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!