Advice/suggestions Filming on boats

Hey my name is dan, Im going to be filming a 9 min promotional video for a yacht rental company in miami beach. Pretty simple concept they want to show off the interior/exterior of the boats but also from a consumers perspective.What i want to know is has anyone done anything similar or shot/filmed on a boat before any tips i might want to know?Lenses? etc
Because what comes to mind for me is obviously a lot of movement will be going on
(it's the ocean duh) and for the shots of the exterior we'll be following in another boat so would a tripod be enough for decent stabilization? Also one of the boats they want filmed is a speed boat designed by porsche so if your thinking c'mon kid "yacht" it's probably just gonna be cruising..nope! lol thank you ahead of time

I've not done a boat before but my assumption is a tripod isn't going to cut it. Some sort of handheld stabilisation should be better. From a rig to a Steadicam/glidecam if budget allows. Especially if it's not cruising as you say

I have both i'll just have to do some trial and error thanks for the response

Rent a gyro...

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #14641546
Rent a gyro...

...and if you can't do that, whatever you do don't use a tripod on a boat in a seaway. During the 80's when I was doing a lot of ocean racing we were given 16mm movie cameras for one long race. Almost everyone used the cameras fixed to something on deck and got the normal boring pictures of everything static except the horizon which gyrated around to varying degrees.

Fortunately, due to a tip from a friend some time earlier, I spent a bit of time standing on the end of the bowsprit, holding the camera as best I could in line with the horizon, while my schooner rolled wildly around that axis in the Southern Ocean swells.

When they put the footage together for the movie of the race, that was the clip they used. I only wish I had done more with that movie camera, but the ones they gave us had very small magazines and waterproof housings that had to be dismantled to be reloaded.

There is usually somewhere on a yacht where you can brace yourself from the hips down and let your upper body move freely. Remember, the horizon is your friend and is the only real reference in your images....and those looking at your footage will be more comfortable if it stays more or less horizontal!

Inside quarters will likely be very tight, what camera are you using? Depending on the sensor size you'll likely want an ultrawide lens. Also, i'd personally shoot the video in 30fps rather than 24fps as it will give you more of an HD documentary look rather than the smooth film look.

Ricardo thank you i'll keep that in mind for sure and kento im using a 7D that came to mind i'll definitely have a wide angle lens with me

Gyro as FlyingPhotog said, would go a long way stabilizing your footage. Especially for a light camera as 7D. Also using a wide angle with IS would help as well. Something like a 17-55 2.8 IS, but the downside to that lens is the build quality (no weatherproofing). Getting action shots at 60fps would also give you a chance slow it down in post therefore stabilizing the footage as shake is not that noticeable in slomo footage.

Hope this helps

DJR222 wrote in post #14641313
Also one of the boats they want filmed is a speed boat designed by porsche so if your thinking c'mon kid "yacht" it's probably just gonna be cruising..nope! lol thank you ahead of time

If the budget will allow it you might want to consider renting a helicopter as chasing and filming a fast boat or any from of decent size boat makes for some quite impressive footage.

These guys are out of North Perry and have reasonable rates, or if you are down South there are at least two rental companies out of Kendall airfield one of which is Helicopters Over Miami who I am sure can help you out.

http://www.globalairgr​oup.net/Special_Event_​Promotions.html

Wayne

Thanks guys this helps a lot i really appreciate the advice