Camera GRIP
This is ‘motion’ film after all…
At 16oz Studio we have invested in a wide range of camera grip equipment to allow us to both easily execute moving shots and position the camera anywhere with minimum fuss. We have limited our investment to tools that can be expertly managed, moved and deployed by the 16oz internal team.
We own dollies, jib arms, sliders, EasyRigs, car rigs etc but what is unique is the amount of thought, testing and research that went into these acquisitions. As with all 16oz equipment investments, we are never concerned about the hire-ability of each tool but simply its special ‘use value’ to us filmmakers.
Camera Grip equipment and their associated skills are some of the most underrated assets on a film set. This is why we offer such extensive basic grip kit. There will however, always be shots that need specialised skills and services outside of our offerings and we will insist on bringing in a expert third party resource (an obvious example would be for complex Moco programming work etc).
Dollies
Our biggest in-house platform dolly is the GF-Quad.
Designed to provide the ultimate in mobility and versatility. With it′s 3-way steering system the GF-Quad manoeuvres on small sets like no other platform dolly.
Features include
Levelling legs for max stability when using as static platform
Instant selection of 3 steering modes (switch lever): Front wheel steering, Rear wheel steering, 4 wheel inverted steering
Quick release pneumatic or track wheels with extremely fast swap over (no tools)
Fits with ease through doorways (74cm / 29” dolly width)
Lockable steerage transmission for perfect straight moves or reproduction of circle shots (Smallest circle = 80 cm)
Removable, telescopic push bar is mountable at both ends.
Additional side platforms for comfort when tracking
Lightweight but stable design (24kg / 52lbs platform weight)
If you need smaller and lighter than a Quad we recommend the GFM Grip kit dolly.
Super flexible and small but can still take the weight of a camera operator and focus puller. It is primarily a track dolly but you can pop on castor wheels and manoeuvre around small sets.
The Grip kit dolly is made up out of one configuration of the the GF-Grip Kit System. This is a multifunctional system of rigging tools for building various sized bazooka bases, track dollies, rolling spiders as well as customised camera mounts, built on set to suit the operational requirements.
The most common use is as either as small dolly or as a super stable bazooka base either on spikes or pads.
If all you need is a quick track move or a quick repositioning of a camera in a smooth studio floor then we can use the Ronford Baker’s Universal Rolling Spider.
This Rolling Spider will carry almost unlimited weight and any make of tripod and still remain absolutely rigid in operation. It folds flat and locks for carrying and there is a central mounted Euro boss. As well as smooth skate wheels it also comes with castor wheels for use on level floors. It is very light weight and comes in a small Peli Case with both sets of wheels and a “Trailing Arm” for curves. (Note: Load bearing for equipment only - not crew).
Track
16oz spent a lot of time researching which track to carry. Both Ronford Baker and G-F-M make lovely, but very heavy steel track. We do hire this if needed but in keeping with our philosophy on efficientfilmmaking, we wanted much lighter track. The solution was BarTrack. We carry in-house over 30ft of straight and a half 18ft circle.
It is made of hard anodised aluminium, so it is as lightweight as possible, yet very sturdy through its designed extrusion. The track joints are made of stainless steel with a H7H8 fitting. This guarantees a perfect ride. The extruded aluminium tubes can carry a payload over 2500 kilograms, but equally importantly it is BLACK .
The P+S Technik Skater system. The idea behind the SKATER® is fairly simple but what you can do with it is very complex. For a start it has an extremely low camera position and is therefore often the fastest way to make small moves. Also being small and lightweight it allows you to move the camera manually, giving you direct control over tracking shots in any direction, as well as all sorts of curved moves. You can precisely define any centre of rotation at any diameter. Whether you like to orbit around an object right in front of the lens or make a curved move into a final product shot ... Shots which would usually require sophisticated rigging or even motion control can now be executed with almost no prep time.
Ronford Baker Slider
No grip package is complete without the ubiquitous RB slider.
42” long with ultra high precision ground stainless steel runners and rollers.
360 degree lockable rotation
‘Soft stop’ adjustable buffers or adjustable magnetic stops
Mitchell to Mitchell fitting & 150mm Bowl available.
Modified carbon fibre Gitzo monopods
GF-Teli Jib
For interior location and smaller studio work there is no more perfect jib than the GFM tele-jib. Most small jibs we have used are too small, too flimsy or not fluid enough and a jump to a proper crane is just more arm than we need for 95% of work. For human scale movement it is absolutely perfect you can jib from feet to above head without worry! For speed we also like to keep a camera on a jib as a positional tool, especially if using wider focal lengths and the tele-jib gets us anywhere fast... and most importantly it is stable even when not moving.
GF-Tele Jib carries camera packages up to 45kg / 99lbs and has the ability to change length via a hand crank system. The advantage here is a very fast resetting of the arm by telescoping in or out and then being locked off at the required working length. It offers smooth, vibration free movements, without the operator having to compromise the designed shot and it’s short rear end is great for working on tight sets. The counterweight end of the GF-Tele Jib is also telescopic and can be very comfortably hand cranked to the required length, ensuring perfect balance at any angle.
perfect on any dolly base or Moy legs
GF-mini Jib
When the tele-jib is more then is needed, the GF-Mini is great. It is even faster to deploy and is a great table top positional tool. The GF-Mini Jib is for camera packages weighing up to 30kg / 66lbs. It provides smooth, vibration free movements in tight, confined spaces. It come in one flight case with wheels and can be deployed from Moy legs or a bazooka base.
Easy Rigs and gyro stabilised gimbals
The Easyrig transfers most of the camera weight from your shoulder to your hips. The Easyrig reduces the static load on the neck and shoulder muscles, and distributes it to other parts of the body which are more capable of handling it. The Easyrig gives you the speed and mobility of a handheld camera, while still achieving steady shots from the shoulder, the hip or even at knee level.
One of our EasyRigs is paired up with a Serene arm. It is a two axis spring arm that attaches at the end of the EasyRig arm. It stabilises vibrations and motion errors on the vertical axis that comes from walking or running with the rig. It also stabilises side to side errors in the same scenarios by counter pivoting around it’s centre axis. At the same time you have full use of the Easyrig spring extension that will allow you to go from high to low mode while at the same time the Serene will take care of the vertical and side to side stabilisation adding two more stabilised axis to your existing system.
RONIN
DJI Ronin Handheld Gimbal. The combination of an Easy Rig the Serene arm and the ronin make for very smooth moves.
Basic Grip and small special items
16oz obviously has a good selection of other grip items.
From large and small O’Connor fluid heads to custom L brackets we makes sure that we are able to support our cameras in every conceivable way.