Thinking Differently About Your Gear
It’s been a minute since we’ve posted anything to the KesslerU site. Well that’s about to change. We’ve been quietly working over the last months, lining up all sorts of stuff to bring you all the freshest material that we can find to help you learn, be inspired, and grow as filmmakers.
Kicking things off, we want to introduce you to a truly unique filmmaker that should definitely be on your radar. Meet Tyler Johnson, aka OLTJP. This former GoPro filmmaker/editor has become a powerhouse of creative filmmaking known across social media for his insane repurposing of film gear to capture mind-blowing shots.
Tyler has created custom rigs such as a wearable GoPro bullet-time vest, a vehicle rig to send a cable cam through the car windows of a moving vehicle, an ultra lightweight rooftop vehicle jib, and an inverted counter-weighted lazy susan.
With his DIY-friendly approach, Tyler builds these rigs using a hodgepodge of various pieces of affordable film gear and bits from the hardware store in a way that nearly any aspiring creative could re-produce.
He even has a section on his website dedicated to sharing how he’s built some of his most notable creations.
Tyler caught our attention when he began tinkering with the Kessler Second Shooter system— using our simple Slide, Pan, and Tilt motors in completely new ways. Last month we officially signed Tyler on as a brand ambassador after seeing the countless ways he has pushed our gear to its physical limits and come out the other end with stunning results.
His most recent rig uses an Insta360 camera mounted on an 18 ft. boom pole, which is all attached to the Second Shooter Pro Pan and Tilt motors being shuttled by our slider and slide motor. Tyler just dropped this new reel showing off all the different ways he’s been shooting with the Second Shooter Pro system— capturing complex timelapses, orbiting multilapses, and compound motion astrolapses all from one rig. See it all in action in his video below.
We sat down with our newest Kessler Shooter recently to hear a bit about Tyler and his unique creative process.
KU: Alright, for anyone hiding under a rock, tell us who you are and how you got your start?
“The goal with my work is to create out of the ordinary content that stops you in your tracks”
OLTJP: Haha I like that, thank you! My name is Tyler Johnson, aka OLTJP or OL’TJP Films. I’m a former 6-year GoPro employee (2012-2018, Senior Filmer/Editor) where I took countless productions around the world filming with the highest ranked athletes in action sports, cut 3 National TV commercials and 85 films on the official channel combining over 76 million total views.
GoPro was an incredible start to my career which led me to create my own production company out of Carlsbad, CA— OL’TJP Films. The goal with my work is to create out of the ordinary content that stops you in your tracks, alters your perspective, and leaves you with a great emotion. I want people to wonder how a shot was created and that's what I've more or less been known for through social media, creating absurd camera rigs to get "impossible" shots.
KU: Being that you're known to produce these “Impossible shots" and reimagining the purpose of camera equipment, how do you come up with your ideas? Where do you get your inspiration from?
OLTJP: This seems weird to say but I actually try and pull my inspiration from my own thoughts vs examples of what's already been done. When I look to others for inspiration, it mostly turns into a comparison, making you feel like everything's already been done.
Creative meetings with yourself are free and should be at least attempted every day or every week. This will help your brain get into the rhythm of being hyper creative on a regular basis, ultimately making your content more creative and more often.
In my attempt to create content that’s completely unique, I have a process I like to call “Stacking Creativity." While planning for a specific shot I’d like to capture, I continue to ask myself what would make it better until I can’t imagine anything better or am stopped by a possibility too low.
You can stack creativity through camera equipment, which is where most of my contraptions are born. I’ll combine two or three or however many pieces of equipment together to make a camera do something that it wasn’t intended to do.
Another way I push my creativity is laying out every option of what’s possible with the equipment I have and combining different combinations together in my head until one clicks.
KU: That’s actually a great warning about looking to others for inspiration— it almost always leads to comparison and takes inspiration away. So what sorts of opportunities has this creativity brought you?
OLTJP: Some of my favorite opportunities would be the Athlete Summit in Australia with 140 of the worlds best athletes, all creating next level content together doing a variety of extreme sports. The GoPro skate team and I went to Tokyo, Barcelona, and countless XGames events, and I had an incredible trip to Italy for Wiral Cam shooting their launch film and rigging a zipline camera to pass through a moving car while driving under the Dolomite Mountains. I was flown to a private island in Indonesia for a week to film a night surfing video in collaboration with the Grateful Dead. I also recently created a motion control moving clone shot (Kessler of course) with 4 sets of duplicate clones for a Kind Humans x Knocking Point ad among many other productions.
KU: That’s incredible! We’ve seen some of those pieces teased online and have been floored by what you’ve captured. That Fire on The Mountain piece is mesmerizing. So what is your all-time favorite shot you’ve done so far?
OLTJP: My all time favorite shot might honestly be the last shot in the Kessler video! A Kessler Second Shooter Pro and DIY 20 ft. jib with a 360 camera moving across the yard all night while capturing long exposures of the milkyway turned out unreal. I’ve done star lapses via car and gimbal traveling long distances while direction locked to the sky, but that lapse stands out more due to the precision and clarity.
KU: Yeah, our jaws dropped when we saw how that came out. So while we’re talking superlatives, what shot/video has brought you the most attention?
OLTJP: At GoPro I had licensed footage from a fireman who saved a kitten that was unconscious in a burning house. I created an edit to fit GoPro's standards and it hit over 16 million views a day later, becoming GoPro’s most viral video to date. I also created my first 24 camera GoPro Array where I froze time while my friend was fire breathing over the San Fransisco skyline. That timeslice video was another huge leap forward in my career as well.
Some of my most successful videos under OL'TJP Films have been from the camera contraptions I’ve designed. The first to go viral was a GoPro that revolved around my iMac super close to the keyboard. (https://tinyurl.com/y55x49fz) resulting over 4k followers in 4 days. This was massive considering my following was probably only around 2k.
The next video that went viral was a timelapse that moved around the room while building my RED and Movi Pro combo (https://tinyurl.com/y4rcz4my).
After that came the 18 ft. polecam with a string I used to dangle a 360 camera off the side of the massive new Virgin Voyages cruise ship. Full behind the scenes on that build coming soon!
KU: We can’t wait to see that when it drops! So, you’re in this fast-evolving space of kind of content creator/entertainer/innovator/influencer. How does that feel rising into that world, and how are you navigating that to give your career longevity?
OLTJP: It’s been amazing to have such an incredible support group over the years and it truly makes me feel like there isn’t anything I can’t accomplish. Hopefully soon I can be known for each and every one of those titles, as well as other initiatives that most don’t know about.
I always have my fingers dipped into a bit of everything which should absolutely help me in the long run.
KU: We see a lot of folks recreating, or directly copying your shot ideas and garnering tons of likes without attributing you. How do you feel about that?
OLTJP: When someone directly copies my work it's nice to get a proper shoutout. None the less, a shoutout or not... it's still a compliment.
KU: Well we know who the OG and love seeing the waves you’re making out there. Ok gear talk. What is in your go-to camera kit?
OLTJP: Depending on what the contraption or shot is that I'd like to get, I'll either grab one of two kits and of course, additional BTS cameras (which can often perform better than the actual shot).
Kit one would be the 12K Blackmagic or the 6K RED Dragon with a few of my favorite Sigma Art series lenses (14mm, 20mm, 35mm) and the Canon 70-200ii and 300 2.8 prime.
Kit two would be a few Insta360 or GoPro cameras, a polecam (270Pro or FPoleV), and a mouthcam to show my perspective throughout.
Depending on the project and amount of travel, I’ll also bring the Kessler Second Shooter Pro system, or at least a few of the Second Shooter motors for motion control options on set.
KU: So talk about this video you dropped that shows the Second Shooter system in action. I think a lot of people want to know what is actually going on there? How in the world did you produce these shots?
OLTJP: The Kessler Reel I just released was an insane amount of fun to create.
One of my favorite parts of this system is the ability to DIY the rig into what you need. So it all started by mounting a BTS camera off the side of the Second Shooter one day to get the Kessler POV perspective.
Next, I removed the camera completely and added a Manfrotto Superclamp to grab the 10ft 270Pro polecam to get my IPhone camera swinging around the room. That quickly led to adding a 360 camera, which Is when the ideas really started flowing in.
After shooting some awesome moments with that setup and seeing the response, I wanted to create something even larger.
Kessler then recommended an additional pan motor for more strength on my vertical axis to allow more weight. Naturally I pushed the weight limit of that and ended up using the 33ft FPoleV to get the camera close to 12ft away from the motor and had it still performing the move!
Once these concepts were proven possible, I started creating the first ever moco jib 360 timelapses, moving camera clone shots, and other wacky ways of using the system like having lights move around in space quickly or over time.
I have to warn readers though, these rigs are pushing the boundaries of the motors and will absolutely damage the motors if not operated with the most caution.
KU: Yeah, there’s a bit of “do not try this at home” to be said. But if you’re feeling adventurous, maybe they should contact you first to get more details. Where can people follow you, pick your brain, and see all your amazing content?
OLTJP: Most of my work goes on either Instagram or TikTok, and more full length content lands on YouTube:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oltjp/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@oltjp
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/oltjp
Website: http://www.oltjp.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oltjp/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oltjp-films-carlsbad
Email: tyler@oltjpfilms.com
KU: Awesome! Last question. What’s next for you? Any new ideas you’re currently “Creative Stacking?"
OLTJP: I'd love to tell you my new ideas for the Second Shooter Pro and now the CineShooter, but then they wouldn't be a surprise when they’re released. Really it just comes down to what piece of gear looks interesting that day and what’s clicking in my head.
Now that I have 12k quality as an option, I’d love to see what’s possible with that flexibility.
I’d love to fly massive drones with long flight times and capture night lapses from them.
I’d love to invest in a Cinema Robot as well once they get cheaper to produce. Stay tuned!
KU: Alright Tyler! We can’t thank you enough for taking the time to chat with us. We wish you the best of luck and are extremely eager to see where things go from here for you!
OLTJP: Thank you so much!
If you’re curious to learn more about the Second Shooter Pro motion control system used by Tyler Johnson, visit Kesslercrane.com.
