Exterior: Helicopter zooms toward a looming cliff of clay and fractured limestone. The scene fills with the rock and begins rising up the cliff, until revealing the lip of the cliff and the plain above, and with it a man lying prone with a scoped rifle. The rifleman is aiming at some damn thing behind the helicopter and seems not to notice whatever is taking such an interest in him, but remains still as the camera halts a few feet above his body and slowly pans past him and back across the plain.
Just yesterday we couldn’t have shot that footage…and we still can’t because halfway through the shot the battery powering the gadget that controls the camera went dead – though thankfully the battery powering the very expensive quadcopter drone did not. Reshoot tomorrow.
Ian wanted me to control the drone and shoot him lying prone on the clifftop. From the viewpoint of the video audience that would have made much more sense. From the viewpoint of the guy who doesn’t want to be responsible for the drone’s welfare, it made no sense at all so I was the guy on top of the cliff. It’s a very simple RC gadget to use, wi-fi- and GPS-enabled to a fare thee well. If you get in trouble and spook, all you have to do is take your fingers off the joysticks and the drone will stop and hover in place. But I’m still not going to be the one who screws up and flies it into a cliff.
Yeah, it’s been a busy day and I’ve been away from the ‘pooter all day. Shit-shoveling at 7:30, then video stuff with unfamiliar hardware, then we zoomed off to the big town about 35 miles away for a hardware and grocery run. I’ve got some lumber to cover the vigas over my front window, which has a massive water leak I’ve been utterly unable to find. Hopefully this new impromptu awning – which will someday be the floor of the loft’s balcony/fire escape over the roof of the porch, will take the brunt of the rain when a Monsoon storm comes with a north wind which will likely happen several times in the next six weeks to two months. But it’s raining now, so I’m not going to install it today.
Some country music lyrics (Buck Owens’ voice in my head, I think) sprang unbidden: “I’m gonna be in the moooovies, They’re gonna make a big star outta meeee.” Joel, your description in the opening made me want to see the movie and I didn’t even know what it was about. That’s some right talent, there, man.
Dude, that’s the opening of half the adventure flicks ever shot. 🙂