2009 News Hi-lights

May 2009

We completed a 2 Axis Rotary Damper/ Level Control Nose Mount for the Movie Bird 45', 30' & 17' Crane Series lightening the nose by 30 Lbs. The Rotary Damper mounts directly to Flight Head Compact eliminating the heavy 37 Lb leveling gear. The Damper/ Level Control smoothes out the starts and stops when telescoping in and out. But also provides dampening when panning left and right, starting and stopping. We are currently building the same mount for the Techno 50, 30', 15' Crane Series.

We just complete mods to our second ML55 Chase Car to mount our Shock Absorber System and our Deck System.

We also installed air ride on the rear suspension fro a firmer ride Our second gen. 2 axis Rotary Damper is complete. Dampening is fully adjustable depending on terrain and camera package.

So things are heating up on both coasts with a promising work season ahead, despite the current economical troubles plaguing the world.

Marvel Studios gives us permission to post the Behind the Scenes Featurette we cut together of all the Russian Arm work we did on "The Incredible Hulk". It will be posted on our home page with our "History of Filmotechnic's Oscar Winning Equipment" Demo.

April 2009

We drove the Russian Arm System to the New Jersey Motor Sports Speedway to shoot running footage of Subaru's new 2009 line up: 8 cars in total. Midnight Media our of Millburn NJ was the production company.

Next it was on to New York to shoot Subaru Legacy for Japan. Jonathan Brown was directing for TK Digital from Brooklyn.

To get permission to shoot on the Brooklyn Bridge we had to re-engineer the Russian Arm for a 9'-3" clearance and built a set of risers to achieve a 2' lens height with out tilting down on the arm.

Our Toronto based Russian Arm System now has official clearance from the Brooklyn Bridge Engineers to shoot on the 126 year old monument. Conventional Camera Cars are now banned from shooting on the bridge.

The Flight Head V works on CTV Olympic Promotion "The Hamlin Bros" in Montreal Quebec.

March 2009

We received our first 4 axis Flight Head Compact . We also completed a 5' Extension Test at Downsview Park. With the extended 19' reach we now get a 19'-6" lens height armed off to the side of the ML55 Chase Car.

On a cold Monday night in mid-March we donated the Russian Arm and our services to Jonathan Wright's horror flic Nostrum. We were shooting two frantic girls being chased through the snowy woods by the film's killer.

February 2009

The Russian Arm goes to Philadelphia to work on "Law Abiding Citizen" with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. We shot a tricky dialogue/ chase scene with Foxx and Colm Meaney and running footage with Butler at the wheel. This job was the first collaboration between FCL and Monster Remotes of NYC in an attempt to service the East Coast of America.

The Flight Head V works on 2 CTV Olympic Promotions in Calgary AB and Penticton BC.

January 2009

The Russian Arm in Toronto gets an overhaul with a 2' extension bringing it to a 14' reach.
Plans to build a third 5' section for an overall extended reach of 19' are in the works.

July to December 2008 Highlights

We have been busy shooting car spots and movies on both coasts in Canada and the US.

Porsche Cayenne& Cayman Speedster for Means of Production in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

Hyundai Sonata for Traffik in Montreal: Russian Arm.

Audi A6 for Means of Production in Toronto: Russian Arm.

Suzuki for Capital Media in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

VW for Atomic Pictures in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

Skoda TV and Mood Films for Means of Production in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

Opel for Industry Films in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

Mini for Soft Citizen in Toronto: Flight Head V.

"When the Heart Calls" (feature) in Calgary: Flight Head V.

"...of the Dead" (feature) in Toronto: Flight Head V.

BMW 335 & 740iL for Reality Pictures in NC & SC: Russian Arm.

NASCAR Buckle Up America PSA for Stanton Barrett in Chicago: Russian Arm.

Labor Ontario for Sons & Daughters in Toronto: Flight Head V & Spider Cam.

"Phantom Racer" (feature) for Bright Light Pictures in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

Lexus for Film Group in Vancouver: Russian Arm.

June 2008

The 2008 Much Music Video Awards were a success.
The Remote Dolly & Flight Head on a 100' truss structure was their featured camera.
The Belly “Ridin” video we shot with the Russian Arm won Best Hip Hop Video!
“The Incredible Hulk” opened June 13th to do $55 million it's first weekend!
The movie looks great, especially all the shots we did with the Russian Arm
“The Happening” opened June 13th to do $33 million it's first weekend!
The shot of the Jeep crashing into the tree we did with the motion control Flight Head and FTSI Winches.
On Amelia we used the Russian Arm to shoot some exciting sequences with vintage planes.
In Vancouver we used the Russian Arm on an Audi Q5 spot for Means of Production.

May 2008

We received delivery of a brand new 4 axis gyro stab Flight Head.
We are in mid-construction of our second ML55 Chase Car for our second Russian Arm System that is stationed in Toronto permanently covering Winnipeg, GTA, Montreal, Halifax, New York, Detroit & Chicago.

April 2008

As “The Day The Earth Stood Still” was wrapping up we got a chance to show off the new Russian Arm System, shooting some high speed chase sequences.
Next was Hummer for Red Tree Productions out of LA. We did some fairly aggressive off-road stuff in Kamloops shooting running footage for Hummer2 & Hummer3.
For Joe Media Group we did a Ford F150/ F350 spot.

Meanwhile back in Toronto, we had the Flight Head out on “Max Payne”.
To shoot Audi’s hot new R8 for Untitled Films we put the Flight Head on the MovieBird 17 and the Camera Car (from William F. White).

March 2008

We set up shop in Vancouver and shipped an ML55 Chase Car and Russian Arm System (including Flight Head) to be stationed permanently on the west coast to cover Vancouver, Calgary, The Prairies and the Seattle area.

We are pleased to welcome Mark Boiko to our team. He will be running operations on the West Coast. Mark is a highly experienced precision driver with an impeccable safety record and is a great asset to our organization.

January/ February 2008

We trailered the ML55 Chase Car and Russian Arm out to Winnipeg for two weeks to work on “Chilled in Miami”. We shot on a frozen lake for a week in temperatures as low as -40 C. In the harsh cold some equipment froze, but the Russian Arm kept on truckin’. Special studded tires were made to keep the ML55 glued to the slick ice while doing 360’s around Renée Zellweger’s picture car.

At the same time we were in Winnipeg our second Russian Arm System flew to Madrid, Spain to shoot KIA for Compass Productions, an Australian Commercial House.
Then it was on to Barcelona to shoot an F1 Red Bull spot.

On “Repossession Mambo” we used the Russian Arm on second unit to shoot running footage of one of their hero modified VW Touaregs.

December 2007

We had 2 Flight Heads as part of an 18 camera setup to record a series of live classical music performances by André Rieu at Rogers Centre.
One Flight Head went on a Galaxy Crane and the second on an Aero Crane (both cranes from William F White).

November 2007

We shot the new Audi Q7 in Vancouver with the Russian Arm.

On “Repossession Mambo” we put the Flight Head on the MovieBird 17 and a Camera Car from William F. White.

October 2007

Mid October we wrapped “The Incredible Hulk” after 35+ amazing days with the Flight Head, Russian Arm, ML55 Chase Car, Shock Absorber and FTSI Hi-Speed Winches. The majority of shooting taking place at Morningside Park, Yonge St. and Main St. Hamilton. We had fun and learned a lot.

Beginning of October took us back to Montreal for more “Death Race” & “Mr. Nobody” with the Flight Head.

Last week our second Russian Arm arrived brand new from Kiev to be used on “Traitor”.

September 2007

We started work on “Death Race 3000” in Montreal with our Flight Head and have been back and forth several times. We shot the Belly “Ridin” music video with the Russian Arm. It looks slick.

We shot on the DVP in live traffic on “Adoration” with the Russian Arm. Paul Sarossy and Atom Egoyan were thrilled.

August 2007

We brought in a second Flight Head which we shipped immediately to Philadelphia to work on “The Happening”. M. Night Shyamalan is directing.

We were doing a motion control stunt in concert with FTSI and a Navigator Winch Control System. Everything went super well.

We have also been working on a number of features films, commercials and videos in Toronto and Montreal with the Flight Head. So far “Flash Of Genius”, “Love Guru”, “Time Traveler’s Wife”, “Russell Girl”, “RBC” and “Gooby”.

We are extremely happy our little company is growing nicely and look forward to more growth in the near future.

July 2007

All week we have been testing the Flight Head for a big motion control stunt sequence on "The Incredible Hulk".

Russian Arm Boat Test pics were made possible by Blain Thrush.