You're right, it is hypocritical. For example, when I was in line for BTR at SFMM a woman took off her sandals and put them at the end of the station. The ride-op told her she must bring them on the ride, so they unlocked the restraints and made her hold them in her hands. Well, her train came back into the station and during the ride she lost one of her sandals. They had to send a couple trains through the course empty and then stop the trains in the station and seach for the sandal. 20 minutes later they found the sandal and started the ride back up. I find this quite hypocritical. This incident also made the line 30 minutes long beacuase of the back-up.
*** This post was edited by goliath=life on 11/12/2002. ***
-----------------
.:| Brandon Rodriguez |:.
http://www.coasters2k.com
Since I have had my camcorder I have taken alot of trips where I bring it with me promising im going to take it in the park,and get some good footage, but I end up leaveing it in the car, or never getting any footage. I once brought my camcorder on Nitro , but I dident record anything I just had it in my jacket, and it was small enough to stay put there. Like someone said before, when filming the ride becomes all about getting footage then enjoying urself, and so if you waited 2hrs or whatever leanth you wait for a coaster you never rode, which would you rather choose? Film, and dont feel anything ,and all you can do is worrie about your camcorder? or leave it in the car and let it sit there and go back for it later ,and get some park footage, and enjoy ur rides?. One argument I have with parks is that they charge you for every locker, and if you wanna ride something you have to either put ur camcorder somewhere or leave it with someone, but what if everyone is riding?. One thing that SFGAdv has done is have a one fee type locker and that has strated to solve the proplem, but why cant there be a multi use type card where you can use any locker in the park for one fee , or like someone from Holiday world said, offer free lockers. That go's to show the qauilty of bussines in amusmentparks, take advantage of people becuase your giving them what they need, but for a price, or make the trip at the park better by offering it for free. Sorry to get off the topic here, in conclusion I dont think it is safe for people to film with camcorders on rides becuase it can put the rest of the riders at risk, if any POV should be taken it should be done by maybe the Discovery channel or something ,becuase they know what they are doing, and maybe if the parks want to be nice they can let us record during specail events.
-----------------
Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
As for being hypocritical, it's not. For one, people need thier wallets & pocketbooks, but granted, people could use some common sense. I mean, what MUST you carry around all day? Prepare a little, know where you're going. I always manage to find pants or shorts with zippers, even have a vest with zippers that's great for making sure you don't drop stuff. Basketballs, yuk! They serve no purpose & it baffles me why the parks have them around. I saw a kid jump across the gate on TG @ PKI, that kid came a hair from falling under our oncoming train, all over a basketball.
I'm one of those that finds it disrespectful to others when you've got Camper Dave & his Boy Scouts moving camp onto the coaster trains, making others wait while they pitch tents & dig out fire pits. Use a locker! I'm poor, I know what they're for & pay to use 'em! People want to stand around & complain about lines, darn lines take so long, but then they want to haul all thier possessions around, something that can make others wait.
Besides, which would you rather be hit with, some tissues from some lady's purse, the purse itself, a wallet, or a camera, possibly a camcorder? I'm voting wallet.
Of course, what bothers me are policies that make the assumption that a video camera is a half-ton monster that rests precariously on the shooter's shoulder and will fly off at any moment and knock half the train unconscious...when the reality is that many of the modern camcorders are incredibly small, incredibly lightweight, and incredibly easy to make so secure that loss is virtually impossible. It's not as bad now as it used to be, but I have been in parks where my 6-pound aluminum body SLR was OK to carry on a coaster but my sub-2-pound smaller than palm-sized video camera was not OK just because it can shoot video instead of stills (either way shooting was not OK at the park).
That said, I'll shoot POV if the park will permit it, and I'll always ask a ride operator before shooting. If the operator says 'no', the camera remains secure. If the operator says "yes," then I always make sure I have my priorities straight:
1) Insure that nobody else will be hurt. Primarily that means secure the camera securely.
2) Insure that I won't be hurt. If it's necessary to hold on to the ride with one hand, sacrifice camera stability and hang on.
3) Insure that the camera doesn't get hurt. If it's me or the camera, I'll sacrifice the camera. But it's better not to get into that situation. Tie the thing down. Back-up camera restraints are not a bad idea......
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
I have to disagree, RideMan. No matter how light or small the object is, it will hurt, and it will injure if the train is even only moving along at a moderate pace. The chances are reduced, true--but there's still a chance, and let's be honest: Jow Blow parkgoer probably isn't as careful as you are with your camera. That's too much of a risk for most insurance companies and parks to take.
In all reality, guests take way too much stuff to the park with them. They dress too nice, bring too much expensive junk with them, and leave half their intelligence at home (maybe more--studies pending). At all of SFOG's rides and in other places, you'll see a sign(s) explaining that you can't take loose articles on board. You can't leave them with the operator. You can leave them on the dock at your own risk. "Six Flags reccommends you make alternative arrangements for the storage of your valuables." Some people still don't get it, and weigh themselves down with unecessary junk, inconveniencing quite a few people, notably themselves.
-----------------
Is that a Q-bot in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
*** This post was edited by General Public on 11/13/2002. ***
Just want to point something out coming from a ride op
PKIs policy is that we would rather hold onto them than see you carry them with you. Just think of it this way: Imagine the guy in the front row has a video camera and is "recording" (for you Jeff). Anyway, your little kid is on his firrst ride on his first big coaster. Well, the guy in the front loses his grip on the camera, causing it to fly backwards. Your little kid gets nailed in the head and gets a serious injury, or dies. You see, thats why most parks do not allow cameras on rides.
Oh and the comment about putting it up on the lift hill, I have had to climb SOBs lift hill several times to retrieve cameras. Well, its fun, but at the same time, you want to take physical action against the person to cause you to climb the narrow steps on a steep hill. Especially since we stop it half way on the hill. Its a huge climb!
Jeff said:
"I just have to mention that nobody here is likely "filming" anything. Film is dead. Long live film.You are, perhaps, shooting video.
-----------------
Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
Ok, this has nothing to do with coasters, but yes, LONG LIVE FILM! DV HAS NOTHING ON IT!
I wonder how one would actually set up a film shoot on a rollercoaster anyways?
~me
I still have that film around here someplace. Yes, film. The ride took most of a 50' Super-8 reel at 18 FPS. Anybody got any ideas for transferring 8mm film to QuickTime at 18 FPS?
Y'know, I still think the pistol grip on the Super-8 camera was easier to handle than the handgrip of a video camera.
(since mine is still the last post in the thread, I'll just edit instead of doing a new one...)
General Public, I didn't make myself clear. I have been in parks where...without shooting...I was welcome to carry my gigantic SLR on the coaster but not permitted to carry my video camera. The SLR was hanging from a neck-strap; the camcorder was sealed into a belt-bag. That didn't make sense to me. I wouldn't want to get hit with a 2-pound camcorder, but given a choice between being hit by a 2-pound camcorder and a 10-pound aluminum SLR, I'll take the camcorder any day of the week!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
*** This post was edited by RideMan on 11/14/2002. ***
Silver Dollar City is awesome with letting cameras on rides
With the exception of Wildfire, you can take cameras/camecorders on the other rides.
- More
- 1
- 2 of 2
You must be logged in to post
