Miller Sharpshooters

Over the course of 2009 a group of eight women from eight Commonwealth countries prepared to be the first to walk to South Pole. Their preparations and expedition were filmed for a documentary. Owing to the extreme locations, environmental conditions, and financial constraints the crew had to be kept to a minimum – just one member, UK-based cameraman Robert Hollingworth. The expedition was conceived and lead by explorer Felicity Aston and she wished from the outset to have the expedition documented and not lead or steered by the crew. Solo-shooting helped keep the crew footprint to a minimum and also kept things flexible in order to react to the team and what they were doing.

 

Filmed using the Miller DS20 Solo Carbon Fibre system in Norway, New Zealand, Chile and Antarctica, with temperatures dropping below -25 degrees centigrade and winds up to 120 Knots, the kit and team were tested to their limits. The main camera was the Sony XDCAM EX1 which in size, image quality and being tapeless makes it the ideal camera for the job. The Miller DS20 and Solo legs are ideally suited to working with the EX1 and together facilitate high quality filming with a physically small and light kit. Together with a Mac Book Pro and several hard disks, the rushes could be downloaded and backed up quickly with batteries being charged largely from solar panels.

 

“Shooting this project was a once in-a-lifetime opportunity. It presented an enormous number of challenges, personal and professional. Simply keeping yourself moving forward, in environments such as Antarctica can be a full-time job. Plus working with the camera and sound equipment which isn't designed to operate in those conditions makes every day tough and challenging. It's so often the simple things which cause problems, such as operating the buttons on the camera, changing batteries, or the locking off the tripod – all easy to do in the average day but with three pairs of gloves on in a blizzard they become much harder,” however Robert confided that being challenged in the field was a rare opportunity and an unforgettable experience. “It’s great to discover your own personal weaknesses and that of the equipment too and you derive a better understanding of both as a result.”

 

There was about a week in Antarctica when the team endured consistent winds up to 120Knots blowing through the camp. There was a section of blue ice used to land aircraft downwind of the camp and the loose bits of ice the size of tennis balls on the runway were picked up in the winds and tore through camp. “Being hit by the large bits of loose ice makes paint-balling an enjoyable experience in comparison! Tents were destroyed and people injured,” Robert eluded in more detail “I was out filming on one occasion and in one gust of wind both myself and the camera, complete with tripod, went flying. Luckily no harm was done, but it's testimony to the conditions that you're working in. I did quickly start filming all my shots with the Solo legs spread to the widest position to enable the camera to have the lowest centre of gravity and largest tripod footprint. The camera didn't go flying thereafter!”

 

The Miller DS20 and Solo legs are ideal for remote filming locations where kit has to be transported and operated by a small team, or one-man-band. Also, on small budgets excess baggage on flights is an important consideration and having a sturdy tripod which weighs less than 5Kg is an important factor. The other huge benefit of the Solo legs is the versatility they afford; high shots are possible as are super-low shot just a few inches off the ground. But there is also ways to improve your tools as Robert noted “There is a trade-off though and that comes in the from of the leg's locking mechanism which means that adjusting height isn't quick and I didn’t feel comfortable without taking the camera off the legs prior to making a dramatic height change.”

 

Following the global trek Robert has just returned from India on a different project but is now working on getting the edit finished from the Antarctic expedition. Robert concluded “I would recommend Miller tripods; I like the engineering in them and they have certainly demonstrated to me that they are tough enough to cope with virtually any conditions you throw at them. I'd like to upgrade to the Arrow25 head at some point and the carbon fibre 'traditional' legs as these allow for quicker adjusting of camera height on the fly.”

 

For more information about the shooting adventures of Robert Hollingworth please visit his website