Kit List

Carbon fibre crane

Extremely light-weight and portable, capable of building to 20 feet in length, and suitable for camera up to 10kg. The carbon fibre crane can be taken to spaces a conventional crane that size can’t.

Ladder Dolly

Repeatable motion for timelapse photography in both conventional and 3D shots. Complete with a pan / tilt head, the rig can drive itself through the landscape in minutes, hours, or days.

Macro Borescope

Motion control equipment can provide repeatable moves on many scales including in the macro environment.

Monorail Dolly (Timelapse)

Repeatable timelapse moves on a monorail allow for quick setups in the horizontal or vertical, and can be combined with a pan / tilt head. Suitable for studio and location work.

Ladder Dolly (Live action)

Carbon Fibre Crane (3D)

Filming

Sony F55
RED c/w DSMC F Mount
Blackmagic Pocket Camera
Macro Lens kit
Microscopy Lens kit
UV kit c/w 105mm Nikkor UV lens
Vintage Nikon Primes kit
Variable Primes kit
Sony A7sMk2
GoPro Hero 4 (Modified to accept primes)
Pix240 Recorder
SmallHD 703 Wireless monitor
SmallHD 13″ HDR Wireless monitor
SmallHD 502 5″ monitor
Radio mic, shot gun, Red Rock & Genus Matte Boxes, Rails, Polar Bear cover, rain jacket, top light, XLRs

Stills

Nikon bodies; D850, D4, D3, D800, D2x, D200
Nikkor lenses across 10.5mm to 200mm at f/2.8, zooms and primes
Nikon Speedlights (SB800)
Filters to suit above, Pocket Wizards for wireless shooting
Mamiya RZ67ProII medium format film camera

Lighting
Elinchrom flash heads (500J), Bowens flash heads (400J), soft boxes, umbrellas and grids

Motion control

Controllers

eMotimo ST4
16 Axis Motion Controller
Custom controllers and relays for multi-axis moves
Custom controllers for syncing of studio grow lights and strobes for plant growth

Motors / motion control hardware

Gantry (XYZ + macro Pan / Tilt / Focus)
Atlas Slider
Pan/tilt head (single DSLR)
Pan/tilt head (up to 14Kg rig)
Mono slider (single DSLR)
Ladder dolly (up to 14Kg rig)
Winch (up to 1/4 tonne)
Focus motors
IA for 3D Mirror Rig
Turntable (large)
Turntable (macro)
Turntable (extreme macro)
Extreme macro slider

3D

Hurricane Beamsplitter Rig, with carbon fibre bars, spare mirror, bolster bracket & motorisation accessories
Mark Roberts S3 Sliders for specialist macro photography (such as plant timelapse in 3D)
Transvideo 3D ViewS 12″ Field Monitor
Custom sync cables for Nikon timelapse

Grip

Gimbal
Slider 1.2m Over and under slung
Carbon Fibre slider (1-3m)
Carbon Fibre Jib (18.5ft max length) c/w hot head. Ideal for travel
Manfrotto Studio tripod for stills and timelapse (heavy duty)
Miller DS20 fluid head
Miller Arrow 55 fluid head
Miller Solo (100mm bowl)
Miller HD Alloy (100mm bowl)
Ladder Dolly (100mm bowl)
Magic arms
Misc lighting stands

Drone

DJI Mavic Pro 2

Lighting

Aladdin 1×1 Bi-Colour 70w
Aputure 120D MK2
12″ Pipeline LEDs 5600k (4 head kit)

Location Camera Van

My van is adapted for life on the road and enables efficient working and carries three people and a large amount of kit. Charging on-the-run is taken care of with the 2.5kW inverter and interior lighting enables easy working at night.

Features

ENG Quick release plate / Euro snap plate on the ‘camera shelf’
2.5kW inverter
LED lighting throughout
retractable shelf for location desk space
shelving throughout, designed around Peli cases to maximise efficient storage of equipment
tripod compartments

Options

DIT on location – can be converted into a DIT van with the rear area accommodating a chair, TV mounted on bulkhead, Mac Pro, monitor, 19U racking and 240v power
generator

Example payload

Camera

camera securely held on the dedicated camera shelf with ENG snap plate and Euro plate
5 x Peli 1500 (or equivalent) cases on shelf below
4 x Peli 1610 (or equivalent) cases on the bottom shelf
Bins for storing small bits and bobs
1 x retractable shelf to save putting expensive items on the ground or shelf

Grip

Crane – 20ft carbon fibre camera crane with remote head
Slider (2m)
Weights and sand bags
Tripods

Lighting

6 x 10m 240v 4 ways TRS
2kW Arri, dimmable
Blacks and poly bags
Diva Lite 400
3 x Arri 650kW
3 x Dedo
3 x Bi Colour 1×1
4 x Pipeline LEDs (5600k) dimmabte and flicker free

Extras

Drone
gels, light stands, drapes
plenty of space for production to put extra items in

R&D Projects

Robert designs and engineers much of the specialist equipment that he uses. Ranging from stereoscopic rigs to precision motion-controlled grip for precise and repeatable moves, Robert has made kit to order that has subsequently been used on major series such as Conquest of the Skies, Hidden Kingdoms, and Natural History Museum Alive just to name a few.

Changing the look of a GoPro

With an interchangeable lens GoPro Hero 4, you can radically change the ‘look’ of the camera. Below shows the same scene shot for a BBC Horizon programme. The cockpit of this light aircraft was rigged with several cameras, but the ones to note are two Go Pro Hero 4 cameras right next to each other on the wind screen; one a normal Hero 4 and the other a modified Hero 4 with a prime lens on it. The shot from both camera is very different despite them being situated in the same place. The shot size and feel is so different you can cut them directly against each other.

Also below is a shot from the A7s which was the roaming camera I used handheld.

The clips are chosen to demonstrate the dynamic range and flare of the lenses and have been roughly graded from the Protune that each Hero 4 was shooting.