motion control
 

could anyone give me an idea of what is available in terms of motorised tripos that would allow me to achieve more than one shot which pan at identical speeds, without using a whole motion control rig?
can this sort of thing be rented?
many thanks,
alex

Alex:

Have a peek at e-gears (European version of Hot Gears), which motorize a geared head such as an Arri- or Panahead. Probably most inexpensive form of full repeatable pan and tilt out there, but still about $700US a day for the whole package.

There's a pretty wide selection of motorized pan/tilt heads that will all pan at a set speed. The more speeds they're capable of and the more weight they can take, the more expensive they can get.

I've seen heads that will hold a full ARRI 535 for as low as $2,000. If you're shooting on a little DV camera, you can get a small head made for security cameras and the like pretty cheaply - but they generally will only take pretty light cameras (3 lbs. or less - some 1 lb. or less) and will move at one fairly slow speed only.

I've also seen guys do the same thing with a turntable. And I knew a guy who built a gear that would pan his Worrell head at the same speed. I don't know why, but he did.

If you're not shooting on film, you might try just practicing the move until you get it down. If it's for an effects shot and you really want it to be motor controlled, and all you want is a pan - I'd say just rent a motorized pan/tilt head like a PowerPod or something. It's a lot cheaper than a full motion controll rig since it just sits on a jib and doesn't boom or dolly or anything.

True enough, if you just need a panning shot for multiple passes at a completely fixed speed (and the beginning and end aren't important), you could certainly rig up something or use an inexpensive security-camera type setup.

An actual operated camera move will definitely require more serious technology. A PowerPod 2000 (full repeatable remote pan and tilt) will rent for around $1000/day. I wouldn't recommend working it off a jib as there is a possibility of drift; a fully locked down dolly or sticks with a lot of sandbags is the usual mount for this sort of thing.

Here's some information about the e-gears and the original version (which I own), Hot Gears.

<<<-- Originally posted by Charles Papert :
Here's some information about the e-gears and the original version (which I own), Hot Gears. -->>>

I hadn't seen these before. Which is why Charles is Charles and I'm me.


Looking at the page - it looks like the e-gear is an attachment for your geared head, is that right?