Mark Roberts Milo and Cyclops systems used on medical productions

Two major medical productions in Britain and the USA have been completed using Mark Roberts Milo and Cyclops motion control systems.
The Visual Effects Company, based in London, used its Mark Roberts Cyclops in a production by Therapy Films for the UK National Health Service. The objective was to explain some of the realities of epilepsy including the fact that sufferers are often unaware that they have the condition until it causes them injury. The production then proceeds to explain the assistance NHS specialists can provide. A male is seen walking home at night along a crowded street. He faints and falls while descending a concrete staircase. The director stipulated that the head of the shot, up to the moment of fainting, be filmed at 50 fps. As the actor begins to fall, the camera ramps into 100 fps slow motion. The camera follows the fall and returns to 50 fps by the end of the move where the subject awakes, unaware what has happened to him.
Cyclops was chosen for its ability to handle the high speeds required for the move and for its long reach. The move began 17 feet above ground, moving to ground level. It was worked out at 50 fps after which variable speed was applied to the points at which the director required the action to take place. The actor initially falls onto crash mats. His movement is then copied by a stuntman for the remainder of the fall. Various foreground and background elements shot at 50 fps fill the scene, enabling transition passes between actor and stuntman. Clean passes and lighting passes were shot for restoration and reflections. Rain passes were also shot to sustain the atmosphere of a rainy evening. The position of the stuntman at the end of the shot was then matched by the actor.
In the USA, production company Mad Monkey hired Turner Studios, Atlanta, to shoot a commercial for the Lexington Medical Center. The aim was to advertise the skills and expertise of the Lexington's doctors and to dispel the stigma around mental and neurological diseases. Turner Studios' operator Nigel Rowe collaborated with Marc Cote of Camera E-Motion, Canada, to shoot the commercial. The Milo motion control rig was used to shoot repeat passes of the same actor in various locations, simulating a multiple-personality disorder. The Milo-mounted camera moves down onto and around the patient seen sitting alone in a large room. Layered 3D graphic models fade to and from x-rays of the human brain, showing the power and reach of modern medicine. A 180 degree move into the side of the patient's head was achieved by extending the filmed sequence into a 3D graphic progressing to the microscopic level of neurons sparking and firing. The production was shot in daylight so a clean pass was taken after each approved take to help with difference matting. The XYZ data was given to the 3D animator on set with a computer; he was able to show the director a simulation of the effect as it was filmed. Finally a move was built that pulls out from the top of the patient's head and then tracks back to show him sitting in a sunlit field with his grandchildren running towards him as the nurse from the previous scene fades away. Further multiple passes were shot to create the effect of people appearing and disappearing. XYZ data was used to combine the two moves with the 3D journey through the brain.
(GB)