BubbleCam
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- Bubble Cam September 5, 2010Are you into critters? Some techkie camera folks made some videos at my local zoo recently. I usually don't post links, but this one is worth checking out. http://www.bubblecam.net/ […]Dirk Skene
Archive for November, 2008
November 14, 2008 at the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium
Typically, giraffes are very nervous animals. Anything strange or unfamiliar automatically causes them to become timid. Richard Meek, one of the giraffe keepers at the Memphis Zoo, mentioned to us that a coat of paint had kept his tall friends at a distance for an entire day. They wouldn’t come anywhere near the altered area.
Needless to say, the BubbleCam crew expected little reaction from the skittish giraffes if we just hung a camera over the side of their wall. So how do we get around it?
We placed a substitute dome in the barn where we planned to hang the BubbleCam on the film day. It was just a plastic dome, nothing inside, and we kept it on the wall for two days with the hopes that the nervous giraffes would be used to seeing a bubble in their barn by the time we arrived on Friday to film.
They were eyeballing us the whole time we set up. With the camera successfully hung in the place of the dummy-dome, we stepped back with a sigh, each of us thinking there was no way these reluctant giants were going to give us any nose-to-nose with all our equipment, crew, and cameras hovering around.
Luckily, we were wrong.
The animals were very curious about the BubbleCam. Little Angela Kate, the two year old female giraffe, was not the least bit camera shy and she gave us some wonderful footage. Kenya, the large male, was also pretty curious. Each of the adult giraffes made an appearance on film and we are so excited that the BubbleCam captured such unique perspectives of these gentle giants.
Thanks for reading!
Kari Fleskes
with the BubbleCam Crew
The BubbleCam was designed differently from most media engineering projects. Our primary concern was for the safety and well-being of the animals we were planning to film. After all, we were going for Lions, Tigers and Bears––and that’s no small feat.
Cetacea engineers met countless times with zookeepers, veterinarians, and animal experts with prying detail after detail until a unique design began to take shape. The use of large, continuously curved surfaces keeps big animals from getting too good a hold with a tooth or claw. We employed some very high grade, antibacterial materials to construct the system. Aircraft grade hardware and a few proven deep-sea ROV tricks were all topped of by an incredible high-end ballistics grade dome lense capable of withstanding pressures of thousands of pounds per square inch.
The BubbleCam includes several discrete wireless systems, ranging from 150 to 6000/MHz, each dedicated to relaying rich and detailed content optimized for both internet playback and high quality television broadcast. Different frequencies carrying redundant information were employed to combat body mass as well as exhibit cage and structure interference.
The primary camera system is remotely controlled by a videographer using a three axis joystick and touchscreen interface. Though capable of zoom powers beyond x300, the object of the BubbleCam is to capture a 1:1 “nose to nose” type experience. This ratio generates fantastic results when viewed using virtual reality video headsets.
Surround audio is obtained through the use of our specially designed, field-pressure microphone.
The primary BubbleCam is capable of extraordinary feats for a camera system. It has the ability to cover an area 360º x 180º and may be both horizontally and vertically mounted. It has night-vision, full live two-way audio and plays back recorded sound files.
The BubbleCam is totally remote and self-powered. It also floats! Yes, it even films under water. Video capture of animals without a human photographer present provides a the most natural atmosphere, producing the most authentic animal behavior. In the water, the system appears more as a big jellyfish rather than an object of threat or danger.
The BubbleCam system is currently the only proven and tested system available that contains all these features, and assures the safety of the animals and the videographer while providing a relaxed natural-feel environment. Our experienced film crew has the knowledge to use this equipment with an energy that yields what most keepers refer to as a “very fun day” for all involved.
No other system but the BubbleCam is capable of filming the back of a tiger’s throat, the bottom of a bear’s claw or the strike from a rhino’s horn and survive to tell about it. The BubbleCam gets the footage the world has never seen.
November 9, 2008 at the Memphis Zoo and Aquarium
The BubbleCam goes in with the lions! We had anticipated this shoot for weeks. This would be the toughest test the BubbleCam would face to date and we were hoping it would be rolled away with lion scratches as a souvenir.
After situating the camera, Tonya Matelski, one of the lion keepers at the Memphis Zoo, sprayed perfume and dusted cinnamon around the base as bait. As soon as Fred, the male lion, entered the enclosure he rushed the BubbleCam and flopped right down over the top of it, rubbing his massive body in the scents. Who would have thought that lions like to smell pretty? We sure didn’t. But Tonya’s trick produced some of the most interesting footage we’ve seen so far.
Then Savannah, the fierce female, spotted the BubbleCam. She was less interested in the scents than she was this strange object in her exhibit. Savannah slapped the bubble, raked her claws over it and pulled the whole camera around! In one particular moment of frustration, she braced her jaws around the dome and bit down so hard the spectators cringed. But our BubbleCam survived the lion encounter and left with quite a few “signatures” as a prize.
We were all very excited for this particular shoot. Not only were we filming lions, but we also had a special visit from the Ronald McDonald House and the families from Cetacea Sound Inc. Even though it was pretty cold outside, they came to check it out and the BubbleCam sends out a special thanks!
Thanks for reading!
Kari Fleskes,
with the BubbleCam Crew
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