Capturing the extreme sport of BASE jumping with Canon Cinema EOS cameras

Climbing a ridge, with snow-capped Swiss mountains in the background, a group of thrill-seekers head to the edge of the peak – and then jump, soaring through the air supported only by their bodysuits. This is wingsuit BASE jumping, one of the most daring and dangerous extreme sports.

BASE stands for the four categories of fixed objects people jump from: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (that is, bridges) and Earth (in this case, cliffs). After free-falling, jumpers deploy a parachute, but the sport is made even more extreme by using a wingsuit. After they jump, the wingsuit inflates, allowing jumpers to achieve human-powered flight, free-falling for longer before opening a parachute.

"BASE jumping is a crazy sport for anyone looking at it from the outside," says director Regan Hall, who joined the adrenaline-fuelled action in the Alps for his new extreme sports documentary series, along with a small crew. As well as directing features and TV drama including Fast Girls, Ash vs Evil Dead and the Baghdad-set short film 3 Hours, Regan has spent the past decade working on fashion and beauty commercials, shooting the likes of Rihanna and Halle Berry for brands including Versace and Revlon. But his true love is long-form storytelling.

"This was a chance for me to apply my storytelling and visual skills to a subject that is often only ever seen in sports photography or in one-minute montages on Instagram," he says. "I wanted to delve into the complex human stories behind such high-octane clips."

Shooting on a Canon EOS C500 Mark II, an EOS C300 Mark III and an EOS R5 offered Regan and his team, who also travelled to Croatia and Italy for the shoot, a compact cinematic package to capture the soaring action.

"We had some unique requirements for this shoot," says DoP Marek Klucar, a cinematographer from Slovakia and long-time collaborator of Regan's. "We had to be a very minimalistic and unobtrusive crew and get equipment to locations accessible only by hike, yet still deliver a high production value... Canon managed to tick all the boxes."

Marek was initially drawn towards the Canon EOS C500 Mark II for its small form factor and autofocus capabilities. "By using still lenses combined with Dual Pixel Autofocus, we could avoid having a focus puller," he says. "The full-frame sensor was also key to achieving images with pleasing depth of field, even when paired with wider angle lenses."

The best time for jumps is at sunrise and sunset, when the wind is at its calmest, so the crew had some early starts for the 45-minute trek up perilous mountain passes to the jumpers' exit points. At the top of these mountains, the Canon EOS R5 came into its own, thanks to its high bitrate, large resolution and facial tracking packed into a small body. "A gimbal-mounted camera allowed us to create some cinematic tracking movements, even in the middle of a forest or on a cliff," says Regan.

Shooting in 8K, with 4K proxies, meant dealing with large file sizes, but ensured that the footage matched up to the cinema cameras. "All of the cameras worked really well together," Regan continues. "The hardware and cameras are all really complementary."

The jumpers came in waves, so the crew had about 30 minutes of intense filming, followed by a few hours of waiting. "So, as well as the tension and drama as people were jumping, we also managed to enjoy the serenity of the Swiss Alps," says Regan.

As well as the high-octane shots, the crew also recorded interviews and slow motion around a campfire on the Canon EOS C500 Mark II. "We got some really nice colours, flickers and sparks, which added to the atmosphere," says Regan. "That's the advantage of kit like this – it allows you to create cinematic, atmospheric, slow-motion depth of field and bokeh that wasn't available for documentary shooters three or four years ago. It's really exciting."

Regan hopes to have shown a different side to the sport, which he feels is easily misrepresented online and in sports photography. "You think it's a wonderful, exciting adventure, but when you talk to people like Chris, you learn the trauma, heartache and angst behind the joy, exhilaration and adrenaline."

This is the first in a planned series of films the team is making based around adventure tourism and personalities around the globe, although the project is on hold at the moment because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. When travel restrictions ease, Regan is looking forward to continuing an endeavour that combines two of his big passions: filmmaking and outdoor adventure.

"I'm from New Zealand and grew up with a love for nature and the outdoors. I've always loved getting out and about, especially if a camera is on my shoulder."

Even with his considerable experience, however, this shoot did present some unique challenges. "I hate heights," he laughs. "I had a few moments, stepping on the edge of a precipice with a Canon EOS C300 Mark III strapped to my shoulder, thinking: 'What am I doing?' I had to just suck it up – after all, I was surrounded by a dozen people about to jump off that mountain. It was a great way to stretch my adventurous spirit."