Every time we see Flowcine at a trade show they seem to have a new innovation in stabilisation and this year’s BVE show in London was no exception. They had their new Black arm that brings high levels of stabilisation to vehicle shots. It’s a very clever way to combine the benefits of mechanical stabilisation, with electronic stabilisation and control from a brushless gimbal.
The Black arm is a purely mechanical three-axis dampening and vibration reduction system that hard mounts a brushless gimbal like a Movi or DJI Ronin to your vehicle. Essentially it’s an iso spring arm with added hydraulic dampers to reduce vertical movement, combined with a platform that levels the gimbal when rolling and tilting. In addition there is anti-vibration mount between the arm and the gimbal.
It can be attached to a car using readily available metal tubes that clamp onto existing car hardware. It is far less complicated that most other systems and can achieve many shots that look similar to those from dedicated tracking vehicles.
The Black arm can also be attached to quad bikes and at the show UK firm BeyondHD were showing it rigged to one using the Polecam autopole which allows for motorised booming up and down.
At the show Flowcine were showing test footage shot with a RED Epic and the DJI Ronin. It was shot using four different car mount points that were simply rigged to the roof rack or tow bar.
The results are certainly impressive and I can see this rig being useful for all kinds of TV shows that routinely involve vehicles. The starting price is 3700 Euro.
For more info visit the Flowcine website.
This from Flowcine:
The BLACK ARM comes in two versions. The BLACK ARM STANDARD is adjusted to work for gimbals and cameras with weight range between 5-13kg. The BLACK ARM COMPLETE is for people working with higher loads and carries up to 32kg. Of course you have the option to upgrade the standard version into a complete. The damping action of all axis, vertical, Tilt, and roll is made with specially made actuator hydraulic dampers that are fully adjustable with a turn of a knob in 22 different damping forces, meaning that no matter what load you a applying on the BLACK ARM, or what kind of action is required, the system is fully adjustable for the best possible damping and lifting capacity.
The BLACK ARM is estimated to start shipping around the 2nd week of April. The standard version of the arm suitable for most MoVI and Ronin users, that can take between 5 and 13 kg, will cost €3700. The complete version of the arm, which takes 5 to 32 kg, will cost €4200. Each of the arms include one set of anti-vibration mounts with approx. 4 kg weight range. Additional anti-vibration mounts for different weight spans can be purchased separately.
The BLACK ARM can also be configured with a hard front nose system for applications that do not need the tilt and roll damping, like motorbike hard mounting etc, and can be configured with our unique anti vibration cable mount for a wider range of damping different frequencies. Mounting the BLACK ARM is a simple tube and grip on tubes from 48-52mm tubes that can be found anywhere, and some extra of the self components can be mixed to provide different type of vehicle configurations. Unique design allow mounting of batteries, Kenyon gyros etc providing a versatile tool handling every obstacle.
