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There are thousands of applications where ultra
high speed video is useful. SlowMo has captured a wide range
of events and movements in all types of locations, for example,
from filming birds out at sea to capturing huge explosions
to slowing down a fast moving production line. We will be
glad to advise you on your specialist high speed requirements.
More information on four particular areas, natural
history, television and commercials,
production line analysis
and ballistics and explosions,
are also provided below.
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SlowMo
has worked on a video variety of programmes such as
consumer and current affairs, culture, pop videos, and
product commercials for both national and international
broadcast.
In 2008, the SA-1 has been used on commercials for
Pepsi, Direct Line, Ribena and Finish (see clients
page for full list). In 2009, the new high definition
Photron SA-2, has become a familiar sight on commercial
shoots, for example, Pepsi (twice), Finish (4 commercials),
Clearasil, Anta, MTV (2-off Photron SA-2 synchronised
shoot), McDonalds and was used to take stunning images
for Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections - 2nd
series. The PL mount means that high speed clips can
be matched to other PL mounted cameras, such as the
RED. The SA-1 is still being used for commercials (Milford
Fruit Teas) to provide images at 10000fps.
Slowmo provides a real cost effective solution for when
high speed high definition images are required. Mark
manages and operates the camera by himself and can fly
to a shoot with only one checked-in case. This ultimately
keeps costs to a minimum. |
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Filming wildlife
with a high speed digital camera often requires special
equipment, specific camera set-up, together with a certain
level of knowledge in order to get the right shot under
often difficult and time intensive conditions.
SlowMo will endeavour to provide the best high
speed equipment and service to wildlife and natural
history film makers and professional wildlife cameramen/women.
It's new HD Photron SA-2 camera has been fitted with
the maximum on board memory of 32Gb specifically to
assist wildlife filming.
SlowMo is glad to provide free ‘hands on’
training with the Photron cameras at its Altrincham
base.

SA1.1 on location filming
bears, Alaska
(copyright Gavin Thurston)
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The
Photron SA-1.1 camera above all provides superb light
sensitivity, which is crucial for wildlife shoots. It
has a customised handle that can incorporate a viewfinder,
and mounting plate for supporting long lenses and special
power cables for use with 12V car batteries and V-lok
camera batteries.
The HD SA-2 is only one stop less than the SA-1, amazing
for a HD high speed camera
Mark Johnson has presented a high speed camera workshop
at the Wildscreen Festival in both 2006 and 2008.
Natural history subjects filmed at high speed by some
of the world's top wildlife cameramen with cameras provided
by SlowMo:
Hummingbird hawkmoths, salmon, horseshoe bats, butterflies,
pigeons, kestrels, diving gannets, swallows, woodpeckers,
tawny owls, puffball fungi, pilobolus fungi, various garden
birds, dung beetles, bumblebees, pollinating orchids,
gorse seed pods, diving ducklings, ballooning spiders,
frogs, pond skaters, chameleons, geckos, spiders, shrews,
cheetahs, mosquitos, capuchin monkeys, hippos, eagle owls,
grizzly bears, flamingos.
Full HD - Dragonflies, gannets, great white sharks, crocodiles
and wildebeest. |
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SlowMo
is very experienced in working within an industrial/production
environment. If there is a problem with your fast moving
production line that needs detecting, digital high speed
cameras are very effective in determining where the
fault lies.
Reduce downtime caused by jams • Improve changeover
time • Lower wastage • Reduce maintenance
expenses.
A digital high speed camera can capture movement after
the event has occurred. It does this by continually buffering
images in the camera memory, and then waiting for a trigger
signal. The allocation of available memory can be set
to record those movements occurring before this trigger
so in essence recording something that just happened.
If a failure in the line is imminent then one can arm
the camera, wait until a line failure is seen and then
press the trigger button. You can then see exactly what
may have caused the fault. Answers can be found very quickly
when suddenly viewed at high speed. |
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Normally production
line work is not that fast regards high speed applications
and a frame rate of around 500fps is usually sufficient.
SlowMo has filmed on many occasions in manufacturing,
food
production, bottling and labelling plants, sterile chemical
environments, and steel works.
SlowMo
always ensures that the video clips captured can be played
back on your computer systems and also provides viewer
software further analysis of the clips.
The new Fastcam SA-3 has been bought to increase the availability
for high speed production line analysis. |
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SlowMo has worked on
several occasions with Ordnance companies and ranges
covering military contracts. It can, subject to availability,
provide 3 or more cameras all of which can be triggered
from distance. It has also been hired by production
companies filming controlled explosions involving plastic
explosives, gunpowder and ultra high voltages.

Image above: Bullet
clearly captured between 0.5m timing foils at 50000fps
with 1/100000 s shutter. Camera: Photron SA-1.
It is usually not possible to use slow motion clips
of fast moving projectiles for broadcast purposes because
of the small resolution. However the world's fastest
camera, the SA-1.1 is capable of capturing 1024 x 576
(16:9) images at a staggering 10000fps. Reducing the
width to 720 pixels will result in a frame rate of 13500fps.
Image on the right: Non-safety glass
test with bullet.
Camera: Photron APX. Frame rate: 24000fps.
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