Vortex Achieves Film-like Shots on a Live Broadcast

On 1st July 2016, Cammotion’s Vortex provided stunning and subtle ‘film-like’ moving shots at the Battle of the Somme 100th Anniversary, adding to the poignancy of the live memorial event.

Vortex – what is essentially a 30 metre high telescoping camera mast – was positioned 400 metres back from the memorial on what turned out to be quite a gusty day. Vortex is a two-person operation. A cameraman operates the remote head to position the lens in 3-axes and a technician controls the tracking speed and positioning of the remote head in the vertical plane between ground level and 30 meters high.

The distance from the memorial was used to provide depth of field on the tight end of a 42x lens. By working closely together, the cameraman and technician were able to keep the foreground and framing static whilst the background appeared to be moving. It would be easy to mistake the moving fields behind the performers / artists to be a screen with moving pictures.

The results are poignant and spine-tingling. Live broadcast filmography doesn’t get much better than this!

Cammotion Media Archives

Articles featuring Cammotion – first published in Zerb, the journal of the Guild of Television Cameramen http://www.gtc.org.uk/publications/zerb.aspx

 

 

GTC Seal of Approval

Seal of Approval

Cammotion, Vortex Aerial Camera Mount System

The Seal of Approval is awarded to a manufacturer for a piece of equipment that, having been nominated by the membership and voted for by Council, has significantly aided cameramen in the advancement of their craft.

After considerable discussion, Council felt that one piece of
equipment, the
 Vortex Aerial Camera Mount, stood out above the rest. It has proved itself on numerous OBs, dramas and LE productions. As a portable camera tower, it allows the camera to be rigged up to a height of 30 metres in minutes. You can then operate the camera with a full 360 deg pan, whilst at the same time jibbing the camera at up to 2 metres per sec; all in wind speeds up
to force 7.

We were particularly impressed not only by the simplicity and speed of rigging, but also at the wide range of shots that can be offered by such a rig.

Rather than coming from a large company, the system was designed by a cameraman, Matt Gladstone.

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