Some of the most rewarding projects I've worked on have been capturing medical footage with brilliant physicians, nurses, and staff. Whether it's at a medical mission in Nicaragua (see last month), or right here in my own backyard.
Today, we're lucky enough to be capturing the very talented Dr. William Leighton, whose many skills include helping burn victims recover and regain their quality of life, often reconstructing their heads and faces from what little is left behind after their accident.
Today, Dr. Leighton is performing his 48th surgery on just such a burn victim. I met the patient before the surgery, and he spoke very highly of Dr. Leighton's skill and dedication. Of less consequence, however, is the fact that we're deploying our newest boom camera mount, in an effort to get the best angles possible.
Excuse the crummy panorama shot here. The boom is actually too long for my iPhone's camera, so this is three shots merged. This is a modified Manfrotto light/mic boom stand on a wheeled tripod. It has an internal gearing mechanism that allows us to rotate and tilt the Sony HD camera we have mounted on the end.
Dr. Leighton uses these videos to teach other physicians the techniques he uses, and we often find the medical equipment companies are interested in the footage too. It's a win-win all around. Not sure how the patient feels about watching the footage, but he signed the release, at least.
We also use a ground-based camera to capture Dr. Leighton's face and voice, providing context to the procedure and allowing him to comment and lecture during the surgery.
It's a wonderful feeling knowing that the video you shoot will be used to help other doctors heal patients like this one, and bring Dr. Leighton's techniques to the next generation of reconstructive surgeons.
