We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/ScriptLogOn: Cinema Robot (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Robotics Company Makes Sensor-Packed Filmmaking Equipment
TEASER: A “cinema robot” repeats the same shot endlessly
PUBLISHED: 04/26/2022 at 7:53 am
BYLINE: Deana Mitchell
DATELINE: Austin, Texas
VIDEOGRAPHER: Deana Mitchell
PRODUCER: Deana Mitchell
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Holly Franko
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, SISU, ZOOM
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 1:58
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO:))
[[Sensor-packed robots are changing how movies and commercials are made. Deana Mitchell has the story.]]
((Mike Morgan, SISU Head of Marketing))
“I’ve got this tablet and I’ve got this wand. I use the trigger on the wand, when I squeeze that, it’s like I’m virtually grabbing the camera.”
[[RADIO TRACK: That’s SISU’s Mike Morgan, demonstrating how to use the firm’s cinema robot.]]
((NARRATOR))
((Mandatory CG: SISU))
Motion control robotics have been in filmmaking for decades but have a bad reputation as being cumbersome to use, experts say.
((Mike Morgan, SISU Head of Marketing))
“So our mission has been to change that and make it as simple and intuitive as possible.”
((NARRATOR))
SISU, a Texas robotics company, makes a cinema robot.
[[RADIO TRACK: Russell Aldridge is the CEO of SISU]]
((Russell Aldridge, SISU CEO))
“The director can say, ‘I want the camera here and I want it over here.’
((Mandatory courtesy: SISU))
And so, we've even put the controller in the hand of the director and said, ‘Pull this trigger and show me what you mean,’ and they'll just pull the trigger and just move their hand and the camera just follows the movement of their hand.”
((NARRATOR)) ((BROLL: SISU moving))
The SISU cinema robot’s arm is like robotic arms used in automobile manufacturing, which requires precision. The “secret sauce,” the firm says, is a combination of sensors and accelerometers that make the camera easier and faster to manipulate. That’s important when working on action films where the same shot needs to be filmed multiple times.
((Russell Aldridge, SISU CEO))
“You'll see it in the action movies where somebody busts through a wall.
((Mandatory CG: SISU))
So, they break through the wall first, doing this shot, then they have somebody jump through the wall doing that same shot and they put them over top of each other And it looks like the person just broke through the wall.”
((NARRATOR))
(Mandatory CG: Gravity" / Warner Bros. Pictures))
((Mandatory YouTube logo))
Cinema robotics expert Jeff Linnell, whose former company used -robots for the science fiction thriller "Gravity,” says SISU’s technology is making the experience even easier.
((Jeff Linnell, Motion Control Expert)) ((Courtesy: Zoom))
“A person on the street that can play a video game can make that robot do something...
((Mandatory CG: SISU))
... in half a day or a day. Which is great, so they've definitely...
((End courtesy))
...democratized it and these things are becoming much more usable.”
((Mandatory CG: SISU))
((NARRATOR))
More realistic-looking filmmaking, thanks to robotic help.
((Deana Mitchell for VOA News, Austin, Texas))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Austin, Texas
Embargo DateApril 26, 2022 16:08 EDT
Byline
((Deana Mitchell for VOA News, Austin, Texas))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English