Flower day in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens

It was a beautiful sunny day in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens yesterday, when the Bush Telly crew visited to test out the new prototype camera rig S-1. We tried out everything we could think of while filming flowers using total manual camera control.

The crew made a big list of what was forgotten to bring or needed fixing. The idea is to focus on the problems that get directly in the way of a good shoot.

We will be filming every few days, until the bugs are ironed out, and then start real filming in a few weeks.

Filming will be on 2hrs short notice via the crew mailing list - dependant on weather and key crew availability. It would be good if all crew members had at least a turn so we can get warmed up as a team. The Canon EOS 5d Mk 2 camera is fantastic but it's more like a movie camera than video camera and needs a hell of a lot of practice to get top results.

To bring next time:

• Top flag for Arri matte box
• ND filter
• Cineslider
• Coffee
• Camera bag for 5dmk2
• Rain cover
• Sun hats
• Support for long telephoto lens

To fix or make ASAP:

• Stabilise handle
• Long handle in the way
• Right angle HDMI adaptor needed on camera so it doesn't poke camera operators nose
• Where does on board mic clamp on?
• Where does headphones plug in?
• Make base board for low hat
• Make back plate with Velcro for radio mic receiver
• Solve SmallHD monitor poor visibility in bright sunlight at 6 o'clock despite sun hood