During the Global Citizen Live worldwide event recorded on September 24th, which was broadcast on September 26th in the US, performances from The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles were visually enhanced with the use of the Motion Impossible AGITO modular remote dolly systems provided by owner John Perry of Los Angeles and piloted by Cody Alderman.
“The set-up was on 90-feet of open track in a half oval configuration around the stage on the front side, using the AGITO’s Trax option and a Shotover G1 gyro-stabilized gimbal with the camera at stage level,” according to Alderman. “The AGITO was 3-4 feet away from the stage with a wall dividing the track from the audience, with myself and the camera operator wirelessly controlling everything from the stage right front row area.”
AGITO, the world’s first modular remote dolly provides smooth motion from slow, precise dolly movement to high-speed tracked operation, all within one highly portable solution. With a very simple and fast change of its drive ends, the AGITO can be configured for free roaming operation in Sports mode, or precision movement on rails in Trax mode.
“The camera operator worked his G1’s camera moves with a joystick, but he was initially a bit hesitant of me using the AGITO’s faster speeds,” said Alderman. “But once director Ivan Dudynsky saw the speeds the AGITO was capable of, they both decided to let me have free rein.”
The AGITO and G1 were set up during the morning of September 23rd. “We were ready to work, but the stage and lighting weren’t ready until the early afternoon of the 24th,” said Alderman. “While rehearsals for handhelds and Steadicam started the afternoon of the 23rd, we had to wait until staging and lighting were done in the early afternoon of the 24th in order to lay track and start moving.”
“Certain performances really put the AGITO right in its element,” said Alderman. “The speed of the AGITO matched the pacing of the song. So, for Mad World, a slow song performed by Demi Lovato and Adam Lambert, we were literally moving at a snail’s pace. Then for OneRepublic’s fast-paced Counting Star we were zooming down the track.”
The variety of movement to match performances is a very creative tool for directors. Speed helps the viewing audience feel like they’re in the moment and becomes very emotional at very slow speeds, according to Alderman. It’s similar to a slow camera dolly move in or slow zoom in, but with the AGITO, it’s horizontal movement that can be combined with camera lens changes.
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