IMAGING
THE HARD SELL Camera Rig Setup (early concept)
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1. Overhead cam
» Roll and pan with
overhead mounting
» Support frame hung
from lighting grid
» Needs independent
power supply
» Wireless MIDI receiver
2. Pole climber cam
» Pan and tilt
» Additional motor for
vertical pole climbing
» Extra-long height
extension
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3. Rear/side cams ( 2)
» Standard pan and tilt
with pipe mounting
» On movable extension
beam for easy
positioning
4. Track cam
» Pan and tilt
» Additional motor for
horizontal track travel
» 2 units could be slaved
together, then split for
split/stereo effect, or
work independently
MIDI Control
We mused about having the cameras move autonomously in random patterns, but decided we wanted
control over each, so we could frame the shots and
follow the artists as they moved from deck to deck.
Hobby servos are built for R/C, of course, but the
prospect of relying on a multichannel radio transmitter wherever we performed made me nervous.
In a performance-critical environment, I didn’t want
interference from any wireless mics, radios, and
other devices that happened to be operating nearby.
Instead, we kept things musical by using MIDI,
which is the standard protocol for electronic music
hardware and software. Since MIDI is multichannel,
we could control many cameras from the same interface. And in addition to enabling live control, MIDI let
us record, edit, and play back camera movements
just like you can record, edit, and play back music.
To bridge the gap between our MIDI control signal
130 Make: Volume 19
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5. Track
» 24'– 32' long, per final DJ
console length
» Modular; breaks down
into 3' or 6' pieces with
solid metal connectors
» Blocks for stopping
carriage at each end
6. Tripod pipe stands
» To support track and
side poles
» Number needed varies
» If stands too obtrusive,
mount track on console
7. Control breakout box
» 8 composite video ins
» 8 MIDI thru (powered)
» 8 cam power outs
» 1 “snake” cable with:
• 8 composite video outs
• 1 MIDI in (or WiMIDI
uplink)
• 1 control box power feed
• 1 pipe mounting bracket
8. Control “snake”
» Leads to control offstage
» 50' max length if using
wired MIDI
and our pan-and-tilt hobby servos, we used the
ServoCenter control board from Yost Engineering.
This little circuit board has MIDI sockets and
connectors for up to 16 standard hobby servos.
The ServoCenter translates MIDI’s Continuous
Controller (or CC) messages, which are usually
associated with knobs or sliders, to corresponding
servo control signals. By configuring which CC
channels run which servomotors, you tie the controls on any MIDI device to the cameras.
For the Hard Sell tour, our MIDI controller was a
Korg MicroKontrol, a 3-octave keyboard with a row
of 8 knob-slider pairs over the keys. We assigned
each knob-slider pair to a different camera, with the
knob set to pan and the slider set to tilt.
Our camera setups (above) changed as the tour
progressed, with the most ambitious being at the
Hollywood Bowl: several cams on poles captured the
DJs’ setup, a couple cams on the floor took extreme
Illustration by Josh Cardenas
