Blue Angles Homecoming Airshow Shot in Super-Slow Motion
Above, is a link to a video I recently shot at Pensacola Naval Air Station. This Navy Base is the home of the US Navy's flight demonstration team known as the Blue Angles. And Pensacola Naval Air Station is also considered the "Cradle of Naval Aviation.". The base used to house several of the US Navy's seaplanes as that aircraft preceded the use of aircraft carriers.
The Homecoming Airshow celebrates the Blue Angles end of their touring season where they perform in over 60 shows a year. And this show also precedes the holiday season and allows the pilots and support crews to be home during this time of year.
Of course there was a lot more to see than just the Navy's Blue Angles. The show is free to the public. And there is plenty of room for people to set up portable chairs. There is a festival-like feel to the entire event as there are food vendors, sponsor tents, and a PA system playing music.
This is the first time I've shot video of an airshow on Pensacola NAS. But, this is the 3rd time I've shot video of the Blue Angles. The 2 previous times was at the Pensacola Beach Airshow that is a big annual event along the Gulf Coast that draws over 100,000 people. And I caution people if you ever want to attend a Blue Angles Show on Pensacola Beach, that you should either make reservations to stay on the beach, or get to the beach early as traffic is intense.
Also, this video was the first time I shot an airshow with an over-the-shoulder rig. This allowed me to easily follow the action as I could twist my body to follow the flight paths of the aircraft and keep the camera relatively level. Tracking fast moving aircraft with a camera is perhaps the most difficult thing I have shot with my Sony FS5. And the over-the-shoulder rig makes it easier.
My equipment is a Sony PXW-FS5. It has a Super 35 Exmor CMOS sensor. And for most of the video I was shooting in 240 frames per second super slow motion at 1080p HD. I also shot in Pro Cine picture profile. And I color corrected in DaVinci Resolve with a Kodak LUT, (Look up table), to give the video a film-like look. I also shot in manual focus as auto focus would not be able to properly track such fast moving objects. I did this by switching off auto-focus, (duh), and manually focusing on an object that was an equal distance from my camera as was the flight path of the airshow aircraft.
Howdy there fakeinternetnews! Man, I was mesmerized by your video! lol. I really was, it was magnificent and mind-boggling. All the planes are great but you the Blue Angels are my favorite and you did such a great job of following them that it made the video really special.
Do you do other big events to video or just air shows?
Thank janton! I used an over-the-shoulder rig with my Sony FS5 Digital Cinema Camera. I was shooting in 240 frames per second super slow motion. This helped me track the aircraft much easier as I could twist my waist and track them smoothly as they flew by.
I do all sorts of events, commercials, shows, documentaries, and classic narrative filmmaking.
Glad you liked it.
howdy again fakeinternetnews! oh it was great, no wonder it was so professional! keep up the good work!
Hi fakeinternetnews,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!
wooww, great video, I have seen programs where they have passed the trajectory of the Blue Angles. I definitely like the lut of the video, it looks very seventy, nice aspect.
i notice a lot of dexterity to use your FS-5...i like the open and closed planes of how you follow the planes. excellent.
Greetings brother, thank you for sharing.
peace and love
Thanks! I was using an over-the-shoulder rig. It helped me track the action.
The F-18 is a good airframe. But the US Air Force demonstrated the F22 at this show. And you could see how different it flies with it's directional thrusters. Maybe in the future the Blue Angles will use the F35 which also has directional thrusters. But, the F18 Super Hornets still make for a great show.
Hi Anthony! Thanks for sharing your video here. That was really fun watching those metal birds in the air.
I like the exhibition of the first aircraft. I just wonder how the pilot stayed sane with all those twists and turns in a very small plane like that. The background music suddenly switched starting with the second aircraft show. I thought I wanted to stand up and dance with the beat. 😃
I love the US Navy plains synchronized flying at 2:20, 2:48, 3:01, 3:23 and 3:55. Then they became six at 4:08! It got more exciting towards the end and I loved it all the more!
Yes, I took note of the time stamps when I specifically liked the exhibit. 😃 I just hoped there is an elevated platform to take photos and video to get rid of those heads of people in front.
Thanks again for sharing your video!
Hi Macoolette,
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I love Surf Guitar music. It was very popular in the early 1960's. And it has a following worldwide. Actually the band that plays this track is from Russia!
The synchronization is something that the Blue Angles have been doing for a long time. They refer to themselves as a precision flying team. They always start the show with the "diamond" formation and two opposing "solo" pilots. Toward the end of the show the solo pilots join the diamond and make a delta formation.
And Skip Stewart, the stunt plane pilot in the bi-plane is one of the best pilots in the world. He does things with airplanes I didn't know was possible. It's even more incredible that he built that airplane from an old aircraft he found in a barn.
1960s! I did not realize the song was that golden. It does not sound like it.
The delta formation makes the ending more memorable. They know how to save the best for last.
Have you ever flown a plane?
No I am not a pilot. But when I was in the US Marines I was a parachutist. This is also known as Airborne. And our parachutes could be steered with toggles and you could "fly" them and land where you wanted.
That parachuting must be adventurous. I wish I can try that. I've been wishing to do skydiving but I wonder when. I heard of only one place here in our country that the said activity is allowed but then timing seem so elusive. One day, hopefully...
Where do you live? None of my jumps were skydiving. All my jumps were static-line. This is where the parachute opens automatically from a chord attached to the airplane. Once to the parachute is open you actually fly the shoot by steering it. That's my favorite part is the soaring in the air. I also want to try para-gliding.
I am from the Philippines.
Oh yes, yours were static jumps. What I really mean is anything like that coming from the air and going down. Either skydiving or parachuting. I only tried parasailing which I still came from the ground (water actually) and tied to a boat.
Tony that is awesome! I really enjoy the whole video, the editing, the music, everything. Is not easy at all to film planes with a long lens and you did it great. I loved the lut, it has an old film style with a great saturation and chroma values. The 240 fps is great on that camera, I have never shot with the FS-5, I really want to try it sometime, is a to-do.
I highly recommend the Sony FS5 for anyone who wants to get their hands on a professional camera. It's excellent for this kind of thing. I haven't even made the 4K upgrade yet. But I plan on it soon. This is my third attempt at shooting the Blue Angles. And yes, I love good Surf Guitar! If you love aviation and the beach, I recommend the Blue Angles airshow on Pensacola Beach. Generally about 1 week after the 4th of July. Here's the video I shot this summer without the over-the-shoulder rig. You can tell the tracking isn't as clean. And I shot it with settings that were not optimal for the conditions at the beach.
My favorite part is the one that begins at 4:09. I love such shows and I have visited a few of them already. It amazes me to see how fast and synchronized they fly. I also love the various patterns that they can create, especially with the colored trail.
I like how you edited the video. The parts are perfectly cut and the pieces are shown smoothly. I also enjoyed the dynamic music.
Were you commissioned to take this video? I'm just curious as it looks professional and I can imagine that you work for some TV channel :)
Thank you for sharing! It was nice to attend the event with you! :)
Glad you enjoyed the video. As a recent graduate of Full Sail University with a Bachelor or Science in Digital Cinematography. I have professional gear with my Sony FS5 digital cinema camera.
I did not get paid for this shoot. I shoot things like this to attract business. And also, as a long time resident of Pensacola, this is the home of the Blue Angles. And it's always a great time.
Wow dude, you did an incredible job following those planes! It’s amazing. So I’ve actually seen the blue angels once but by accident. I was driving to the Florida Keys with my then girlfriend and we saw them fly over several times. They’re so great to see live!
Love your slow motion stuff. It captures it so well. Have you ever used the GH5? I’m curious how it would compare. Looks like you’re able to shoot at a much higher frame rate though than it can. I think the max I can set it is 96? I’d have to check on that.
Love the LUT you chose. Gives it a really authentic older look. How do you like DaVinci? I’ve never used it but always hear great things about it. Hard to learn? I’m used to using Adobe Premiere and After Effects.
Thanks for sharing man! Always fun to see other filmmakers out there make great stuff. Cheers!
The Sony FS5 has super slow motion speeds up to 480 frames a second in 1080p. I was shooting 240 fps in 1080.
Premiere gave me some issues last year and Adobe's tech support was horrible. When it works well, I love Premiere. And I keep up to date on it as it is so popular.
But, DaVinci resolve seems a lot more powerful to me. And, while I am only using the free version, I plan on buying the $300 version. I also like it's one price and not a monthly subscription fee.
It's actually pretty easy once you get a few tutorials on it. It's "node based" instead of layer based. And I like the color correction suite a lot.
I'll have to check it out then. I don't mind Premiere but it can be quite buggy. It's possible that part of that is due to the fact that I haven't updated in a while (I have some operating system restraints). Still, I'd like something that doesn't crash every time I scroll through a list of LUTs.
Anyway, your vid looked awesome. I'll have to look into that Sony FS5. Sounds pretty amazing. Cheers!
The bug I found in Premiere was when I updated it, Adobe felt the need to move things around and change random standards I took for granted. And over time, I got tired of them doing this. The only reason I found that made any sense to me was that want their customers to upgrade tech support so you can call them and learn about the program they recently changed that, by the way, you are paying for every month.
And DaVinci Resolve always works.
Yeah, that monthly fee is pretty lame. It's just the price I've committed to paying in order to continue my profession. Kind of crazy but I guess we all have our tools.
I'll be sure to check out DaVinci though. Thanks for the info. Cheers!
I've seen these planes at the airshow at the Miramar base in San Diego. You give a much better view with your rig and slow mo. You must have been exhausted after this, but I think it was worth it.
I had a folding chair to sit in between flights. And It wasn't very tiring. The weather was cool. And there were a lemonaide stand directly behind me. There were also all kinds of food vendors.
The airshow that wears me out is the Pensacola Beach Blue Angles Airshow that happens every year a week after the 4th of July. Generally the temperature is high 90's with 100% humidity. So the heat index is 110-120F. You sweat buckets! And I always use one of those FrogsTogs neck coolers willed with ice. But, I am always worn out at the end of one of those shows.
Shooting with the Sony FS5, I mostly used 240 frames per second super-slow motion in 1080p. This particular show I was using an over-the-shoulder rig and it allowed me to tract the aircraft smoothly by twisting at my waist.
You are hardcore! The results are sure worth it. Every airshow I have been to - maybe 3-4 - has been exhausting. If I had a big camera on me, I do not think I could make it! I'm glad to see the wonderful pics and film though :)
Yes, the Pensacola Beach Airshow are exhausting. And honestly, the Homecoming Show was so much easier, I am not sure I will lug my camera out to the beach again next year.
I love Airshow, especially to be with kids, they are absolutely amazed with the noise and that fast flying planes sometimes with the colorful smokes that they use to make in special order to reflect something like flag colors or so. I like your equipment, that makes filming and making pictures much easier. Looking at the picture of it that reminded me a robot :)
Very nice complement that my shooting was so smooth it reminded you of a robot!