debonairs boltx

A behind the scenes timelapse of the new BOLT X motion control rig in Johannesburg for a pizza TV commercial. This setup required a long reach 30T crane to get the rig into position next to the pool. The moves were blocked on the recce day allowing for a quick setup on set of quite a complex move for a high speed shot. The total move was approx 13m long and this was executed in 2.8 seconds. This gives us an average speed of 4.7m/s with speeds peaking close to 8m/s in some sections. Focus was programmed on a slow take by recording the focus puller's move. It included some really large focus throws from far to close up and back again. We then take over the focus, and smoothed it out to allow our motor to execute the extremely fast focus moves without tripping out. There is a lot of prep work in setting up a shot like this, but once it's correct shooting goes quickly as the motion control rig repeats everything accurately again and again and one only needs to worry about the actors hitting their marks.