Filmmaking

Although camera drones can already automatically circle or follow a subject, they don't know what sort of shots actually "look good" artistically. That could be about to change, as a new system turns drones into self-directed aerial cinematographers.

Is high-frame-rate cinema a technological cul-de-sac, or is it a bracingly new visual aesthetic we just need to get used to?

​If you've ever wanted to copy the bullet-time effect made famous in The Matrix, where the camera appears to move around someone as they're frozen in action, then you might like the Wingo Pro. Taking a low-tech approach, it lets you swing your actioncam around your body.

Gudsen Moza has released a couple of new filmmaking tools at NAB 2019, including the interesting Slypod, which is effectively a motorized monopod that you can use as a precisely controlled camera slider. There's also a new AirCross 2 gimbal sized for mirrorless cameras.

Moza's latest DSLR-sized video gimbal is a big step forward from the cheap, lightweight Moza Air we reviewed back in 2017. But while it offers superior performance, and some cool new features and neat touches, it does require a couple of sacrifices from filmmakers.

360-degree VR footage needs to be super high resolution to let you look around a nicely detailed landscape, and now Insta360 has an all-in-one rig, the Titan, that gives 11k/30fps resolution using eight micro 4/3rds sensors and Flowstate stabilization.

​In motion-capture animation, an actor moves through a studio equipped with multiple cameras. A computer tracks markers on their body, building a 3D "skeleton" that is used to create the final animated character. Experimental new drone-based tech, however, may make the process much easier.

​Moza's Mini-Mi is an affordable (US$109) smartphone stabilizing gimbal, letting you shoot cinematic steadicam-style shots. It's got a few tricks up its sleeve too, including wireless phone charging, hyperlapses, "inception mode" and some very cool but not-quite-there motion tracking capabilities.

Smartphones are literally all you need to make solid web video these days, it's just so valuable to have a HD camera with you at all times. And you can take it up a level with the Muwi, a cheap, pocket-sized, modular phone/camera slider capable of shooting powered motion timelapse shots.

Nvidia has unveiled its latest GPU architecture, as well as three new chips based on it. Named Turing, the eighth-gen platform is designed with a focus on ray tracing, and the three new GPUs – the Quadro RTX 8000, 6000 and 5000 – are made for professional use in video and simulation.

Test-driving the Gladius underwater camera drone was awesome, and it made us wonder: what's the state of the art in these devices? That would appear to be the US$30,000 Boxfish ROV, a 55-lb pro video monster with eight vectored thrusters, 20,000 lumens of lighting, and a max dive depth of 3,280 ft.

​If you shoot a lot of handheld video of extreme outdoor activities, then it's possible that you use a motorized camera-stabilizing gimbal. Such devices, however, typically don't offer much protection to the camera – or to themselves. That's why the enclosed-design Arculus Onyx was created.