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PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1

PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1 1

A chat about traveling and photographing Chernobyl among other far away places

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Scott Simmons
September 29, 2020
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On the recent PVC Podcast All Things HDR with Gary Adcock and Philip Grossman we talked HDR of course but we also brushed on some of Philip’s adventure filmmaking. Philip travels the globe from the Ukraine to Kazakhstan to Australia and lots of places in between. I mentioned in the HDR chat about sitting down with Philip again and having a more detailed chat about his treks around the globe, how he prepares and the gear he carries. The gear is always of interest for this kind of filmmaking but I don’t mean just cameras and lenses. I was curious about how he packs he gear and what he packs it in. That was part of our chat.

It wasn’t just a little chat it was a big chat and we’ve broken this into two different PVC Podcast episodes. Here is part 1 and we’ll release part 2 next week.

Here’s the podcast stream below or you can get it on Anchor or your favorite podcast catcher.

You can visit Philip at his website but the best place is on Instagram where Philip posts tons of great photographs from his adventures.

Philip also provided a ton of images from his travels, many of those with and about the gear he uses. See those below with captions and link about what gear he is using and what he is carrying.

Philip's production area set up in 2012 in Hotel Pripyat in the village of Chernobyl
My production area set up in 2012 in Hotel Pripyat in the village of Chernobyl. On this trip, I had 5 different battery types and associated chargers.
PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1 2
It’s wasn’t the most comfortable desk in the world but it worked.
Philip standing on top of the DUGA Over the Horizon Radar structure.
Standing on top of the DUGA Over the Horizon Radar structure. It is over 500 feet tall and has not been maintained in over 30 years. The arm I am standing on juts out about 20 feet from the main structure. You can see the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Complex in the background about 10 km away.
Philip filming in the basement of the Jupiter Factory where secret laboratories where located.
Filming in the basement of the Jupiter Factory where secret laboratories were located. This is a chemical storage room. It’s one of a few places that full protection is required. The basement is also flooded with about 2 feet of water.
Philip standing about 6 stories up on scaffolding at the construction site of the New Safe Confinement Structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Standing about 6 stories up on scaffolding at the construction site of the New Safe Confinement Structure (Sarcophagus 2) at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. I have been fortunate enough to gain access to the construction site on several occasions. You can see the old Sarcophagus in the background.
Philip organizing gear on top of Reactor Block No. 5 in Chernobyl.
Organizing gear on top of Reactor Block No. 5 in Chernobyl. Accessing this area requires climbing approximately 10 stories of pitch-black stairwells inside the reactor building. Here I am reorganizing gear for the final climb to the top of the reactor complex which is made via a narrow external path so only taking required gear.
Philip preparing to film inside the basement of Hospital No. 126 in the City of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Preparing to film inside the basement of Hospital No. 126 in the City of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The basement entrances have been sealed up over the past several years to limit access as the original first responder’s clothing is still stored there and is highly radioactive. I use a 5.11 Tactical plate carrier and MOLLE pouches to secure gear so I can have my hands free to film.
Philip's “production” set up in his room.
Throughout the 14 or so trips to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone I have had various “production” setups in my room. This was 2015 when DJI sent a crew with me to document me shooting my documentary in Chernobyl. Pelican Drone cases make great desks.
PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1 3
I switched to shooting on RED in 2016, this is my first RED setup in Chernobyl. I am located in the City Center here with the Place of Culture “Energetik” in the background.
PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1 4
In 2019 during NAB I drove up to Rainbow Canyon (Also known as Star Wars Canyon) in hopes of being able to film some low flying Navy or Air Force jets that train in this valley. I arrived before sunrise to find a perfect location (about a 2 mile hike) and set up. I was fortunate enough to capture nine aircraft that day in 8K60P on the RED DSMC2 Helium.
PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1 5
I am a “Geek” and “Gear” person, this is a small sample of my filming gear.
PVC Podcast: Philip Grossman talks adventure filmmaking Part 1 6
I was fortunate enough to work with the US Air Force and NASA to do some camera testing for their Flight Safety System. Here I am testing a RED DSMC2 Helium and Gemini on a SpaceX night launch.
Philip's camera bag.
There is no such thing as the “perfect” camera bag, but over the past 10 years, I have tested many models and have (for the past 5 years) been using the fStop Gear Sukha and Shinn mountain series backpacks. The system utilizes Internal Camera Units (ICU) which come in various sizes. I typically carry the Large model outfitted with TrekPak system to provide additional stability.
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