Any filmmaker will tell you that gravity is all too often a cruel reminder of how hard taking flight can be. Moving a camera in a steady path is one of the biggest challenges faced. That is until you hold the handheld "MōVI" device in your hands and run, or drive, or fly only to see your clumsiness and bumps turned into a near perfect trajectory – thanks to insanely fascinating camera stabilization technology from Freefly Systems . The "MōVI" 10 is game changer with its digital 3-axis gyro-stabilized handheld camera gimbal system. The completely silent device weighs under 3.5 pounds (1.58 Kgs) bare and can be operated solo, or with the help of a second "gimbal" operator with a joystick to pull off some incredible moves. This device isn’t the end of the sticks, Steadicam, slider, dolly or jib to be sure… but it sure will make you think twice about using those tools on many of your shots when you find out how quickly this device allows you to execute a similar shot but in a fraction of the time. It can literally take longer to explain a shot, than it would to execute a perfect shot with the MōVI. Heck you’ll even think twice about every using a tripod for a quick pan or tilt shot – when you realize you can do that with a "push" or a circular forward movement left (a curved dolly track…) Except you don’t need to lay track down.
The danger of this device is that you’re going to want to shoot Scorsese’s famous Copacabana shot from Goodfellas every time you pick this unit up. You’ll do well to remember that short takes and editing are the key to a nice flow in almost any piece. Yet that amazing shot you’ve dreamed of accomplishing is closer to becoming a reality than it has before. Obviously in this short my effort was to string as many long shots together as possible to show off the device – and that can be a challenge as a director.
That being said the beauty of this device is how quickly you can also make more simple shots. A push or slide is done in seconds and near perfectly. You can add a tilt or pan to that too to make it even fancier if you’d like with little effort. And the speed at which you can work is hard for many producers (including a friend and long time producer I worked with on a commercial this week… until he sees the results and how quickly you can get them.) Then you run down stairs, walk across a busy intersection, or ride in a vehicle and your head will certainly spin…
It’s unbelievably liberating.
Another big factor: It will be affordable – the initial mid-level (in terms of weight support) MōVI M10 will sell for approx $15K and is already under production. The second, smaller version, the M5 that will be on sale at some point in the near future (once the production capacity is in full swing) will be sold for a price point under $7,500. If you consider how much we spend on handheld rigs, sliders, jibs (let alone Glidecams/Steadicams etc.) – the price of this device quickly becomes a no-brainer… Another huge factor: it takes quite a bit of time to set up a JIB, let alone weights, crew and skill to operate. The learning curve on this unit is very very fast.
The MoVI can travel in a thin suitcase as carry luggage and weights under 4 pounds… A steadicam is an awesome tool but takes years to master. I was able to operate this device within minutes… I will admit to having experience in operating Cineflex systems in Helicopters and Russian Arms on fast moving vehicles. And I can say that the way the joystick on the two person configuration operates is nearly identical. And the point is that the MōVI M10 is cheaper to buy with extra bells and whistles than it is to RENT a Cineflex for one day… keep that in mind and why that leads me to consider this technology to merit the dreaded and overused term: Game Changer.
The first unit that is being released – the M10 – supports a camera up 10 pounds with accessories. That equates to a basic Epic and prime lens or HD-DSLR with a lot of accessories. We’ve been using the Epic and the Canon primes and Zeiss CP.2 lenses all week on a commercial without a hitch. A future version the M20 is slated to support an Alexa or Epic package w/ zoom, price and date TBD. The guys behind this work with Epics and Alexas on a regular basis and are cinema guys. Tabb Firchau & Hugh Bell have worked on several productions with me (JOB, Mobius) and Hugh is one of the best steadicam operators I’ve worked with in the industry. The point is that these are passionate cinema people who are going to cater to what we need as filmmakers.
If you’re going to NAB you’ll want to look up Freefly Systems as they will be exhibiting these models live at their booth (#C9848) next week.
WRITTEN by VINCENT LAFORET
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com
