Let me tell you with some delay how it was on Red Bull Open Ice 2011 Rakitna. Event was scheduled to happen on February 5th on the lake Rakitna. Actually it was originally scheduled two weeks before in Ljubljana on Koseški bajer but it was too warm for the ice to form thick enough. Rakitna is located higher and the climate is colder here but warm weather changed the event from ice hockey to hockey on water. Every play field was heavy damaged after every game and the organizers were working hard to enable the smooth course of the game.
We are getting some slider shots near the goal for the clip (Domen Smerdel in yellow and photographer Samo Vidic)
I was the designated crane operator.
We used home made crane from the guys at pejmodejmo.com and I was the crane operator. I had some hard times recording with it cause I had no external monitor and had to see the action on the monitor on the camera which was difficult to see in both highest and lowest position of the crane because of its angle. The other obstacle was blinding sun which prevented me to see the monitor at all.
But that was not all. We also didn’t have remote triggering for the camera so I had to lower the camera every time, go to the front, press record, go back, set the framing, record the shot, lowered the camera and press stop. Every time. This was no workflow for action shots during game. Nonetheless I got some great shots of scoring goals in slow motion so I didn’t feel so useless.
Crane was also used for some jib shots.
Goal
And again. I really had some luck with deciding behind which goal to stand.
Pucks were flying all over and you had to be careful.
You can see the whole clip streaming from Red Bull’s official site below.