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Taking orders for the first run of HC3's


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After many years of tweaking, I finally have a piece of equipment that not only works great but looks pretty cool too. It's my 3rd generation HyperCam.

 

After being asked how fast, low and crazy I could go with my steadicam mounted to various vehicles, I decided to engineer something that was a little more purpose built. Basically the idea was to use existing vehicle mounts and existing steadicam arm technology but put the camera on something that wasn't quite as at the mercy of inertia. I used the first prototype on a chase sequence I did for 'All About the Benjamins'. I then modified it and used the second version on '2 Fast 2 Furious' and 'Transporter 2' and have been using that version until now. It always worked pretty well but definitely looked a bit (home made) and lacked adjustability.

 

After getting feed back from several other steadicam operators, along with my own experiences, I spent some time and money at a machine shop and came up with my HyperCam3 (HC3).

 

The HC3 can go into proper low mode and can change dampeners for heavier and lighter cameras. It also has a more modular design and more built in safety features.

 

I'm charging $1500 per unit for the first run of 10. Please let me know if you are interested or have any questions. I think I have 4 of the first 10 already spoken for.

 

I have a few pictures of the HC3 prototype. They first run will have a few slight design modifications but will look essentially like this.

 

More pictures to follow.

 

post-1746-0-06132700-1367438958_thumb.jpg

post-1746-0-20695300-1367454754_thumb.jpg

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Is this unit going to work for that kind of naturalistic handheld work we do so much in music videos and commercials? i.e. not on a tracking vehicle. Where the easyrig is a little too sloppy and un-precise in its framing.

 

Looking forward to seeing the more photos.

 

Thomas

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Okay.... So I brought the new rig on my last job with the intention of taking some 'down time' and putting a camera on it and shooting some iphone video. Unfortunately there was no 'down time' in either of the 18 hour days. I'm off to the rental house Wednesday to set the rig and shoot some video.

 

@Thomas, 4' was just me guessing. It has the same range as the arm does (I guessed about 2 feet below center and 2 feet above). Thinking about it now, it's probably more like a foot and a half each direction? Anybody know for sure?

 

Here is a link to a VERY CHEESY behind the scenes video they did on one of my shows. It is a few years old and has some footage the behind the scenes guy took with his 5D. It does show the old rig (the HC2) and how it works (kind of):

 

 

These are all the old pictures but basically you are doing this:

 

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=9014205025/a=15663314025_15663314025/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

 

instead of this:

 

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/slideshow/AlbumID=9010622025/PictureID=381418754025/a=15663314025_15663314025/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

 

 

 

Here is a link to my action demo reel. Not every shot was done on the HyperCam but all the moving shots were.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday night with any luck there will be some video.

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As promised.

 

Here are 4 short videos that show the 'nuts and bolts' of the HyperCam3...

 

First, how it works:

 

The collar:

 

Low Mode:

 

Balance:

 

For those of you that have already said you wanted one you can send the $1500 to my PayPal: mcgowanpro@aol.com

For those of you that asked, for an extra $50 you can have your company name engraved on the top plate.

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As of now, I have 6 sold and 2 mabies. I think I'm going to build ten and keep one as a rental which gives me one left for whoever wants one.

 

Hopefully I can get in to see the machine shop guy and he cranks them out and I'm shipping by the 24th.

 

Thanks for all the interest!

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