This commercial was filmed with the Gazelle Motion Control Crane and our Cheetah high-speed servo track drive system. Passes were filmed at multiple frame rates for a dramatic effect.

Behind the Scenes with the Gazelle

This video was shot with the Gazelle Motion Control Crane. Shots were operated live, then repeated. The video features good examples of “Twinning” and repeat passes with time effects such as forward and reverse motion in the same shot.

“Making of The Many Sides of Me”

This promo for the Google Science Fair, featuring a fantastic Rube Goldberg machine consisting of typical science fair elements, was filmed in a single continuous pass using the Graphlite motion control camera crane.

Motion Control Operator – Paul Maples
Motion Control Tech – Adam Francis

When Claudio Miranda, ASC was deciding how to shoot several pivotal scenes in Tron Legacy, he determined that due to the weight of the dual Sony F35 3D camera package and the multilevel sets, traditional Steadicam shots would be impossible. He wanted a rig with the flexibility of a Steadicam, the ability to go anywhere and provide rock solid movement for the heavy camera package.

Claudio had worked with Pacific Motion Control before and was familiar with many of our rigs, so he called to see if we could make these shots happen. As we talked with Claudio, we determined that what was needed for the job was a portable, overhead motion control crane system – a system that didn’t exist. This was a challenge that we were determined to meet. Over the next few weeks, we custom built the Overhead Graphlite system to meet the needs of the production. This rig is totally portable. In fact, it’s first job (Tron) was over 1,200 miles away from our shop. The rig provided 48′ of linear movement (adaptable from 12′-72′), 15 feet of arm reach, 360+ degrees (infinite) of swing, 45 degrees of boom travel, 360+ degrees of pan and tilt. It did all of this while carrying a camera package that weighed 90 pounds!

With little time to complete the build and test the rig before shooting, Tron Legacy would be a trial by fire, but the rig performed flawlessly. During the weeks of filming the rig never missed a beat, and enabled the crew to capture amazing shots, including a fight scene shot in a continuous circle, with over 1080 degrees of movement!

Photography By Douglas Curran
Courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc

Behind the Scenes

Time-Lapse Setup Video

Shot with the Zebra motion control camera dolly on location and on a stage in Vancouver, British Columbia. The camera was a Phantom Gold HD high-speed camera at 600 FPS. Behind the scenes footage was shot with a GoPro HD camera mounted to the Zebra.

Director – Loni Peristere of Zoic Studios
Motion Control Operator – Mike Leben
Motion Control Tech – Craig Shumard

Spec commercial for Ecko Unlimited featuring a ton of motion control by Pacific Motion. Multiple passes were filmed using the Gazelle motion control camera crane. For the first pass, an actor in a Chroma Green suit was filmed as he “painted” the man on the wall. In the second pass, another actor stood with his back to the wall, then “broke away”, wiped himself off, then walked away. A third pass of clean background plates was then shot. This was done over multiple setups, in an actual dirty parking lot and alley in downtown Los Angeles.

Director – Jack Wung
Motion Control Operator – Paul Maples
Motion Control Techs – Craig Shumard, David Mansour, Garritt Hampton
Gazelle motion control camera crane provided by Pacific Motion Control