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How in the HELL?

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Cracker is right. It's done with a very simple pulley system.

Okay, not so simple. Very difficult to rig out there, but simple
in design.
 
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You can also use a stabilized boom lift and a stedicam for this. They have one that mechanically unpacks and claws into the ground like a transformer. Only 6 grand, and some permits for destruction of public property.
 
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Nate North said:
You can also use a stabilized boom lift and a stedicam for this. They have one that mechanically unpacks and claws into the ground like a transformer. Only 6 grand, and some permits for destruction of public property.
Click to expand...

The first portion of that shot would have been possible with a TechnoCrane-type telescoping arm, but you couldn't get that high in a cramped space like that, nor could you have that dramatic tilt-down without getting the base in shot. Having said that, I wouldn't mind working with a crew prepared to lug a TechnoCrane through a jungle…
 
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Dude, it unpacks from a land crawler into an upside down claw base, the thing is like a tank. I'm not sure where to link you to, I stumbled across it years ago while shopping for boom lifts.
 
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Definitely some cable/pulley shots in there.

If you can find the short BTS segment at the end of the Insects episode of the BBC series Life from 2009, they show how they rig a camera on a remote head to fly into trees to shoot monarch's in Mexico.

Awesome stuff.
 
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THAT'S the program I was thinking of, David. I was going to mention
it but I couldn't for the life of me remember what show it was. It was amazing
how they rigged the cameras for that series.
 
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;) I've always had a secret longing to do nature photography/videography. Maybe it's because I was a PBS/WGN kid oh so long ago.

The BBC nature docs in general have amazing photography work, but the "Life 2009" one in particular is ridiculous. They somehow manage to get macro photography of a tiny little fish that crawls up a several hundred foot waterfall. It's interesting, but those crews excel at getting amazing shots, often of things that haven't been filmed previously. I think the first footage of baboon's eating flamingos came from a BBC crew, iirc.

There's a really great but very depressing BTS segment at the end of the reptiles episode where the crew has to follow a water buffalo that is slowly dying from a komodo dragon bite.

I only watched the proper one, narrated by the Great Mr. Attenborough, so I don't know if the one released in the US is identical save for the narration - or if the bts segments are available with the Oprah version.

Edit:
The segments are called "Life; On Location." This one demonstrates how they did a time-lapse shot with a tracking element to it. MoCo time-lapse camera motion is awesome stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVeMJwiU1zw

Quick search only netted that one, but I bet the Insects one is out there somewhere.
 
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yeah its the "life" series ...

on location with the insects ... butterflies i think it was that they were using the crane/ pulley system... i have it at home some were...

its a great demonstration of money and patients and the best job ever!!!
 
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