Gyroscopic snakehead camera used in `Quantum of Solace`

A new gyroscopic POV camera mount is making its big-screen debut in the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Called the Snakehead, the new camera system from SpaceCam Systems (Los Angeles), specialists in aerial and specialized gyro-stabilized cinematography, allows pilots to fly as aggressively as they dare without sacrificing the drama of the shot.

SpaceCam Systems had the system on set in the canyons of Baja, Mexico, in April for a month-long shoot and it performed extremely well, according to veteran aerial cinematographer Dwayne McClintock, who co-designed the system using 3D CAD software from company called SolidWorks. During filming, a Piper Aerostar 700 with Snakeheads on the nose and tail captured two planes in an aerial chase sequence.

(The Snakehead was also used on a TV commercial in which a Jeep rolled out the door of a cargo plane 10,000 feet above the desert sand.)

With a 360-degree remotely controlled spherical range of view, the patented Snakehead is a gyroscopically stabilized periscope, compatible with most HD cameras. The lens system maintains a level horizon at all times.

Traditional aerial cinematography approaches—for example, a fixed periscope on a Lear jet–can distract and sometimes sicken viewers by depicting a seemingly lurching horizon. If the filming plane needs to adopt the point of view of a chasing aircraft, Snakehead operators can turn off the stabilization to more accurately convey its maneuvers.

SpaceCam collaborated on the design with engineers at Ballista of Westlake Village, CA, which engineered the optics, also using SolidWorks CAD software.

SpaceCam Systems offers a variety of camera options, including 35mm 4-perf, 35mm 8-perf, 65mm 5-perf, 65mm 15-perf, and numerous HD cameras.

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