Universal Pictures has released a featurette showing how the FPV aerial shots were executed in Michael bay’s Ambulance. It’s like cinema FPV was born to satisfy Bay’s obsessiveness with ultra-fast camera kinetics. And yes, it looks super epic.
Michael Bay and Cinema FPV
We know that we have been drilling about this movie. That’s because we just love Michael Bay, and for the first time since COVID, we can watch these insane camera moves in a movie theater. Bay’s films look impressive on the big screen, as opposed to an inferior home TV. Furthermore, Bay has put an eye on a field that was invented for him (not really), and that’s the Cinema FPV methodology. Indeed, it seems that it’s intensively implemented in his recent film, Ambulance.
Ambulance: Komodo Bayhem on an FPV drone
A featurette released by Universal Pictures shows a very interesting angle in the making of Ambulance, and that’s how the aerial FPV (First Person View) shots were crafted. When the first trailer was released, we knew immediately that Cinema FPV is going to be intensively utilized in Ambulance. Anyway, the trailer shows the equipment used for that. It appears (not surprisingly) that especially made RED Komodo (the Bayhem version) paired with FPV drones were used to get that ultra kinetic shots. Alex Vanover, which is a drone racing league world champion is the pilot of these FPV drones. Vanover has been flying the RED Komodo FPV style for a while and was hired by Bay to implement all his knowledge to craft those FPV shots.
Why Komodo?
For those who’d like a further explanation, here it is. FPV drone is a very quick and fast drone that can be highly maneuverable on all its axis. Thus, it can lift only compact cameras. Although there are FPV drones that lift ARRI Mini and RED DSMC2 (and Raptor), it’s far from being n ideal setup, especially on an intensive movie set when the camera flies through smoke and explosions. So why not use a GoPro? Because the GoPro doesn’t hold for the big screen like in a movie theater. Research performed by RED Digital Cinema and Netflix showed that the audience can notice low-end footage that is more than 20 frames (under 1 second). And for that purpose, the RED Komodo was invented. You can think of it as a high-end GoPro or a professional action camera. The main differences between the RED Komodo and GoPro are the sensor, color science, and raw files that are needed for the post-production process. The yellow Komodo we see in Bay hands is called the Bayhem, which is the same Komodo you can purchase (see Product List below) but was specially made for Bay (it’s a gimmick thing). We wrote numerous articles about the utilization of the Komodo in cinematic aerial FPV. Feel free to dive into the website to learn more.
Epic or headache?
It will be interesting to reveal how moviegoers will act in those aerial shots. Seeing these super-fast camera movements on the big canvas may result in a migraine or pure epicness. However, as we wrote in our previous article, you should choose the best theater for this experience, but not an IMAX (Read: Michael Bay’s Ambulance- An IMAX Worthy?). To sum it up, check out the featurette below. Let’s know what you think:
Product List
Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- RED Digital Cinema Komodo 6K
