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"Why put nitrous on a V-12 Vanquish? Why not? I mean come on, you have to." That statement alone should give you a pretty good idea of the delightfully skewed perspective with which Tim Damon views the automotive world. If you still need convincing, consider that, in addition to a fogged Aston Martin, the Detroit native and automotive photographer's personal collection also includes a 1966 Lincoln Continental, a Porsche Cayenne, a 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible, and,just for kicks, a 730-hp Lingenfelter prepped Cadillac CTS-V. "I just love cars," he says unapologetically. But the latest vehicle to catch Damon's attention is Ford's F-150 SVT Raptor pickup, and it's a company car. As a driving force behind Camera Car Systems, which specializes in providing high-tech, high-speed still and live-action photo and video services to Hollywood and the advertising world, he's perpetually looking for vehicles to serve as stout yet agile foundations for his cameras and rigging. Although the company's current roster of fully prepped camera vehicles includes Porsches, Mercedes, a Hummer, and even a Ferrari F360 Modena, the nearly box-stock Ford Raptor is quickly becoming the boss's favorite. In fact, the company just used it on the recently launched Project Fusion campaign, the first clip from which you can watch here: As for the Raptor, Damon says, "We needed a robust platform for the next generation of off-road stuff, and, compared to where we are with the Cayenne Turbo, the Raptor is a huge leap forward for us." With the exception of some minor reinforcements to the rear of the frame, the Raptor's chassis is essentially unchanged. The Fox shocks and 4.10 axles remain, and, only some minor software tuning from Banks engineering keeps the engine from retaining a stock designation. With its flat-black paint—specially concocted to keep glare and reflection to a minimum—and huge roof-mounted crane, the Raptor's look is nice blend of paramilitary chic and post-apocalyptic trendiness. At first glance, it's not entirely clear which side of the camera its supposed to be on, and you can see some beauty footage of the Raptor in action at the bottom of this story.
According to Damon, one of the keys to the Raptor's success is its comparatively primitive body-on-frame construction. The other cars are all very capable, but their unibodies tend to transmit the energy from harsh impacts and directional changes directly to the crane, and ultimately to the camera. By attaching the Raptor's camera crane to a custom-built exoskeleton mounted only to the cab, the simplistic isolation solution between the Ford's cab and chassis somewhat paradoxically delivers high levels of stability. This holds true even at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
The crane arm sprouting from the Raptor's roof and its attendant stabilized head—the part on the end that holds the camera—is supplied by Filmotechnic, a company run by Damon's Ukraine-based partner Anatoliy Kokush. A two-time Academy Award winner for technical achievement, Kokush designs and builds the entire setup, from the digital joystick controllers to the tip of the mounting head. The Raptor employs Filmotechnic's "Russian Arm V" crane mounted to a "Flight Head V" camera head, both of which are manipulated by electric motors; no hydraulics or pneumatics are involved. Each crane setup is fine-tuned to each vehicle, and due to their highly specialized construction, often require Ukrainian engineers to be flown over for assistance for fine-tuning and readjustment. Total build out on the Raptor took about five months, most of it being done in Damon's hanger at the Hawthorne airport outside L.A.
"If it's going to break, I want it to break during testing, not on a $200,000 day or the set of a multimillion dollar feature, so we tested it hard, and it's held up beautifully," says Damon. "At one point we were doing some work filming a Baja Trophy Truck, and I asked the driver to go a little faster after each pass. Finally, the crew asks me to come in and look at the playback, and the Raptor is clearly airborne at several points. And that's with five people and an 800-pound-plus camera rig. We didn't even notice it in the cab. And the video is so smooth it looks as if it were shot from a helicopter."
The Raptor's versatility and ability to capture nuance despite its brutish charm really sets it apart from teh other vehicles in Damon's stable. "While erratic motion may add some drama to an action film, automobile companies and advertisers want to celebrate craftsmanship and detail of their products, and that requires precision," explains Damon. "The film heads are stabilized with gyros—not unlike those found in a Segway—that make trillions of decisions a second, and that, teamed with the Raptor's suspension, makes it possible."
When Damon, who grew up in the film and advertising business, arrived in Los Angeles a couple of decades ago and began to transition from print to live-action video work, he was dumbfounded by the lack of quality camera cars in service: "These guys would be running a tired car with 200,000 miles on it, and I'm wondering why I should be sitting in a raggedy piece of shit with a million dollars of camera equipment mounted to it. Immediately, I saw an opportunity to get into the biz and build some cars that were relevant to the technology we were using all day long." And Damon is thrilled that Ford's homegrown beast has so neatly found its niche within his business. "It speaks volumes that a $50,000 pickup has been able to run in this class of vehicles that we operate without breaking a sweat." As for us, we're just glad that a car geek is behind the camera. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
World’s Burliest Camera Car: The World of Director Tim Damon and His F-150 SVT Raptor
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