Crane shot needed for student film. Anyone know of a cheap way to get a great crane shot for a movie?

Question

An idea was posted to rent an Aerial lift bucket, but prices aren't good enough. Cheap filming, but all the better to learn how to be creative. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Regardless of how you end up doing this, safety should be the first consideration.



You could rent scaffolding, which should be considerably cheaper, but requires a lot of labor.



If the shot is outdoors, you could find a suitable elevation (hill) to shoot down from and use telephoto for a close effect. Depending on hight required, you could rent lineman's gear and shoot from a telephone pole (NOT a power pole). You would need permission from the phone company for climbing their pole.



Last, rewrite the script and write out the crane shot.

Answer 2

Obviously it will depend on the height you wish to attain and is it a travelling dolly shot,, a little bit more info will help,, like what type of camera,video/film, camera head, Satchler, Miller, lighting. These details would be handy to make a practical suggestion.

Answer 3

a pulley and harness tied to the camera man.

Answer 4

ask for a job as a builder.

Answer 5

a crane what?