Jorg Badura recently traveled to the Florida Keys to shoot an editorial feature on Infiniti’s G37S for Adeyaka magazine, which is distributed in Europe. It was two days of brilliant sunshine, gleaming steel, and…helicopter chases. Knowing the client wanted dynamic images of the sporty new convertible, Badura decided to board a helicopter and have a race of sorts with the car on Seven Mile Bridge, which stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Strait. Here, he reflects on this “exhilarating and fun” shoot, which also gave him the chance to try out the video capabilities of the new Canon 5D Mark II.
Why did you want to shoot from the helicopter?
Chasing the car from the air, I was able to get these graphic angles. The bridge and the open water just called for it. We had cast two people, and they were driving the car. Communication between the car, the heli pilot, and me was limited—we had to use hand signals. It gets hairy at 80 to 100 MPH, but it was exciting.
80 to 100 MPH! Did they get a speeding ticket?
We tried to stay out of everybody’s way, but we did get funny faces from some of the locals. The police were around, but they kind of just smiled at us.
Did you shoot any other setups?
We shot some semi-rig shots with a boom from another convertible at a decent speed, cornering winding empty roads. My assistant, Don, proved to be a great driver, never losing his cool. The high-speed drive-bys were interesting, and shooting the interior while driving was challenging. But the wind going through the woman’s hair just really conveys the sense of freedom you get in a convertible.
What kind of video footage did you shoot?
Rough. Reference. Fun. Trying the camera in video mode the way I shoot with it for action stills. Creating the sense of a race or between a car and a heli. The camera was surprisingly easy to handle, and it is HD. I am sure that with the right production, you can shoot high-end material with it. For this shoot, it was not about that. I really just wanted to test what I can shoot with a brand new tool with very little time and still create something fun. The non-giro handheld effect out of the heli just adds to the action.
What did you like about this assignment?
Shooting and driving the G37S brought back great memories for me: 1990, my first car in the USA—a 1929 kit-car Bugatti. Dark racing-green metallic, with a windshield the size of half a Frisbee. I lived in Miami, and I would take long drives into the Keys and the Everglades just to feel the spectacular air, saturated with humidity and salt. To feel the wind and the sun. To feel this freedom. I will never forget it; it became part of my body memory. And I am grateful for this shoot bringing it back to me once again, this time in a modern way.
