*** The Biggest Rig Ever? ***
MRMC upgrade The VFX Co's Cyclops with a 9m Long Arm

Is this the biggest motion control rig on the planet? Mark Roberts Motion Control were proud to deliver this month an upgrade to the VFX Co's Cyclops motion control system to allow it to carry their 9 metre long Carbon Fibre Arm - almost doubling the original arm length on the Cyclops. The Cyclops is the largest motion control rig available from MRMC. The London based VFX Company came to MRMC to request the ability to switch between using the standard arm which gives 6 metres of lens height and their Carbon Fibre arm which comes in 3 sections allowing it to be up to 9 metres long and giving a lens height of about 10 metres (over 30 feet)!

This made the Cyclops so tall that we could not attach all 3 sections or lift all the way up without hitting the ceiling. The work required a new sub-arm to be made to allow the new and old arms to attach securely to the Cyclops, as the clients wanted to be able to switch between both types of arm for various stages in the shoot. The work also had to fit in with the VFX Co's busy work schedule, so there was limited time for the whole sub-arm to be designed, made and tested.

  
The pictures show the Cyclops with its new sub-arm and only two sections of the Carbon Fibre arm.
It was raised to only 30 degrees instead of the maximum 45 degrees
as any further and the factory ceiling would have been hit!!!

Having had so many enquiries from clients about a low cost motion control system that can be gradually upgraded and added to, as well as the ability to mix and match different axes of motion such as a head with track or a head with lift, MRMC have designed a system that is modular, lightweight but still highly rigid to give precise motion and the capability of being a complete dolly with Jib arm. The lift and the track can be separated and each run on its own. The lift mechanism in particular uses the concept developed for the Milo of having a thin but broad skin to keep the system lightweight but very rigid. The column is about 30cm in diameter but is very thin and extremely rigid to give very accurate movements, even with heavy side to side accelarations from the track. A jib arm with motorized (and computer controlled) rotate can also be added as an upgrade.

Such a system would not replace a full motion control rig but complements the larger designs like the Talos and the Milo. You would not get the same performance as the full moco systems but would make definite improvements on systems based on ordinary dollies which are then motorized. Because the "Modula" rig is designed for motion control from the start it is more rigid than a dolly that is simply converted. It is designed specifically to run with the Ulti-head.

You can see more images of the system with different options at http://www.mrmoco.com/Products/Rigs/ultihead_with_Modula_Rig.htm