"Departure Date" Shot with the Canon C300 at 35k Feet on a Plane Full of Passengers | News | Forum

The Canon EOS C300 cinema camera recently made history when it was used to shoot “Departure Date,” the first movie almost entirely shot on airliners in flight.  The 24-minute short film was shot over 9 days across 3 continents covering 28,000 miles while flying at 35,000 feet on planes carrying real passengers.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster…

Somehow though, they made it work and the film premiered at the L.A. Film Festival on June 17, 2012.

More details in the full case study summary below.

Canon C300 Digital Cinema Cameras Deliver First-Class Performance for “Departure Date”

In-flight movies have long been part of airline travel, but director of photography Doug Chamberlain added a new chapter to their history when he shot the movie “Departure Date” on board commercial flights using EOS C300 digital cinema cameras from Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions. A 24-minute short feature written and directed by Kat Coiro, “Departure Date” was shot by Chamberlain over the course of nine days encompassing three continents, 28,000 miles, and a filming location moving at an average speed of 500 miles per hour at an altitude of 35,000 feet.

“Departure Date” tells the story of Jake (Ben Feldman), who finds and loses the love of his life (Nicky Whelan) on a Sydney to Los Angeles Virgin Australia flight, meets his depressing future (in characters played by Philip Baker Hall, Janeane Garofalo, and Luis Guzman) on a Virgin America Los Angeles to Dallas flight, and is motivated to go get the girl on a Virgin Atlantic Los Angeles to London flight. “Departure Date” premiered on June 17th at the L.A. Film Festival and will be shown on all Virgin America, Atlantic, and Australia Flights, as well as online and at select film festivals.

“Virgin has a long history of…