Helicopter Pilot Barth Bartholomae As a director/cinematographer, I’ve shot numerous scenes from helicopters. When you’re young, you don’t realize how dangerous things can be. Originally we used the Tyler 35mm Middle Mount, then technology progressed to the Wescam35 gyro stabilized camera system. On dozens of occasions, Barth Bartholomae was the pilot of his Jet Ranger helicopter. When filming aerial scenes, the pilot is as much the cameraman as the actual camera operator. The pilot has to safely maneuver the aircraft so the cameraman only has to do slight trims or corrections. Barth was one of the best, having flown for numerous movies, TV shows and commercials. He was a very safe man who knew when to fly and when to say no. Barth was killed in an unusual accident that resulted from the failure of a critical engine part, a few seconds after takeoff. In 1997, on a project with me and Wescam operator, Dave Norris, I brought along a small miniDV video camera and took a few scenes of Barth doing what he loved best… flying. I didn’t know it would be the last time I’d see him.

 

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