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You Against the Mountain: The Extreme Challenge of Capturing the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

How does a filmmaking crew capture a thrilling, 13-mile race with twists, turns, and 14,000 feet of elevation climb? A lot of work and battle tested gear.

Wayne Grayson • Aug 26, 2024

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a race that for more than 100 years has drawn in thousands of spectators and drivers alike. The nearly 13-mile course sends dozens of drivers—piloting cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles—through more than 150 turns has they climb more than 14,000 feet up treacherous mountain passes.

Preparing for and racing in this event takes serious dedication and a lot of work. But so does capturing the event. In this micro doc, we go behind the scenes with Austin DeWees and Nick Cahill as they tag along with Tom Tang, a seasoned driver of the Hill Climb, to capture the story of his race. Check out the video for the full story.

And as a bonus, scroll below the video to see the full loadout of gear Austin and Nick used for this shoot.

What You Need to Shoot a Film on Pikes Peak

Cameras and Lenses

A-Cams

  • Sony FX6 with Atlas Lens Co. Orion Anamorphic Lenses: 28/40/65/80mm
  • RED Komodo-X with Atlas Lens Co. Orion lenses
  • B-Cam and Helicopter shots
  • RED Helium


Behind the Scenes

  • Canon C70 with Canon RF 24-70
  • Canon C70/R5 with EF 24-70 f2.8, RF 15-35 f2.8, RF 70-200 f2.8, EF 50 1.2, RF 100-500 f4.5-7.1, and Sigma 24 f1.4


Timelapse and Stills

  • Sony A1 with Sony 24mm f1.4
  • Canon R5 with Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8


GoPro 11 and 12 action cameras

Cards/Recording Media

OWC Atlas Ultra CFexpress Type B - 2TB

OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress Type A - 480GB

Audio

  • Sennheiser 416 Shotgun Mic and Sennheiser 8050 for booming interviews
  • Hollyland Lark Max 2 mic kit
  • Azden Shotgun Mic
  • Tentacle Sync for syncing recorded audio to video timecode when not recording video

Tripod, Rigging, Cages, and Support

  • Kondor Blue (cages, camera accessories, & gak)
  • SmallHD Cine7 Monitor
  • Atomos Shinobi monitors
  • Sachtler Tripod
  • CoreSWX batteries
  • EasyRig MiniMax camera support
  • Emotimo robotic camera control for time lapses

Communication

  • Rocky Talky radios for instant comms during shoot
  • Baofeng radios (scanning race team radios)
  • Apple iPhones

Laptops and Drives

Apple MacBook Pros

OWC Express 1M2 - 8TB

OWC ThunderBlade

OWC Mercury Pro U.2 Dual - 16TB

Bags, Storage, and Clothing

  • FStop bags
  • Shimoda 50L Bag
  • Pelican Cases
  • Ridge Merino (wool underwear, socks, sun shirts)

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