DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Ever Wondered how 1,000FPS Shots Are Taken? They Use A Huge Robot

Feb 20, 2015 by Liron Samuels Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Bolt4K_SloMo

Slow motion is a very useful technique commonly used these days. In fact, it is used so often that it’s becoming hard to keep one’s attention for more than just a few seconds.

However, adding camera movement to slow motion videos creates a dynamic and often mesmerizing look, and using a crazy-fast frame rate doesn’t hurt either.

Obviously great equipment needs to be matched with great talent, and that’s exactly what happened when the team at Stiller Studios got their hands on a Bolt High Speed Cinebot and a Phantom Flex4K Camera.

Two days of filming later, the result is a powerful 1,000 frames-per-second, slow motion show reel, portraying the remarkable capabilities of this state-of-the-art equipment. Well, that and the copious amounts of raw talent these guys have.

While the scenes in the video were obviously well chosen, the high FPS and the camera movements are what make it rock.

Mr Moco (Mark Roberts Motion Control), that built and provided the rental Bolt, refer to this on their website:

“High speed cameras have been around for some time creating amazing shots in commercials and films shooting high frames rates at 1,000 fps or more. In order to make these shots more exciting directors have been asking how do I get the camera not only shooting fast but also moving fast at the same time. Mr Moco Rentals answer that question with the Bolt high speed cinebot.

Bolt has the ability to get up to full speed almost instantly so that the camera can go from standstill to high-speed motion and back to standstill in fractions of seconds, literally following falling objects and capturing images that would be impossible by hand or any other method”.

So just how fast is the Bolt? According to the tech specs, it can make a 1 meter move (vertical or horizontal) in just half a second. That’s roughly 6.5 feet in one second. Not bad for a 950 lbs machine.

Almost as fun as watching a magic trick, if not more fun, is seeing how it was done. Luckily for us there is a behind-the-scenes video that shows just how different the scenes in the video are in real time. It also shows the impressive movements of the Bolt, but be warned – you will probably want to get one!

Gear addicts will be frustrated, or extremely relieved, to know that you can’t simply buy this gear online or at your local camera shop. The Phantom Flex4K alone costs over $110k, and the Bolt is a custom built robot so your guess is as good as mine. I can promise you, though, it ain’t cheap.

All that being said, there are cheaper and more accessible ways to add camera movement to your slow motion videos, for those who don’t have Hollywood sized budgets.

P.S. Orcavue is a great on-budget example of one such system, if you’re looking to add some bullet time fun to your next project.

P.P.S The Marmalade whom we featured before are doing similar motion control if you seek more slo-mo porn

 

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Ever wondered how Instagrammers get those amazing shots? Turns out they’ll go great lengths to get them life-once-removed-11Have You Ever Wondered What Living With A Plastic Mannequin Family Feels Like? If you ever wondered what it was like to be taught by Ansel Adams, here’s your answer If you ever wondered where the phrase “Watch the birdie!” came from, here you go

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Bolt, motion control, Phantom Flex4K, slow motion

Liron Samuels: from diyphotography.net

About Liron Samuels

Liron Samuels is a wildlife and commercial photographer based in Israel.

When he isn't waking up at 4am to take photos of nature, he stays awake until 4am taking photos of the night skies or time lapses.

You can see more of his work on his website or follow him on Facebook.

« Psychedelic Photos From The 60’s & 70’s Document The Freewheeling Lifestyle Long Lost To Modernity
Olympic Gold Snowboarder Shows Off New Trick Integrating A GoPro In The Most Awesome Way »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • This is why you should stop shooting music videos
  • First look at the Laowa Proteus Flex interchangeable flare optics
  • The Fotodiox RhinoCam Vertex shoots medium format images on L mount cameras
  • San Francisco filmmaker tracks stolen camera gear, police do nothing
  • Nanlite announces powerful AC-powered FC500B and FC300B LED lights

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy