A mobile camera crane unit includes a camera crane having a column mounted on the chassis of a vehicle or mobile base. A drive system is configured to move the column linearly on the chassis between a use position at or near the back end of the mobile base, and a transport position further forward on the mobile base. A method of operating a camera crane unit of the type having a camera crane on a mobile base includes operating the mobile base to move the camera crane unit to a filming location with the camera crane in a transport position on the mobile base, moving the camera crane linearly to a use position spaced apart from the transport position and behind the transport position on the mobile base, and operating the camera crane.

A camera crane mobile base has a chassis including a front and rear wheel frames joined to a frame body via front and rear frame arms. Axle assemblies are pivotally attached at opposite ends of the wheel frames. A wheel is mounted onto each axle assembly. Front and rear steering systems have linkages pivotally attached to the axle assemblies and to upper and lower steering arms. A post frame is pivotally attached to a frame body with a center post pivotally attached to the post frame.

A camera crane mobile base has a chassis including a front and rear wheel frames joined to a frame body via front and rear frame arms. Axle assemblies are pivotally attached at opposite ends of the wheel frames. A wheel is mounted onto each axle assembly. Front and rear steering systems have linkages pivotally attached to the axle assemblies and to upper and lower steering arms. A post frame is pivotally attached to a frame body with a center post pivotally attached to the post frame.

A dolly system is disclosed, which overcomes drawbacks related to unwanted noise and jerks of prior art dolly systems. The dolly system comprises wheel assemblies (130) that have independently rotating lateral support wheels (132, 133) in combination with a center wheel (131) that interact with a continuous resilient element (122) when rolling along a rail track, without encountering any gaps or bumps and without producing squeal noise due to so-called wheel-climbing that may occur in curves along the rail track.

A camera slider has a base and a tubular hollow arm pivotally attached to the base. A counterweight carriage is supported on the arm on carriage rollers. An electric drive motor moves the counterweight carriage linearly on top of the arm. A slider counterweight is movable from a first position, wherein the counterweight carriage is at or adjacent to a first end of the arm and the slider counterweight is at or adjacent to a second end of the arm, and a second position wherein the counterweight carriage is at the second end of the arm, opposite from the first end, and the slider counterweight is at or adjacent to the first end of the arm.

A fully electric lift device includes a base assembly, a lift assembly, a platform assembly, tractive elements, an energy storage device, and a control system. The lift assembly is coupled with the base assembly and is driven by an electric linear actuator for a lifting function. The platform assembly is positioned at a top of the lift assembly and can be raised or lowered as the lift assembly performs the lifting function. The tractive elements are rotatably coupled with the base assembly and can be driven by an electric wheel motor to perform a driving function. The control system includes a controller that operates the electric wheel motor and the electric linear actuator to perform the driving function and the lifting function using power drawn from the energy storage device. The lift assembly and the tractive elements use only electrical energy to perform the lifting and driving functions.

A drop table system can intelligently provide truck assembly movement with a controller connected to at least one lifting column and a single inclinometer with the inclinometer positioned at a geometric center of a drop table platform. The drop table platform can be suspended with the at least one lifting column prior to a detection of drop table platform tilt with the inclinometer. The tilt may be corrected by altering operation of the at least one lifting column to orient the drop table platform in a level configuration.

A vehicle can include a chassis. The vehicle can also include a turntable. The turntable can be rotatably coupled to the chassis. The turntable can include a counterweight. The vehicle can also include a boom assembly. The boom assembly can have a proximal end portion coupled to the turntable and a distal end portion opposite the proximal end portion. The vehicle can also include a camera directly coupled to the counterweight. The camera can have a field of view extending away from the boom assembly.

A robotic video capture system includes a robotic video capture device and an enclosure therefor. The enclosure can include case shells that connect to one another and to a base of the robotic video capture device to form a closed configuration. A case shell can include a support platform that supports an arm of the robotic video capture device when in the closed configuration and when the robotic video capture system is tilted to rest on rollers of the case shell. The robotic video capture device can include a pointer light on a robotic arm thereof, enabling the robotic video capture device to receive user input selecting a pose position and control the robotic arm to position the pointer light to illuminate the pose position on a surface on which a subject will stand during recording or shot acquisition.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter are directed to vertically stabilized platforms. These platforms have a top portion that moves only along a single axis (e.g., vertically up and down), and a bottom portion that remains stationary relative to a reference frame. The top portion is coupled with the bottom portion by scissor linkages that are all configured to slide on one end to allow the top portion to move up and down without any perturbations or movements along any other axes. Stabilization in some embodiments is accomplished by incorporating struts that couple with both the bottom portion (either directly or indirectly) and two of the scissor linkages. Struts can include both a damper and a spring and can be selected based on anticipated load to be stabilized. Embodiments can be mounted on, e.g., truck beds, ships, or other surfaces that can move, giving rise to a need for a stabilized platform.