Guilmette Relies On Vinten® Vision blue5

Boston-based sports camera operator and Director of Photography Tom Guilmette recently added Vinten’s new Vision blue5 head to his one-man-band shooting package.
He says it is the perfect complement, whether he’s shooting a segment of the ongoing Spotlight Performer videos for Men’s CWS NCAA Baseball or going on location for exciting background images.
“The Vision blue5 allows me to work alone and bring back exciting footage at the same time,” he says. “On a recent location shoot, I chose the new Vision blue5 to support a two-foot slider and my Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera,” he explains. “The idea was to set the camera to slowly move down the slider in smooth and easy movements. The blue5 was my pivot point and I panned the camera in the opposite direction of the slide. This back-pan added a 3D feel as the camera wrapped around an object creating a parallax effect.”
A similar package served Guilmette well while shooting the incredible story of young Dillon Coleman, of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Born with no bones in his left hand, Coleman touched a baseball before a rattle. Nineteen years later, Dillon hit a home run, while playing for Gordon College’s baseball team. “For this shoot using a Sony PMW-F3, we followed Dillon going through his paces on the field and captured interviews with his family, coach, and fellow players,” Guilmette says. “The blue5 works perfectly with the F3 along with my Zeiss CP2 prime lenses and a matte box.”
“The Vision blue5 was the ideal support for both projects,” he adds. “It is designed for smaller lightweight cameras, so I could get the right balance and silky smooth action I expect from a vision head, in a tighter, smaller and less-expensive package. The new head is similar to the original ‘blue’, but it can take more weight. It’s a great match for my set-up. The amazing Perfect Balance system on the blue5 allowed me to dial in precise control for smooth movement without any surprises.”
The new Vision blue5 pan and tilt head from Vinten, is the latest addition to the Vision blue range of lightweight, compact pan and tilt heads. Vision blue5 offers the unique combination of continuous perfect counterbalance (range of 4.6-11 pounds/2.1-5kg @ 100mm CofG) and infinitely adjustable LF drag.
Tom Guilmette is known for capturing the stunning excitement at more than a thousand Red Sox Games, the Super Bowl, the Olympics and the World Series where he relies on full-size Vinten heads and pedestals. The Vision blue5 is the latest piece of Vinten equipment he’s added to his shooting package. “I can’t do a shoot without Vinten,” he adds.
(GK)