I have been given the opportunity to test out Kessler Crane products for review on my website. I am very excited about some of the new stuff Eric Kessler is designing in Indiana. The gear is well built, easy to use, and fills a void in both price range and tools for creating awesome camera movement. Please go to the Kessler Crane website for availability, pricing and kits. Some of this stuff is sold separately.

The Kessler Shuttle Pod is going to be released in the next few days. I had a prototype unit to play with and test over the summer. I am very impressed with the dolly system.

The Shuttle Pod is a “skateboard-like” dolly carriage that runs down the truss from the Kessler Crane. If you own the crane already, you have track. If you do not, Kessler will offer a scaled down bare-bones version of the track just for use with the Shuttle Pod. The system is much like a friction-free PVC skateboard dolly, but I found it to be much more versatile. But the best part is the fact you can hook up ElektraDRIVE motors to the Shuttle Pod and do some amazing things with the Oracle controller.

In the video at the bottom of this page, I explain what the Shuttle Pod is and how to set it up. I also go into great detail showing you how to set up the belt driven motor system. It is very simple to do and requires NO TOOLS in the field. I also show off some awesome video we shot using the system and a Canon 5dmk2 in Indiana.

Eric and I set up a sliding motion move in the Oracle controller and played it back multiple times. By resetting the carriage to the exact same start point on the truss, we were able to get perfectly repeatable complex dolly moves over and over. We were able to create a moving scene where I pop in and out of concrete pipes kinda like a “whack-a-mole”. We also used the Shuttle Pod to drag the camera up into a tree and later, capture some epic motion controlled astro-timelapses.

For more information on the Shuttle Pod and to order the system when it is released, please click on my affiliate banner below:

This video is also available on Vimeo. Click Here to view it.

I have been in beautiful, sunny Key West for two very short days. I am joining forces with Philip Bloom, Jon and Christina from Canonfilmmakers.com and Eric Kessler on a Kessler Crane sponsored meet up and equipment demonstration. We are also shooting short films from the colorful streets and people who call this small island home. Jon and Christina will be shooting behind the scenes short videos for Eric and Phil to be posted later.

Yesterday, Eric invited us all to fish five miles off the mainland in a chartered fishing boat called “Sea-Clusion”. We were greeted on the docks by Captain Chuck and first mate, Steven. They got all the bait and gear ready for us and we headed out into the deep blue sea to fish for Dolphin (not Flipper, but Mahi Mahi), a not-so-edible species of Tuna and the elusive Sailfish.

Eric was really excited to go and he wanted to land a Dolphin fish. I was stoked to shoot a video blog on the small boat in the 5 foot rollers and warm tropical air. Plus the thought of drinking Corona and hanging out with Philip Bloom only sweetened the deal.

But things went horribly wrong. We caught fish, that was not the problem. And nobody fell overboard. The issue was not entirely clear, at least the cause of the issue.

I got very sick. I was spending most of the second half of the fishing trip “hanging the food rope” over the side of the vessel. Captain Chuck said that the food bits or “chum” was good and attracted the fish. I was not so sure.

How I got sick was called into question. When I was editing the video blog footage today, I found inconclusive evidence that my Corona was tampered with by Mr. Philip Bloom. I cannot be sure, but I ran with the story anyway.

I assume that Phil was trying to get back at me for a video blog I posted a few years ago from his first ever “official meet up”. You can refresh your memory of that night by clicking here.

As for the video blog posted below, you decide for yourself. I almost never get sea sick. I have slept on a boat for three nights with very little issue. I worked on a large ship excavating a pirate ship off the coast of Cape Cod for Nat Geo with zero problems. How can this isolated incident be explained?

Sure, I had a concussion (from a nasty downhill Mt Biking crash) a few days ago that required an ER visit for XRAYs and a neck support. I cannot imagine how this could be related to the sea sickness and my hands and legs going numb on the boat in the rough seas. All joking aside, head injuries are not to be underestimated and I need to keep an eye on the recovery for sure. Just glad to be off that boat.

You can also view this video blog on Vimeo. Click here to see it!

If you are interested in a charter boat in Key West, check out Captain Chuck and ride “Sea-Clusion”. He is cool and has no problem if you puke off his stern. Click here for his webpage.

You can read Philip Bloom’s blog entry from the meet up yesterday at the Reach Resort by clicking here.

This video blog was sponsored by Kessler Crane:

I have been testing the Kessler Shuttle Pod in Indiana. Eric Kessler, Chris Beller and myself have put the brand new system through its paces. My first few blogs about it included how easy it is to setup, how smooth and sturdy the system worked out with a telephoto lens and motion recording and playback using the Oracle controller.

This video blog will show you how you can use the Shuttle Pod to preform long, motorized real time dolly moves. By using the differently geared ElektraDRIVE motors, it is possible to run the camera down the track with precision and variable speeds. Also, this system is able to operate at forty five degrees off horizontal. We propped the track up against a tree and dragged the Canon 5d mark 2 up into the branches. The motor system very powerful and the belt system is efficient and strong.

We used the Manfrotto (Bogen) Magic Arm to attach the DSLR to the carriage and we got creative when trying to counter balance the weight of the camera. Glad be brought a cooler full of beer!

I really enjoyed working with Eric and Chris to field test this product. It is nice to see the owner of Kessler Crane out dragging dolly track through the woods and knocking ants out of a decaying tree branch! By doing all this, they are able to take what is learned in the wild and make minor changes in the shop to create the best possible product. I am happy to help out with this process.

The Kessler Shuttle Pod is planned to be released in early to mid-July 2010. I am not sure about pricing yet.

You can also watch this video on VIMEO by clicking here.

More to come! My final video blog from Indiana will be out soon. The last demo of the Shuttle Pod will show off it’s super smooth and very slow movement for capturing epic dolly action in timelapses.

Please post any questions below. For more information on Kessler Products, support this blog and click the banner below:

I have returned from my Indiana trip and I am very tired! I have been experimenting with Kessler motorized gear and Canon 5d mark 2 DSLR cameras. Eric Kessler, the man behind the products, has been working with me to field test these innovative production tools. In addition to shooting time lapses with motion, Eric and I experimented with motion capture on the Oracle. This feature is sweet, easy to use and I am going to explain why it is important. I have just scratched the surface! I hope you come up with even more creative applications and show me up!

The ability to record and playback motor movement is very exciting. I have to admit, I did not think this inexpensive system was going to be frame accurate, but I was wrong. The Oracle records exactly and perfectly the joystick action and allow the user to playback that motorized memory over and over. You must keep the shots exact and consistent. Do not move or bump the track and camera. The most important thing is that you must start the dolly carriage in the exact same spot before you playback the move. By doing this, you get exact replica motion playback with slow-downs, stops, fast speeds and more as you dolly the camera down the track.

Eric and I wanted a long dolly move, going right, stopping and then going left. Using the Shuttle Pod mounted on two tripods, we were able to get the travel we needed for the dynamic motion capture shot. We recorded the move and played it back six times while the 5dmk2 was recording video. The first pass was an empty scene, then the next five passes included me… popping up and jumping from concrete tubes on the edge of a soy bean field in the middle of nowhere Indiana.

Later, in post, all you need to do is line up and layer the clips (or plates) in the time line and dissolve between them!

I wanted to demonstrate how smooth these ElektraDRIVE motors are as the 5dmk2 slides down the track. I set up a CineSlider and mounted a 65mm f2.8 macro lens to the camera. I placed tiny items on my kitchen table and slowly hovered the DSLR over them. I used a Bogen Magic arm to mount the 5dmk2 upside down to scrape the subject matter. This type macro work is not forgiving. Anyone who has used a macro lens before knows that even the smallest vibration is amplified ten fold. But, it worked much better than expected and the results are in the video below.

You can also watch this video on VIMEO by clicking here.

More to come! I will be working on editing the timelapse video blog in the next few days. Eric and I shot day and night timelapses using the Shuttle Pod, Oracle and ElektraDRIVE motors while we fought the dark and deprived ourselves of sleep. Stay tuned!

Please post any questions below. For more information on Kessler Products, support this blog and click the banner below:

I am in the beautiful state of Indiana visiting my friend Eric Kessler. We are testing out a new dolly system that Kessler Crane has created to span longer runs and utilize existing Kessler equipment.

The System is called “Shuttle Pod” and it is a dolly that wheels down the metal frame used by the Kessler Crane. The crane track can be mounted to tripods or simple placed on the ground.

The Shuttle Pod supports the camera and is similar to a skateboard dolly, but much better. It is build well, has many points for connecting a head or arm and can hold larger cameras. It is also able to travel larger distances.

Think of the Shuttle Pod as a larger version of the CineSlider. If you have not read my blog talking about this sick slider, click here. Both the Shuttle Pod and CineSlider can be fitted with ElektraDRIVE motors for timelapse or motorized dolly moves.

Eric and I will be shooting at Potato Creek State Park in North Liberty, Indiana for the next few days. Yesterday, we dealt with rainy weather at the park but we managed to take the Shuttle Pod out on the first real-world tests.

We started at a single location, the side of the road on a bridge that overlooked a creek.

Eric and I decided to just place the track on a concrete wall of the small bridge. I first tested the track without the motor system and found it to feel very similar to a skateboard dolly. No friction, the carriage just slides smoothly up and down the metal track. The track pieces slide together and bolt finger tight without the need for tools.

I decided to go “worse-case-scenario” and test the stability of the system with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I added a 2x extender to the lens to double the telephoto power. As you well know, trying to keep a 400mm lens steady on a 5dmk2 camera (or any camera) is very tricky. Even with the best tripod. Every little imperfection in a camera move is amplified at this focal length. And, shake or vibration will show up instantly.

It was easy to use the Shuttle Pod with a wide lens and I did many great dolly moves with fingertip control without a motor. However, I had no luck creating a perfectly smooth move by hand with the telephoto lens.

I asked Eric to show me how to mount the ElektraDRIVE motor, motor bracket system, belt, and belt clamps. It took us about a minute to change a full manual dolly to a motorized system in the field with no tools.

I wanted to see if the motor would be smoother than my touch when sending the carriage down the track with the super tight lens. The Oracle controller moved the Shuttle Pod around just like it moved the carriage around on the CineSlider. Very impressive. I was pleasantly surprised how gentle the motor was and the video blog at the bottom of this page will show you our results.

So far, I am happy to say that the system works well. It is very smooth and not too difficult to set up. This system was not designed to replace the CineSlider or a Pocket Dolly for east of use and portability, but it holds its own for longer track work. Plus the fact that all the motorized parts are modular and work on many Kessler systems is a huge plus. If you already own a Kessler Crane, you can use the support truss as dolly track!

This is Park Ranger Willy. He is a good guy but had trouble opening a door at “Jacob’s Lost Cabin“. Inside the secret shack was the heart of Potato Creek and the answer to all of life’s questions. I was slightly disappointed that I never got to see what was in there.

Special thanks to Potato Creek State Park for helping us find the perfect shooting locations. I am looking forward to spending the night in the park shooting astro-timelapses tonight!

You can also watch this video on VIMEO by clicking here.

In other news, I have a nifty new IKELITE 5dmk2 DSLR underwater housing to play with at the lake. I am told it belongs to Philip Bloom. SWEET.

I will also be in Florida working with Eric Kessler on June 28th though the first few days in July. I am stoked for this trip and it will be a good time. There is more information on the Key West meet-up here.

ETHICS STATEMENT: I was given this system to test. I have used it on jobs and do not want to give it back. I hope Eric Kessler lets me keep this system or will sell it to me as used…haha! That being said, I feel it important to be honest and tell my readers this before you tackle the blog and watch the video. Eric is a friend of mine and after meeting him for the first time at NAB 2010 in Las Vegas, I respect him a lot for running a good business and making great products. I am very excited about this motion controlled system because it works very well and fills a gap in my production tool kit. I am a Kessler Affiliate, so if you decide to purchase this equipment, please click on the banners in the blog. I get a percentage of sales!

When I first started working with the Kessler CineSlider a few months ago (see full blog demo here), it changed the way I think about producing television. For the first time, a simple dolly move did not involve a large amount of hassle, people and time to set up. I am very impressed with the portability and durability of this Kessler product and the idea of using it runs through my head when chatting with a client about a project.

I have been working on an astro-time lapse project for the past six months. I have been using motorized telescope heads (removing the telescope) to move a camera very slow while time lapsing with ok success. The system was flawed and I had no idea what it would do. Sometimes it worked, and other times entire nights were wasted. I attempted to make a DIY motorized dolly but it kept breaking down. Just trying to get a camera to run down a dolly track during a time lapse very slow has been a big challenge for me. Until now…

I am very impressed with this motion controlled system. The time lapses I have been capturing with the Canon 5dmk2 (taking a picture every 5 seconds) are amazing. I feel that the price is very fair for this system (yea, I know I did not pay for it). It has good build quality, a ton of accessories, loads of menu options for simple and advanced control. It is modular and upgradeable. You can get different geared motors like the ElektraDRIVE 200 series. Faster and quieter! Yes, there are cheaper options out there, but once you use them and get hooked on motion controlled timelapsing, you will find yourself ordering this system. Plus this stuff has a lifetime guarantee!

Please order through the banner below if you are interested:

I posted a preview blog a few days ago and I offered a Apple ProRes 422 file for download. Please feel free to copy it to your computer and see how smooth the Kessler gear operates.

Take a look at the video blog I hosted, shot and edited myself. This kit is very portable and precise. Let me know what you think and please feel free to post any questions at the bottom of this page.

You can also watch this 23.5 minute video on Vimeo by clicking here.

UPDATE:

The bit I am using to mount the Manfrotto (Bogen) Magic Arm to the Kessler CineSlider is from the BH Video kit. The receiver stud can be removed off the little floor tripod that comes with the kit. This stud is not totally necessary since the built-in stud on the magic arm has a small 1/4 20 screw hole in the bottom. You can simply attach the magic arm directly to the CineSlider carriage.

you can find the magic arm kit (w/ floor tripod and receiver stud) here: Manfrotto 143 Kit

Back by popular demand… I talk to a camera, introduce a cool TV subject, shrink myself down into a little box in the lower right corner of the screen and explain what is going on.

I work in sports television using sick equipment. Using the insane television gear is often the best part of my job!

I hop on camera at Fenway a few minutes early to make sure all my gear is working properly before the game. I am paid to follow the action and I need help to do it. The equipment must be dialed in and balanced correctly so I can lock onto fast moving objects. Most importantly, the video engineers in the truck must properly control the camera. I can’t do it by myself!

I have been testing the Kessler Motion Controlled Timelapse dolly system for the last few days and I am very impressed with the results. The system is very easy to move around, is built well and comes in at a low price point. For the first time, you can achieve Ron Fricke and Tom Lowe quality timelapse movement using DSLRs, digital cine or video cameras capable of shooting interval frames or pictures.

Excerpt from “Chronos” – Ron Fricke shot over twenty years ago using custom motion controlled timelapse systems.

In the next few days, I will be post a very detailed blog about the CineSlider, Oracle controller and the Elektra Drive 500 series stepper motor. This stuff really works and works very well.

But for now, watch the quick video blog (at the top of this page) I shot last night in a spooky graveyard in Massachusetts. Please take the time to download the full res 1080p Apple ProRes 422 .mov file of the untouched timelapse rendered down from 446 .jpg images sRGB (5616×3744) from the Canon 5dmk2. You will see just how smooth this system works, moving very slow.

Camera settings: Full Manual, 24mm f1.4 wide open, one picture every 22 seconds for 2.5 hours. 20 second long exposure with white balance set at 5600 degrees. Manual focus, ISO 100.
Oracle Settings: Simple Timelapse Mode – 31.1 inches of travel over 5hrs. (not calibrated)

A few months ago, I was hired by COX communications to shoot a behind the scenes video of what it takes to get multi-camera live coverage of college basketball on the air. I normally operate a camera with this crew covering the action for regional television on ESPN or Big East college sports television.

The company is a big fan of my video blogs and asked me to create the mini-documentary in the same style I capture for fun on my website!

I made the suggestion that I shoot with the Canon 5dmk2 DSLR. I needed to shoot run-and-gun, with a single camera and be a one man crew. I found the DSLR to work very well in low light and the small form factor was easy to move around. I used a single Bogen mono pod for stability and tracking shots. I used only one lens, the Canon 16mm-35mm f2.8. I shot in manual mode and controlled exposure using the dial on the back of the camera. I tried to keep the ISO under 1600.

All audio was captured with a Rode video shotgun mic. This video was shot before the Canon 5dmk2 firmware upgrade, so I had to run the camera in auto audio gain with no metering. The sound is ok, not great. But keep in mind that it was just me, with the single DSLR to capture as much as I could. I asked all the questions and gathered all the footage.

The truck we used on this game is standard definition. It shoots 4:3 with Ikegami HL-59 hand held cameras and Ikegami HL-387 hard cameras with Canon and Fujinon box lenses. We use all Vinten pan heads. Cox also has a high definition truck for sports and is building an even larger HD truck with Sony HDC series cameras.

We also set a DVD to record the entire game with the director’s track. You will hear Mike Narracci calling the shots during the live broadcast towards the end of the video. Using multi-camera editing in windows on the screen helps to show you just how much is going on during the production.

Best part for me was storming the court with all the fans at the end of the game. I had the Canon 5dmk2 high up in the air on the mono pod!

Please post any questions below using the comment section of this page. I will try to answer them soon! Special thanks to John Parris, Ray Lepre, the Cox crew and editor Anthony Finucane.

You can read the Cox Sports blog with additional information be clicking here. If you want to see this truck set up from my point of view (using the ContourHD wearable HD camera) click here for the video blog.

I buy cameras with manual function control. All the cameras I use at work do not have a shred of automatic function on them. I want to be in full control at all times when operating a camera.

But what happens when you cannot be with your camera at all times? What happens when the shot lasts hours and hours? What happens when light changes, color temperature changes, distance from subject changes very slowly and it is impossible to adjust as time elapses?

Enter: Green Square and the use of a timer remote controller.

I first experienced the convenience of the full auto mode (located on top of camera via dial setting) on the Canon 5dmk2 DSLR camera when I shot a three week, day to night time lapse at Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. I wanted to capture “Ice-In” as the lake froze over. I needed a camera that could capture the stars at night and expose a bright cloudless day, without me being there!

The only manual setting I used was to slide a switch on the lens to “MF” for manual focus. I did not want the focus drifting at all in the low light.

Take a look at the video below. This time lapse was a true, “Set-it-and-forget-it”:

People on time lapse forums across the internet are looking for the “Holy Grail” of day/night time lapse settings. If you use Green Square auto, you run the risk of annoying flicker. There are post NLE filters for this, but I have never used them and do not own any. And so far, I am very impressed with the Canon 5dmk2 in full auto mode. For those of you who do not know anything about DSLRs or how to set them up, this camera in green square mode might be a perfect fit to shoot image-sequence time lapses.

Using manual settings are a must when shooting astro-timelapses. I set the Canon 5dmk2 to snap a photo every 40 seconds throughout the seven hours of darkness. The 5dmk2 is set to long exposure to take in what little light is in the sky. My exposure settings are as high as 30 seconds, but sometimes less if I want to take a photo every 20 seconds.

The video below demonstrates what happens when you take a photo every 40 seconds throughout the night with a 30 second “sensor burn” exposure. At the end, you will see the video go white. This is not a transition. The sun has broken dawn and since the camera was set to full manual, the settings forced the camera to continue taking a 30 second exposure with locked aperture blades.

I am running tests shooting day to night astro-timelapses for an epic video project that I will be releasing this fall. I am using the Green Square with some great results. I am also using the Kessler Oracle and Elektra Drive stepper motor system on my CineSlider dolly. Very impressed with this kit.

Yesterday, I set up the Canon 5dmk2 on a Bogen Magic Arm attached to the railing in the left field roof Coke-a-Cola corner. I work the large broadcast camera in that position so I was able to watch the 5dmk2 during the six hour timelapse.

I set the camera to snap a 21.1 mega pixel .jpg picture every seven seconds. I locked the focus to manual, but everything else was factory default using the dial set to “green square”. I weather proofed everything with zip-lock bags. The power was provided by the Canon a/c adapter and I used the Canon remote timer to trigger the camera to snap the pictures. The lens I used was the Canon 16mm to 35mm f2.8 “L” series lens. The lens was locked at 16mm. The shutter speed, iso, white balance and aperture fluctuated as the day turned to night and the stadium lights fired up.

I was quite impressed how the 5dmk2 camera tracked iris, iso, shutter and white as the night progressed. I had shot with my Sony EX1 in timelapse mode in the past using full auto and it did not work out as well. I had issues with the EX1 shifting color temperature.

Check out the video below for the tester six hour timelapse boiled down to a minute and a half. I did not add any de-flicker filters or grading to the clip. Music is by Nine Inch Nails.

As you are reading this, I have the Canon 5dmk2 setup to shoot a 24 hour timelapse in green square mode from the high home camera basket at Fenway Park. Great cloud formations happening as I type this blog during my dinner break in the media room! What happens at Fenway Park at night when the lights go out? Lets hope the green auto mode works as well as it has in the past. The one thing that I cannot get the camera to do in auto mode is longer exposure to add some motion blur to the action as people move around in the stands. Suggestions?

UPDATE April 26th, 2010:
I have finished up the 24 hour time lapse at high home at Fenway Park using the “Green Square” mode and auto focus. The test below was entirely shot in automatic mode where the 5dmk2 and the lens made all the decisions for focus, exposure, iso, aperture, and white balance. I wanted to try an experiment in full auto mode just to see what would happen. I have not found the “holy grail” for day to night timelpasing yet, but the green square mode works ok. NEVER use auto focus. I knew this going in using video cameras for time lapse, but wanted to test it out on the DSLR. Set your focus on a point in the frame and lock it down with a bit of gaff tape.

You will see the image “pulse” in and out as the camera is taking out of focus frames. I used an “L” series 16mm-35mm f2.8 and it did not track as well as I hoped. Again, NEVER use auto focus when time lapsing.

In my next tests, I will take the advice of many people who tell me that “Aperture Priority” is the best way to avoid flicker, and the camera adjusts well to drastic light changes. The “AV” (aperture value) mode on the Canon 5dmk2 dial locks the iris and uses shutter speed to correctly expose the picture. I am not certain where I will run the aperture, but I will have to run it at f2.8 wide open to expose anything at night. It will be interesting to see what happens at f2.8 with full sun!

More test to come on this page from Fenway Park.