News

SA2.6
Corridor Digital's experience with the eMotimo SA2.6
Corridor Digital is an American VFX studio and YouTube channel founded by Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer. They are known for creating live-action skits and shorts but with professional visuals and special effects.
Daniel Fullwood, Shooter and Editor at Corridor Digital, reached out to eMotimo about trying out the SA2.6 in one of their studios. With a lot of talking-head interviews and multicamera shoots that could benefit from simple motion control shots, we were excited to play and get their feedback on our latest product.We shipped them out a Beta Unit of our SA2.6 with no instructions to see what would happen. Moving too fast, we even shipped them a unit without the a gaming controller. Oops. So really:
No eMotimo experience.
No instructions or hand holding.
SA2.6 with the RSI drops into their studio
A couple weeks go by
Now they have now published their first content for an upcoming Corridor Crew video, with the second camera running the SA2.6 + DJI RS2 + the IFootage Shark S1 with our Direct Drive Motor kit - I am excited to see it! I also asked a few questions of the content creator for the shoot (Daniel) to see what he thought. Here's his responses:
How long did it take for you to set up an automated interview? Setting up a slider in the middle of a busy office is never easy, but once you're done with the rigging, setting up a motion control move only takes a few seconds.
What cameras and lens did you use for this shoot? I shoot everything on two FX3s. I typically shoot a locked-off wide angle on a 20mm lens and a close up using a handheld 28-70mm zoom. The 20mm angle is the one I decided to make into my motion-controlled angle. That way, both angles have a little bit of movement and a little bit of life without requiring a second operator.
Have you ever used any other motion control gear? If so, what has been your experience? I once bought into a very expensive motion control ecosystem that required me to use my phone as the controller. I packed it up and sent it back the same day. It was just too finicky.
Have you ever shot a parallax interview shot manually? I've never shot a parallax interview shot manually. I rarely get the luxury of a second operator.
Did you get the results you were looking for off cameras? Was any post processing of the footage required? My results didn't require any post-stabilization, although I'll typically add a dynamic zoom to a timelapse to add a little extra spice.
Are you planning on using the SA2.6 and RS Gimbals for future interview shoots? I'll absolutely be using the SA2.6 wherever I can. Watch out for it in future videos.
How else do you want to use this combo? So far, I've only used it for documentary-style shooting. I'd love to try using it for push-ins and dolly-zooms in a more cinematic context.
FYI, we did ship off a remote to them to see if they can set up those interviews even a little bit faster.
Watch out - this content is a farce on Shark Tank with offensive toys. It had me putting my head in my hands and asking, Why? That being said, this offensive content is the point and highly effective. Good Job?
Watch at your own risk! Link to the video is https://youtu.be/tOqQJK8qvjs?si=2jGdIYTxGjXFnbCI

All Quiet on the Western Front
It won the Oscar for Best Cinematography! eMotimo controllers helped shoot Netflix's All Quiet on the Western Front.
eMotimo is releasing a stand-alone robotic controller called the SA2.6. This first generation equipment already helped with Oscar winner, All Quiet on the Western Front

Sir David Attenborough plays with our gear? Legend.
SDA, or Sir David Attenborough for those of you who aren't super fans, is a force . . . a national treasure. His voice is iconic. He has narrated countless nature documentaries - mostly with the BBC Natural History Unit.
He narrated the original Planet Earth Series that I fell in love with. There was a shot where the seasons changed over a year while a camera slid across a hillside. Spring to Summer to Fall to Winter and back to spring again. It blew my mind. It made me want to see the world in new ways. Planet Earth helped inspire me to create eMotimo.
eMotimo gear has been helping with the new versions of the Planet Earth, as well as all sorts of Natural History docs, but recently, SDA narrated Green Planet, a recent release from BBB's Natural History Unit. On Green Planet eMotimo gear was used extensively to support fine motion control moves for plant growth as well as robotic shots out in the field. This is a screenshot of the BTS from that production. Shout out to Chris Field (biolapse) for using two ST4 heads to drive custom jibs and sliders to get the shots! That leafcutter ant sequence was brilliant!
This made my year to know that Sir David Attenborough was playing with gear that I designed. Damn, I wish I could have been there to see it myself - his smile is infectious.
eMotimo equipment and controllers are playing a part in bringing the next generation of natural history docs to life. I am proud of what I created and quite excited that eMotimo is just getting started on creating tools for creatives.
Check out how one of our long-time customers, Robert Hollingworth shot the opening scene for Netflix's All Quiet on the Western Front. It just won some awards. What was it again? Oh yeah - the Oscar for Best Cinematography

danadolly
Where Has 2020 Gone? Where's 2021 Going?
after 11 years of running eMotimo, these past 15 months have been the most tumultuous. From running a business during a pandemic, modifying our sourcing and supply chain issues, and branching into new markets, nothing over the last year has been easy.

awards
Red dot award winner
The pan/tilt head is characterized by a particularly user-friendly control, turning even the finest movements into child’s play. - Red Dot Jury
What’s a Red Dot? Red Dot consists of an international panel of judges that have been scrutinizing products since 1955. Apple, Dyson, Sony are some of the big players that win these awards. An honorable mention from Red Dot is big. eMotimo’s win for the spectrum st4 and Fz combo is huge.
Large design teams chase this award their entire careers without ever getting one. For our small eMotimo team, winning this award is validation that our efforts in innovation are being recognized.Why did we win? Our design was super clean with well-thought-out wire management and the right materials. Most of all we enabled the jury members to pick up our controller and program their first moves in minutes without reading the instructions. Motion control should just work.
-Brian and Logan

What Virus? Oh, that one.
Not just a cold. Not going away soon. Damn, now I have to write a blog post about this.

easy
Easy Mode
Part of the magic of a good piece of tech is making difficult things really easy. We love the details and giving users options, but if you are in a hurry for an interview and don't want to have to think about which motor profile to use, or what your ramp should be, or darn it, I have focus changes that are light, but there, how many keyframes should I add . . .

run and gun
Behind the Scenes of HIGHER GROUND with Flo Nick
Flo Nick out shooting his latest piece - HIGHER GROUND
plus
BTS Video of the shoot.

dana dolly
Making the mundane look sexy and making money while doing it.
Professional product shooters take note. This is an example of how to pay off a 4 axis motion control rig in two, half day shoots. Oh, you have fun doing it too!