Expedition Filming Equipment

By Paul Hart,

As we have suggested in many of the blogs, it is one of our intentions to be able to capture the story of our ascent of Makalu in a video format and then provide a detailed video diary for the website and also a post expedition documentary. Obviously, no such account would be complete without at least some footage from the top of the mountain. While it is relatively easy to capture pictures and film along the whole route and then provide them to you after the actual event, it is an entirely different business to try to capture footage and provide it back to the UK audience for viewing effectively ‘live’. However, this is what we intend to do. One of our objectives is to have the summit team film their approach to the summit and beam this footage live down back to the Base Camp, where Simon, the Base Camp Manager, will relay it back to the UK in real time.

The footage will go onto a system called the DNI which can be accessed at http://www.dni.mod.uk/

If you want to see it live then all you need to do is register with the DNI organisation and then you will have access to the footage. We are hoping that many of the major terrestrial TV stations, both national and local will pick up on the story and present it as a good news piece for the UK – after all it isn’t everyday that a national team achieve something which hasn’t been done before. Believe me, after a couple of days at 20,000ft doing load carrying between camps with very imminent danger all around, I believe the effort of taking on the challenge of Makalu is pretty heroic stuff.

Anyway, back to the challenge of taking on the role of ‘video man’ and filming and transmitting that film from the mountain. The biggest problem is always going to be powering the devices we want to use at the extreme altitudes we are going to. At temperatures of -20C the average battery doesn’t last very long and so we have had to develop a number of solutions to the thorny problem of powering the equipment effectively. The first option has been to select to use only Lithium Batteries which give much better performance in cold climates. In addition to this we have a range of solar charging devices produced by POWERTRAVELLER that will recharge these batteries and these chargers can be taken effectively all the way up the mountain so we should be able to charge at each Camp.

With regards to the filming and transmission of the footage, we have been really fortunate in enlisting the support of a number of companies who produce specific solutions to our needs. From the Camera angle (pardon the pun), we are using a variety of products all of which are TV broadcast quality. We are using Sony DSR-PD150P Cameras for the major component of our filming as these are both very functional in unfavourable environments and they are relatively light. Currently there is one of these cameras at Camp 1 (20,000ft) and if you have followed the video on the web-site then the majority of the footage you have seen will have been captured by one of these cameras. However, it will be difficult if not impossible to get one of these cameras to the summit of Makalu so instead we are using two alternative options. The first is a Sony DogCam which is effectively just a camera lens that transmits a video signal. This will connect to a specially constructed transmission device produced specifically for us by VISLINK PLC.

VISLINK, who are world leaders in global transmissions technology, have been stoic supporters of the expedition since the plan to send live film back to the UK was first conceived. They have produced a little box of tricks which weighs about 1� Kg and is no bigger than your average Wilber Smith novel. All the cameras are capable of linking into this box, which then transmits the video signal from the camera down to a receiver at the Base Camp. Here, VISLINK equipment will receive and then adapt that signal to allow it to go onto our DELL computers. The signal will be stored on to the computers prior to being transmitted. The reason that is stored first is because the cost of transmitting video signal is relatively expensive (particularly for an tightly funded expedition like ours), and so LIVEWIRE PLC have developed software that compresses the video and allows its transmission at much reduced cost to the DNI system. For the majority of our video though, we are simply using LIVEWIRE technology alongside another company called NSSL to send our video streams back to the UK. (As an aside, this also gives us our internet connection and email capability).

The final cameras we are using are GoPro products. These are highly specialised cameras designed to be used in any hazardous or demanding environment. The cameras have a special housing that is almost impregnable; they are waterproof down to 100ft and they can be used from the Arctic to the Desert. They also have a very special lens which gives a 170 degree field of view so that you can stand upright only a couple of feet in front of them and still be fully seen in the frame of view. These cameras are used extensively amongst the surfing community, where they are attached to the front of the surfboard and used to take pictures and video of the surfer riding the waves. They are only a couple of cm cubed in size and weigh next to nothing.

All these systems will be used at different levels on the mountain with the hopeful culmination of a filming of the final stages of the ascent of Makalu and a transmission of that footage back to the UK in what will be effectively ‘real time’.

For further details of any of the equipment I have talked about then visit the following websites:

http://www.gopro.com/, http://www.nssl.com/, http://www.vislink.com/, http://www.sony.com/, http://www.powertraveller.com/, http://www.binaryvision.com/

If you decide to buy any equipment from these suppliers then please mention our name as this will give them some indication of the value of their support to the Makalu 2010 expedition.

Our specific thanks go to the following individuals for their comprehensive and highly valued support;

Mr James Wilcox and Mr Laurence Venner of VISLINK PLC, Mr Chris Lock of LIVEWIRE PLC, Mr Chris Naegle of GoPro, Mr Ray Adams of NSSL PLC, Vicki Parlour of POWERTRAVELLER LTD, Niamh Walsh of Binary Vision Ltd

Components of our high altitude filming activity – Sony DogCam, GoPro Camera, and Vislink Transmitter.

From the massive to the tiny – Makalu acts as the backdrop for our GoPro Camera, which we intend to use to capture video footage from the summit of the mountain.

The Sony DogCam – as long as your index finger and about as thick. To be used at the summit of Makalu to capture the drama of the first British ascent of the mountain.

The Sony DSR-PD150P Camera – One of which is currently sat at 20,000ft and is working perfectly in the most unfavourable of conditions. Operating at temperatures of -20C would break most cameras but not our Sony, which has already captured dramatic footage of life in the high Himalayas.

The VISLINK Transmitter – About the size of your average lunch box with just as many goodies inside! This piece of kit weights about 1� Kg and will allow us to transmit the real time footage from the mountain back to the UK in association with LIVEWIRE PLC.

’Looking towards Mordor’ – The first image captured using the video transmissions technology from off the mountain between ABC and Camp 1. Although just a photo at this stage, it gives an idea of the quality of the picture which can be transmitted.

As a disclaimer, I am not a specialist in any of the fields that these companies work in. Therefore, my explanation is a designed to provide a layman’s perspective only. For comprehensive technical details please speak directly to the individual companies.