rig breakdown
rig breakdown
Title:
Title:
Laptop Closing Camera Rig

Commercial

Commercial

Commercial

Commercial
about the rig
Director wanted a shot that looked like it was a laptop closing.
We could have attached a GoPro or similar action camera to a laptop and done it that way but we wanted to preserve image quality and use our cinema A cam - the Alexa mini.
We opted instead to build a custom rig that mimicked the motion of a closing laptop and put the camera in a POV of the action. In doing this we were able to redefine the movement and make it work exactly how we wanted it to, providing greater flexibility.
For example - our starting height wanted to be a little below eye level and our arcing motion allowed us to see more of the keyboard.
We counterbalanced the rig to get us even smoother motion.
Camera Rigging
Camera Movement
key grip
Brendan Riel
the crew
DP:
Franklin Ricart
Grip Crew:
Connor Colby, Josh Smith, Logan Alesso, Stephen Change, Vic Roca, Thorn Shaffer, Jordan Hodges, Mike McKinnon












built with
Speedrail, Hollaenders, 9. Solutions, Pulleys



by:
Brendan Riel
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We planned on doing everything with truss and motors but had to cut some because of budgetary reasons. So we went old fashioned with 2 runs of ladder truss, pipe and pulleys for more lighting points. The pulleys just served as line redirects and provided no mechanical advantage.

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