Superfletch

Here's one a buddy took of me working. I'm the one with the red grippers. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I rarely log right away... sometimes I go several days. My protrack keeps track of all my jumps and sometimes I'll have manifest print me out a report so I will know who was on the load with me to spark my memory. However, I do log every jump and right down as much detail as I can remember except on tandems which all get logged as (S.T.F.B.S.) - Same Tandem Filming Bull Shit. :P Everyone that has ever read my log book thinks it reads more like a novel. No one thought I would continue doing it this long. 925 Jumps and counting. Anyway, I don't have any plans of changing anytime soon. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

My priorities when filming tandem videos is the tandems safety first and foremost. If at any point during the skydive I feel like my being there jeapordises the tandem in any way then I leave. I've had to do this twice. Granted it was a long, long time ago, but I go into every jump with that same attitude. My second priority is to keep the tandem in frame and get there fast. If at any point during the exit some separation occurs I fly up to within 6 feet of the tandem as fast as I can. That gets a good shot of the tandem flying through the air. Then I move in slowly as not to scare the tandem master or the passenger. I try to keep at least 3-4 feet of separation most of the entire dive. I used to get right in and capture their face full frame but I've come to the conclusion that the best "tandem" video is of the whole tandem flying and not just a close up of the face. Or at least that's my opinion and I've had absolutely no complaints from any customers or any of my peers... ever. During deployment I barrel roll onto my back or drop into a sit and film the entire deployment until full inflation while keeping the tandem in frame and keeping my extremities out of frame. No one wants to see my feet during their deployment, especially if they are accidentally covering the tandem... :P All this makes for a nice simple tandem video that the customers can share with all their friends. My customers love my work and that's what matters most to me. When I want to get "crazy" I go do that with my skydving buddies and we watch it and pat each other on the back. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

That's what I'm talking about!!! COUCH FREAKS ROCKS!!! Dollar Daze! Dollar Daze... Demand that the poll be updated!!! OPTION ? - Dollar Daze Boogie with the Couch Freaks! That's my vote and I'll be there for sure! Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

We fold the pilot chute in a manner as to be able to feed out the bridle a little at a time as need to keep the bridle tight against the students body while they climb out. I use the ROL pouch as it is easier to retreive in a Cessna. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

7 : 1 : 11 Had a great weekend... made lots of jumps... would have been nice to make one in less than 20mph winds though, but hell, you can't have everything... :) Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

How about buying a reserve canopy? Do you need one? It's a thought... If you're assembling a rig, you're gonna need a reserve and you don't usually downsize the reserve unless you're downsizing the container. I'd say a PD 176-R might be right up your ally... Then you can pick up a used main and downsize it a couple of times before you ever think about downsizing your container and reserve. If you're stuck on getting a main, then depending on your size and weight (ASK YOUR INSTRUCTOR) I'd say you couldn't go wrong with getting a Spectre 170 because they hold a resail value like you would not believe. Just my .02 Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

"Redlight" - After taking a CASA load 3 miles off airport... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Ask your instructors... no one on here will be able to give you advice that would be beneficial. No one has seen you skydive. Height and Weight are only a part of the equation when deciding gear. There are other variables that must be taken into consideration that only your instructors will be able to answer for you. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Plan "B" Inc. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Quantum Leap in Sullivan, MO has a very nice Twin Otter. Only time I ever jumped it there were only 8 of us on board. Thanks again guys for sending it up. You all rock up there!!! Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

hehehehe... amen. I just recently got my AFF, however, I filmed a bunch last year. The most memorable one I filmed was this dude that just kept waiving off. On the ground he says, I didn't pull because you guys wouldn't leave. His dive was PERFECT up until that point. That was the advice that both of the instructors walked away with that day. We all got a chuckle for weeks. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Here at Freefall Express in Mt. Vernon, MO we do things a bit differently than you experienced. As one of the videographers on staff I like to think I have integrety and my DZO does as well. I have a satisfaction guarantee myself. Only difference is, if I'm satisfied I charge. If I'm disatisfied I do not. I'm usually my worst critic so this is a more than fair guarantee and protects me from some perfectionist that is expecting a holywood production. If I totally blow one... which to date, I have TWICE, then I do what I did and GIVE the customer what I got for free and offer to pay for their next tandem so that I can get a little redemption. Now, I'm not the only videographer on staff here and the other guys may not be as gung ho as I am. I have seen my DZO half price some footage that was less than spectacular at times and if the student still didn't want it then he just refunded the money. It sounds to me like your friend is getting the short end of the stick here. You NEED to approach the DZO. Show him the footage and get his thoughts on the matter. If he doesn't do the right thing then I would blast him and the cameraman on an open forum so the rest of the planet knows what type of people they are dealing with. BAD VIDEOS will happen. It's the nature of the beast. Timing has to be perfect and flying has to be good for a quality product and that simply isn't always the case. However, when the unthinkable happens, then I am of the opinion, that the camera flyer needs to step up and do the right thing. If nothing else... it seems to me that a refund is in order. On the other side of the coin though... the customer needs to be made aware that there are a lot of variables to getting a good video and sometimes unforseen things happen and that person shouldn't expect anything more than a refund (if he's do one) unless the camera flyer wants to go ABOVE and BEYOND. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Oooooooh... That's an interesting concept. We use a Sony (forget the model number). That sure would reduce the costs even further. I'll have to check into that. Thanks for the heads up. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

We have a small Cessna dropzone in Missouri. All our video guys shoot digital stills and burn the video to DVD (unless the customer specifically requests VHS). The way we do it is like this... Each video we dub we add a 2 minute leader to the video. We do this at the time of editing rather than beforehand so it doesn't show up as a separate chapter that can be easily skipped. Basically it MAKES the customer view our commercial and anyone he shows his video to. While the leader is recordering we tell the PC to burn the CD-R (less than 2 minutes to setup). The CD-R is burned and finalized before I finish editing the video everytime. It's as simple as that. Doesn't take any extra time and is a lot less expensive than buying Film. While the DVD is finalizing I grab the burned CD-R and label it and find a sleeve and always have a few minutes to spare as I wait. The PC we use is USB 2.0 and we burn with Nero Burner. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

My best advice to you would to be more proactive in the skydive and less reactive. As soon as you see the student "about" to tumble, start your dive. If you wait for him to tumble then you are already behind the curve. Unfortunately, experience is the key here and by the time you have the experience to notice what the student is going to do before he does it, then you won't be asking questions like this anymore... hehehehe Good luck my friend. Don't worry, you'll get better and faster... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Just finnished the course here in Z-Hills with Bram and Elly. Tough course. Very humbling. I cannot give Bram enough praise. I've learned more from working with Bram the past few weeks than I have in most of my years of skydiving. Bram is very committed to teaching and creating teachers. If you ever have the opportunity to get any kind of coaching with Bram you should jump at the chance... heheheheh pun intended. I was floored by his professionalism, his ability, his post jump recall, his teaching style... you name it. Thank Bram and Elly... I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Had a tandem master at my dz try to fart on the plane at altitude to gross every one out that shit himself. We still give him shit for that... hehehehe He's a sick bastard and deserves it. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Tim... don't buy the camera at Larwrence Photo... they'll rape you on the price probably. Anyhow, you should be able to get it pretty cheap from Best Buy, Circuit City or Wal-Mart. If you go mail order, you'll get it even cheaper but then you are taking the chance of getting burned. Do a search on this forum about it and you'll get a lot of good info. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Here in Missouri, FFE... I get $30 for video and $25 for digital stills. I supply the CD dropzone supplies DVD's and tapes. We do all DVD unless you specifically ask for tape. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

You can get this from Sony style... I'm not sure of the model numbers and such but I know you can get it there. Keep looking. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I was demoing a friends rig one time and when I was setting up for my hook I got my sidemount hooked up in the risers which hampered me from looking over my shoulder at my landing area... Everything turned out fine but it was a scarry couple of seconds not being able to line things up correctly. Since then I have decided to not wear my camera helmet when flying new gear for the first time. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

You can recognize the rig all you want... but you still have no idea what reserve was in it... What the hell kind of a statement is that? As far as it not containing an appropriate sized reserve for a student, well, you're probably right. I've never disputed that. I simply do not know what size reserve it did have. I didn't build the rig nor did I pack the reserve or have anything to do with either one of those. I'm sure I could make a few phone calls and find out, but it isn't important enough to me to go to the trouble to find the numbers. I know enough of the facts in this case to make my own informed decisions on which decissions were made in error. And accusing me of withholding the exact size of the reserve from the forums is absurd. As soon as I know for sure, I'll be happy to post that information but until then I'm not about to speculate or guess and allow you people to run with any more uninformed information that you already have. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Don you silly bastard... where the hell have you been? I miss my freeflying buddies... Haven't seen Hunter in ages either... When you coming back out? Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

yeah but in school you couldn't scroll the screen down and reread the post before you responded... comes down to the fact that there's a bunch of lazy bastards out there that don't even care what they're talking about. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer