Industry | Unmanned Aircraft Systems |
---|---|
Founded | 2011 |
Founders | Tabb Firchau, David Bloomfield, Hugh Bell, Megan Fogel |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 1 |
Products | Mōvi, CineStar, Alta, Tero, Mimic, Wave, Ember, Astro |
Number of employees | 70 |
Website | freeflysystems |
Freefly Systems [1] is an American corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets camera movement systems and camera stabilizers used in cinematography including unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial cinematography, gimbals, and remote controlled vehicles. The company headquarters are in Woodinville, Washington.
Freefly Systems gained notoriety within the digital video production industry after the launch of the Mōvi M10 camera stabilizer [2] that provided a smaller and lighter alternative to the Steadicam. [3] The Mōvi M10 eliminated the need for camera operators to wear a harness with an iso-elastic arm and counterbalance weight to get steady shots. [4]
Freefly Systems was cofounded in 2011 by Tabb Firchau, David Bloomfield, Hugh Bell and Megan Fogel. [5] Its first product was the CineStar, a multirotor camera platform. [6] The CineStar gained popularity among professional users due to its simplicity, and adaptability. [7]
In 2013, the company launched its Mōvi® M10 stabilized camera gimbal at 2013 NAB Show winning the InGear Technical Products Award [8] and Digital Video Magazine's Black Diamond Award. [9] In 2014, the Mōvi M5 was debuted as a more affordable stabilizer [10] in the Mōvi product line and was named "BEST Stabilizer" of 2014 by the editors of Videomaker Magazine. [11]
At the 2015 NAB Show, Freefly unveiled the ALTA™ small UAV, a ready-to-fly, multirotor platform for aerial cinematographers. [12] Most notably, the ALTA allows for camera payloads to be top-mounted as well as bottom-mounted. [13] The company also announced the MIMIC controller, enabling remote camera movement on the Mōvi by physically tilting, rolling, and panning the controller. [14]
Freefly initially built gimbals for use in stabilizing footage captured with its line of CineStar sUAV. This CineStar gimbal product line consisted of a 2-axis and 3-axis servo based gimbal with a proprietary RADIAN stabilization module. In 2013 Freefly launched its Mōvi line of brushless gimbals with the M10 3-axis handheld camera stabilizer. Mōvi stabilizers incorporate a proprietary quick-release system and an optional mount adapter which allow the stabilizers to be changed from handheld, aerial, tripod, dolly, jib, or cable mounts. [15]
Freefly manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles and compatible drone accessories used in photography and cinematography. The CineStar was Freefly's first commercial product aimed at the professional aerial cinematographer market. [30] Two models were launched in 2011, the CineStar 6 hexacopter and the CineStar 8 octocopter. On 3 August 2015, Freefly launched a ready-to-fly and ready-to film hexacopter called the ALTA.
In 2014, Freefly Systems released the TERO remote-controlled car providing cinematographers with an alternative tool to create low-angle tracking shots without the need to lay track. Additionally, the TERO is noted to be a good tool for capturing car tracking shots and extreme sports. [40]
A gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself. When rotating, the orientation of this axis is unaffected by tilting or rotation of the mounting, according to the conservation of angular momentum.
Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. The Steadicam brand was acquired by Tiffen in 2000. It was designed to isolate the camera from the camera operator's movement, keeping the camera motion separate and controllable by a skilled operator.
A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of the rotation of its support. For example, on a ship, the gyroscopes, shipboard compasses, stoves, and even drink holders typically use gimbals to keep them upright with respect to the horizon despite the ship's pitching and rolling.
Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure.
The 3-inch gun M1918 was a United States 3-inch anti-aircraft gun that entered service in 1918 and served until it was largely superseded by the 3-inch anti-aircraft gun M3 in 1930, though the M1918 remained with some National Guard units until early in World War II. The M3 was subsequently replaced by the M1 90mm AA gun early in World War II, primarily during 1942. The M3 3" gun was later adapted for the anti-tank role, serving as the main armament of the M10 tank destroyer during World War II.
The Qods Mohajer is an Iranian single-engine tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by the Qods Aviation Industry Company in four main variants from the 1980s to the present day. The Mohajer family is primarily used for reconnaissance, and is among the most mature and well-known Iranian UAVs.
A camera stabilizer, or camera-stabilizing mount, is a device designed to hold a camera in a manner that prevents or compensates for unwanted camera movement, such as "camera shake".
Coptercam is a custom-built, remotely piloted aircraft used for aerial photography, filming and live broadcasting of video.
SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. or Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies Ltd. or DJI is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, backed by several state-owned entities. DJI manufactures commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for aerial photography and videography. It also designs and manufactures camera systems, gimbal stabilizers, propulsion systems, enterprise software, aerial agriculture equipment, and flight control systems.
Yuneec International, established in 1999 in Hong Kong, China, is wholly owned by ATL Global Holding AG of Switzerland. The company has a research and development center headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, a global market and marketing headquarters in Kaltenkirchen, Germany, and an OEM factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China. Initially focused on manufacturing electric remote-controlled model airplanes, Yuneec introduced human-crewed aircraft to the U.S. market through GreenWing International. The company's Yuneec International E430 was the first electric human-crewed aircraft designed for commercial production. Since 2012, Yuneec has concentrated on developing and producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). By the end of 2016, the company had established a new R&D center, Advanced Technology Labs Ltd, near Zurich, Switzerland, and had begun its global expansion.
3DR, also known as 3D Robotics, is an American company located in Berkeley, California that produces enterprise drone software for construction, engineering and mining firms, as well as government agencies.
The DJI Phantom is a series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), typically quadcopters, developed by Chinese technology company DJI. DJI Phantom devices were released between 2013 and 2019.
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II is a digital mirrorless system camera announced by Olympus Corporation on August 25, 2015.
The Hubsan X4 is a series of very small, lightweight, remotely controlled quadcopters which utilize four propellers powered by a single lithium-polymer battery. Since the marketing of the first model, several upgrades and improvements have taken place, each with a subsequent model number and designation attached.
The DJIOsmo is a line of compact camcorders manufactured by DJI. It is capable of shooting 4K UHD and 12-16 MP within a maximum of 64 GB microSD storage.
The DJI Mavic is a series of teleoperated compact quadcopter drones for personal and commercial aerial photography and videography use, released by the Chinese technology company DJI.
Arashi Vision Inc., doing business as Insta360, is a camera company headquartered in Shenzhen, China with offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Berlin. It makes action cameras, 360-degree cameras, editing software for mobile and desktop computers, and stereoscopic 180-degree cameras.
DJI Ronin is a series of motorized camera stabilization gimbals and digital movie cameras manufactured by DJI, a Chinese drone manufacturer.
Tilta is a manufacturer of cinema lens control systems, matte boxes, camera stabilization systems, camera cages, and other accessories. Its products are used in film, television, and videography by a wide range of professionals.
Andrii Palekha is a Ukrainian, a multi-talented filmmaker, producer experienced on film set either as Executive Producer, Unit Production Manager, Director of Photography, MoVI operator, Ronin operator, Aerial DoP, Drone pilot, Technical Director, Focus Puller, 1st Camera assistant, DIT etc. Andrii is well known in Thailand about aerial drone filming for various Feature films and Commercials when used heavy lifting drones with electronic stabilized 3-axis gimbal with hi-end cinema cameras. His engineering background is about gyro-stabilized heads for camera, specific dollies, rope platforms, custom build multirotors and any high-end industry-standard camera rigging for SFX.