Filmotechnic, the Academy Award-winning fabricator of camera systems, camera cranes, and gyro stabilized heads for film, motion picture and ad industries, deployed its resources to provide viewers with extensive coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This is the latest of multiple Olympic Games that Filmotechnic has been contracted to supply their image stabilization equipment. In the U.S., Filmotechnic USA is best known for its leading camera car fleet.
The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang were expected to be cold, but the weather was more severe than predicted. Wind and ice pellets left Olympic snowboarders simply trying to stay on course. Ski jumpers dealt with snow “tornadoes” and swirling gusts. Bi-athletes tried to ski and to shoot straight in bitter cold and high cross winds. Qualifying runs for the Women’s Slopestyle were called off after 50 runs resulted in 41 falls or athletes simply giving up. Through it all, the Filmotechnic equipment performed flawlessly.
Filmotechnic’s team began prepping two years ago for the 2018 Winter Olympics. To handle the demand for equipment, a new fabrication facility employing over 200 technicians was built in the Ukraine. Being engineered and tested in the Ukraine, known for its unpredictable weather, helped to develop trouble-free equipment. To cover all the venues, Filmotechnic deployed 30 cranes and other rigs specially designed to capture all the action. Depending on the day, 30 to 50 technicians were operating the equipment.
Founded by Anatoliy Kokush, Filmotechnic is a front runner in research and development of camera car systems, cranes, flight heads and other image stabilization technologies. Kokush is a two-time Academy Award Winner in the 78th Annual Scientific and Engineering Awards for his development of the Russian Arm gyro-stabilized camera crane and flight head.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More