FEATURE | WHAT ’ S NEW I N CAMERA MOVEMENT
THE ART OF MOVEMENT THIS NEW YEAR, WE LOOK AT WHAT’S NEW IN MOVING A CAMERA
WORDS PH I L RHODES
GRIP
“Most slider manufacturers are working with some sort of electric motor to move the camera along the track,” Michell continues. “Ronford- Baker, Panther and SolidGripSystems have done just this because the film market demanded it, and now Tango users are demanding it. So, Prosup developed the Tango Electric Drive (TED), which launched at IBC2018.” TED is available as an upgrade to existing 2.2m Tango Roller kits.
On the ground, old favourites abound. Jago Michell of Floating Motion zeroes in on the Prosup Tango Roller dolly. Since its introduction five years ago, it has continued to make both sense and money. Michell explains: “The Panther U-Bangi and SolidGripSystems TwinDolly provided a solid, dependable platform for large cameras, but the broadcast cameramen – with lighter, smaller cameras – were looking for something else.”
FLYING TV
In the world of aviation, there’s something slightly different in the Flying TV hangar. The company has invested in a high-speed, fixed- wing aerial filming platform – an aeroplane. “A helicopter is flexible but they struggle to keep up with fixed-wing aircrafts,” says aerial DOP and operations manager, Monica Wyer. “We’ve done a lot of work with various Spitfires, and the plane would have full flaps out, a nose-high attitude, cooling vents open, or it’d overheat. It becomes quite obvious that this plane is travelling as slowly as possible.” Flying TV’s new aircraft is the Diamond DA42, set to launch next month with costs comparable to a helicopter. The company uses a GSS gimbal for its flying work, a more compact choice than the common Shotover options. “We default to single engine, Robinson R44 helicopters. Our competition, by virtue of the fact that they’ve gone for the Shotover, have gone for the big helicopter and the cost that entails. We can do the same work on a single engine aircraft.’”
50 DEF I N I T ION | FEBRUARY 20 1 9
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