Aero Aerials!

We’ve told you a lot about the Klaus Cam and how it enhances Aero's Aerials, but its high time (see what I did there!?) to talk about the man that truly makes the Klaus Cam so impressive. (Not to toot our own horn but TOOT TOOT!  He does a good job.)  Please meet our helicopter pilot, Craig Hosking:

Craig Hosking

Craig is the guy who flies the helicopter and puts the Klaus Cam in dead accurate position for shooting. Imagine putting a camera a few feet away from your talent's face (most recently, Julia Roberts' face), whilst said camera is hanging off a 80 foot cable AND you’re flying the helicopter that the cable is attached to. Yeah, not a job you find on Craigslist!  But this is precisely the skill Craig (no relation to the list) exercises on a daily basis.  He balances the speed and the placement of the helicopter to make the camerawork smooth with perfect framing… and he makes sure not to bonk the talent on the noggin. (Which, as a producer, I am very thankful for... as is the talent, I'm sure.)

He was also at the helm (or whatever the phrase is for a helicopter) for a recent Chevy Truck spot directed by Klaus Obermeyer. (And while trucks don't have a noggin to whack into, it’s never good to have a camera and truck in a face off.  Which insurance companies all around are grateful for.)  Give this video a watch for some behind the scenes footage.  (Note: Craig is on the right and Klaus is flying shotgun.)

Eat Pray Love was Craig’s experience with Julia Roberts, where he and Scott Howell from CineMoves (Klaus Cam designer) went to Bali for 2 weeks of aerial photography to capture shots that were only possible with the Klaus Cam.   Many of Craig’s scenes were in the Eat Pray Love trailer, which I’m guessing you may have seen 3000 times as it apparently had the biggest media buy in history, so we cut it down to the good parts for your viewing pleasure (and sanity).  Additionally, Craig was the Aerial Coordinator on Inception, Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace, Aviator and countless others like Hot Tub Time Machine…? Oh IMDB, you air out everyone’s secrets!

"HOW did he get into this odd line of work," you ask?  Excellent query!  Craig got into the business following in his father’s footsteps. (Or "flysteps.")  He started flying when he was a teenager and moved into precision long line delivery for mining projects. That skill for precision flying translated into becoming a film pilot.  Craig has shot and flown in over 50 countries and loves nothing more than capturing a shot where people have no idea how it was done. The end shot in Eat Pray Love does that, as well as the snow plow shot in Klaus’s Ram spot where he had the camera suspended in front of the truck as it drives through virgin snow. Russian Arm can’t do it, regular heli mount can’t either… And THIS challenge is what keeps Craig flying.

See more of Craig’s work here!

Swimming with Sharks

There are few things that surprise me anymore while working for Aero as lots of crazy things happen in our offices and on our shoots.  (I mean "good crazy" not "angry with a hatchet crazy."  Just to be clear.)  So, yesterday I’m reading through emails and I get one from Lance O’Conner, Owner and EP of Aero who’s in the Santa Monica office.  There are a LOT of exclamation points and words in the subject line that aren’t fit for a classy blog such as this.   Lance is a spirited man, so I took it with a grain of salt… Until I saw the photos and put it all together.

Let me explain:  Aero director, Klaus Obermeyer, decided to hang out with some great white sharks. No, this is not code.  And no, not in a Kevin Spacey/crazed assistant sort of way either.  I mean this LITERALLY. Klaus was in shark infested waters. On purpose. What’s more insane... I wasn’t at all surprised.

Let me explain further: When I first met Klaus, I knew he was a pretty ballsy kind of guy.  It was 2003 and I was still on the agency side of life, and was shooting a surfing spot with him. On Day 2 of knowing Klaus, we’re on a boat off the coast of Tahiti. (It’s a tough gig, but someone’s gotta do it.) Behind us, we were towing a small speedboat that we were going to use for the shoot. The speedboat was owned by a local who ran surf camps and was a good friend of Klaus, who is also an avid surfer (of course). 

Clockwipe to 45 minutes into the trip to our location when a HORRIBLE storm hits. It was basically the beginning credits to Gilligan’s Island. We were all getting tossed around like popcorn in a hot popper and unlike the passengers on the SS Minnow, I'd not packed a years worth of clothing for a 3 hour tour.  In short, panic set in, which was not at all quelled when Lance leaned over and told me, “Just don’t fall in the water, there are sharks out there.” AWESOME.  (However, on this trip I learned that even though I’m not a strong swimmer, I am GREAT at hiding in the corner of a boat and whimpering.) 

The situation only got worse. Two minutes later, the speedboat comes untethered from our boat. The owner looks near tears, as he’d been saving up for this boat, and it was the first time taking it out, and now it’s about to be lost at sea. So what happened next, you ask?  KLAUS JUMPS IN THE WATER.  When I heard a giant SPLOOSH, I poked out from my huddled position and yell to Lance, “Did the director just jump in the shark infested water during a giant storm?!?” Lance replies, “Oh sure! He needs to get his friend’s boat.” I quickly envisioned the mounting paperwork explaining to the production insurance as to why we couldn’t shoot since our director was eaten by a shark… But, like all ballsy heros, Klaus emerged from the water unscathed with the speedboat safe and sound and I swear I could hear a John Williams score in the background. Later on, like any good producer, I questioned Klaus about why he thought jumping into water with sharks was a good idea and he brushed it off, “Oh, they’re just Tiger Sharks…” Oh sure, like that makes it a Koi pond, mister.

Back to the present… lunch time at the Aero office. Skip Short (another Owner/EP in Santa Monica, and helicopter pilot) goes for an afternoon fly in his chopper. He calls Klaus saying that he’s spotted some sharks off the coast. Klaus runs out of his house, gets in his boat and Skip guides him from the sky to the point in the ocean where the Great Whites are swimming. Klaus then kayaks out to them (because you can’t just motorboat up on a shark, you know.) 

Here are the photos…. There aren’t words….. 

I'm just glad he didn't jump in... but I haven't opened up today's emails yet.  I'll keep you posted.

I See London, I See France....

When Klaus Obermeyer was devising the idea for the Klaus Cam, I can say with about 99% certainty he never thought, “This will be great for an underwear spot!” But this latest Fruit of the Loom spot from The Richards Group is not your average undies commercial.   It’s epic.  It’s gorgeous.  It’s hilarious.  And it's running in cinemas starting today!

Watch the full commercial HERE!

If you thought being a Fruit of the Loom band member was a cushie job, think again.  Being able to wear a fruit suit and a leotard in the heat of Death Valley can’t be easy.  But these guys are pros… and this is why Febreze was invented. 

It was an amazing shoot as you can imagine. Here are some highlights!  Thanks to Ron Henderson, from The Richards Group, for his amazing photographs.  

If only all clotheslines had this view, 

doing laundry wouldn't be so bad.

Klaus and Rachelle Wood in Mantan de Oro in Los Osos, CA

FOTL Band: They do their own stunts. 

Gorgeous shot of Rachelle.

There really isn't a "bad" photo of her.

I knew I should have bought stock in clothes pins...

Klaus flying the helicopter.

(Never mind the Band-Aid...)

Klaus Cam at the Dumont Dunes in Baker, CA

When in Rome...

Aero Film excels in client services.

Time to shoot the underpants...

Klaus looking bad-ass.

(Again, never mind that Band-Aid...)

Klaus and his Cam fly off into the sunset.

CREDITS

Cast:

Rachelle Wood: Female muse

Brandon Quinn: Male pants wearer

Rad Daily: Apple, piano

Wayne Wilderson: Purple Grapes, bass

Richard Horvitz: Green Grapes, guitar

Gene Steichen: Leaves, drums

Agency Creative team:

Creative Directors

Ron Henderson and Dennis Walker

Producer:

Sheri Cartwright

Post Production:

Charlieuniformtango 

http://www.charlieuniformtango.com/

Editor:

Jack Waldrip