Radiant Images, a full-service rental house and digital cinema innovator, will showcase its growing stable of customized virtual reality (VR) rigs, gimbal POV rigs and other one-of-a-kind filmmaking tools at the annual J.L. Fisher event on May 16 in Burbank.
Already lauded for its expertise in working with mini action cameras and customizing rigs, Radiant Images has quickly become the go-to shop for filmmakers and camera operators trying to harness new VR technology to capture 360-degree content in a compelling way.
Visitors to the Radiant Images (www.radiantimages.com) tent will get a close-up look at many of Radiant’s new custom VR 360 rigs, including the Headcase Cinema Quality VR 360, which handles 17 tiny Codex Action Cams, as well as stereo VR rigs, cylindrical rigs, spherical GoPro rigs, custom camera arrays and more.
In addition, a wide selection of Radiant’s gyro stabilized POV rigs will be on hand, including a POV helmet rig with Codex Action Cam and backpack recorder and another using the Novo 2K with a Cinedeck recorder backpack. Radiant also has the Ready Rig Cine Pro, a revolutionary support system for gimbals that gives operators maximum flexibility and range of motion.
Technicians at Radiant also are in the process of converting two new micro gimbals to super lightweight POV rigs that can be attached to the chin area while maintaining impeccable GoPro and Sony a7s camera stability.
Radiant’s team of experienced rental agents will join the company’s technicians, led by VP Michael Mansouri and in-house engineer Sinclair Fleming, at the event.
“J.L. Fisher provides us with a great opportunity to meet with filmmakers and camera operators in a relaxed setting,” Mansouri said. “We’ve recently been totally immersed in virtual reality technology, working closely with cinematographers, special effects houses, DITs and ACs to find creative solutions and new breakthroughs, while always focused on simplicity and cost. We can’t wait to share our creations with a wider audience.”
The ninth J.L. Fisher, SOC, ICB & ASC Annual Mixer is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, at J.L. Fisher, 1000 Isabel St. in Burbank. The free event brings together film industry professionals to learn about new products and techniques from top suppliers throughout the region. The event also includes a Dialogue with ASC Cinematographers from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Much of VR filmmaking remains in an experimental stage, preparing for the day when VR headsets hit the mass market, enabling people to wear what amounts to a 20-foot screen right in front of their face. The key in shooting for VR is to utilize a rig and mount it correctly to capture an image from every possible angle.
Radiant Images has become a sort of VR test lab. With an in-house engineering team available, the company is customizing and modifying existing 360 rigs to push the VR technology forward, Mansouri said.
Radiant has outfitted a pair of commercial shoots with a Spherical video rig for 10 GoPro cameras, and mounted it atop a stabilizer for shooting at a football game. Radiant also built modified VR rigs that utilize the SnorriCam and other pole mounts. Watch the finished video here.
“The compact form factor and small size make the Codex Action Cam the perfect choice for what we’re trying to accomplish with these types of 360 rigs,” Mansouri said. “We’ve been working closely with the Codex since this new camera came out last year and couldn’t be happier with the results.”
Radiant has developed a new range of camera rigs with the Codex Action Cam – fitting Codex heads with a wide variety of miniature prime and zoom lenses, housing Codex with a helmet to create the Freedom POV camera, and different easy-carrying systems for the Camera Control Recorder, battery packs and lens/focal control systems.
Radiant Images provided a Codex Action Cam POV package on the commercial for Sledgehammer Games/Activision’s Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and is also taking orders for other Codex Action Cam packages on new commercials and feature productions.
Radiant’s experience with mini cameras is deep and varied. The company specialized in building SI-2K rigs for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours and also is the creator of the Novo, the world’s smallest digital cinema camera and recipient of the MARIO Award for innovation at NAB, and its sister Novo 2K, which starred as the POV camera in End of Watch, as well as the new Novo 4K.
The Novo offers key cinematic features missing from other action cameras in its class, including interchangeable lens, back focus adjustment and exposure control capabilities. The Novo has been used in a number of feature films, including Transformers 4, Ten, Fast & Furious 7 and In the Heart of the Sea as well as NBC’s Revolution. It was on the set for the Oscar winner Danny Boyle-produced TV drama Babylon.
Radiant Images is focused on removing technical barriers for creative minds. For more information, visit online at www.radiantimages.com. Find Radiant Images on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
