Enola Gaye Smoke Grenades have been in my arsenal of gear to use for filming for a while. And I've been looking for the right location and idea to use them that conveyed a engaging short film. Along with my wife and some of my friends we went out to the desert in Utah and created some really stunning images. https://vimeo.com/146691449 I'm always trying to

We are happy to say that we are now operating the Freefly Alta. What this means for the client is we are now able to carry a large array of different cameras. from the smallest to cameras to cameras like the Red Dragon or Alexa Mini. Additionally the Freefly Alta can top mount the camera to get unique shots such as looking up a cliff

Early this morning I went to the newly built Payson Utah Temple to take some Photographs with my DJI Phantom 3. Here are two of the many pictures.   Interested in more full resolution pictures from this session, or any other session. Contact me at zac@helivatefilms.com.

I started working in the aerial film industry a couple years ago, but since then aerial footage has become common place and I wanted to think of something unique. I came up with the idea to try out an aerial long exposure using my DJI phantom 3. The results really peaked my interest. how I did it: Phantom 3 with an ISO of 400-800, shutter

A couple weeks ago I teamed up with Scott Winn aka ScottDW to test a prototype version of the Canon XC-10. I was impressed with image of the camera while using canon log. The camera is just a little heavier than the Panasonic GH4 which has been my go to camera. I love that the XC-10 is 300mbps in 4k, but I don't love the fact

For the past couple weeks I've been helping a buddy test his custom built 3D gimbal, It was built to carry two Panasonic 4k cameras. We had one major problem, and that was vibrations in the video. We were testing the video on the DJI S1000. There were two major problems, first problem was the folding props on the S1000. These props were impossible to

During the winter months it's extremely important to find a way to keep those Lipo batteries warm so that they can continue to perform. There are a couple effective ways to do this. The most effective is to find a square heating pad that you can place in your battery bag at the bottom. The only issue here is you will need a power source,

This post is a little different from the rest. It is dedicated to thank the team at Tech Strategies Inc. (TSI). TSI is a small business IT solution company dedicated to giving amazing service and at an affordable price. TSI built and hosts Helivate Films' website and provides us with email hosting and has never let us down.  It's not only that, besides the website and email, Tech

Its clearly understood that as an aerial cinematographer you have to go the distance to get the shot, but where is the line? While out filming for the first time on the Salt Flats in Bonneville Utah we had been asked to get glamour shots of the mountains in our down time. Our instructions were simple, go towards the mountains and be back to basecamp