We live in a new age of dynamic camera movement. It’s the whole new world of cinematography. Film directors have been trying to impress the audience with new techniques, new looks, and new experience. With cinema cameras being a bit bulky, camera support has to be reliable and durable. Many commercials, music videos, and action movies utilize new technologies for chasing scenes. One of the first inventors of the car camera crane system was Anatoliy Kokush a two times Oscar winner who started a film and television company Filmotechnic.
Anatoliy has designed a Russian Arm gyro-stabilized camera crane and the Flight Head. Russian Arm camera crane has been widely used in Hollywood video production starting with action movies and finishing with car commercials. Almost every movie made in Hollywood utilized Russian Arm at some point.
Russian Arm – Car Crane System
In a filmmaking and video production world, Russian Arm is known as high speed mobile crane. The crane mounts to the top of a vehicle or any other mobile platform such as four-wheelers, boats, buses, etc. The camera crane system is able to film moving vehicles from almost any angle. Newly updated Russian Arm 6 is mainly made from carbon fiber. Some of the other specs of the Russian Arm are:
- Tilt, Pan and Gyro Stabilization
- Arm Length varies from 4 to 6.5 meters
- Panning at 360 Degrees
- Pan Speed 5-6 Seconds Full torsion of 360 Degrees
- Setup Time 2-3 Hours
- Operating Speed up to 95 miles per hour
- Operates from the Console
- Total Weight with Camera 396 Pounds
Russian Arm in action:
There are a few other startups that entered this market but one that stands out the most is MotoCrane.
MotoCrane – Car Crane System
MotoCrane was founded in 2017 by Zachary Nelson a visionary filmmaker from Minneapolis, MN. The company was started in a garage and in a short period of time made it to the worldwide market. Camera crane systems are now well known in all parts of the world. As a matter of fact, it is becoming one of the hottest pieces of its type. One of the biggest advantages of this car crane is the price and versatility.
MotoCrane is the only 12’ arm capable of flying as a checked baggage. It is the longest universal remote arm in the world. MotoCrane Ultra handles high temperatures, rain and off-road conditions without any problems. MotoCrane offers some of the most competitive specs up to date:
- Arm lengths 12ft or 3.65m
- Payload 55 lbs or 25kg
- Works with Movi XL + Pro, Shotover G, Arri SRH 3, DJI Ronin 2 and Flight Head Mini
- Max Speed Performance 100 mph
- Pan at 360 degrees, Pan Speed 8 seconds 360 degrees swing
- Weight 190 pounds unloaded and 370 pounds fully loaded (with max payload)
- Tilt 35 Degrees
MotoCrane in action:
Comparison Table
| Features | MotoCrane | Russian Arm |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Speed | 100 mph | 95 mph |
| Pan | 360 degrees | 360 degrees |
| Weight | 370 lb | 396 lb |
| Pan Speed (360° swing) | 8 sec | 5-6 sec |
| Arm Length | 13-21 ft | 12 ft |
| Remote (flying as a checked baggage) | ||
| Price | $39,500 | $50,000+ |
| High temperatures, rain & off-road conditions |
Renting MotoCrane in San Diego & Los Angeles
Focus Media is a video production company that rents MotoCrane Ultra in Southern California. While there is a high demand for camera crane systems in Los Angeles and San Diego, Focus Media is the first video production company in San Diego to own a car camera crane system.
The crane comes with:
- the vehicle (Toyota Tundra Platinum);
- three crew members to operate camera crane, camera movement, focus and vehicle.
The pricing is still to be determined. Please submit inquiries here or call 636-328-6666.