Specialty Camera Rigs

Here is how the work lines up. Specialty rig work in New York runs on a small, deep bench. Chapman/Leonard NY operations for tracking cars, hostess trays and Russian arm cars. Sandcrane and Aerial Filmworks for helicopter and drone packages over the boroughs. GMK Crane Rental for large cranes and Technocrane platforms. And Pearl Aerial / 1080 Filmworks for cable cam, wire rigs and stunt-lined up aerial coverage.

Here is the breakdown. Our rental team sizes the rig to the shot — a chase along the FDR Drive or Belt Parkway needs different arm geometry and crash housing than a process trailer pull through the Williamsburg Bridge way or a cable cam stretched across the Astoria reservoir for a sports doc.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Bolt motion control, programmable heads and custom POV mounts are sourced from East Coast vendors that have repeated work with Light Iron NY, Goldcrest and Harbor Picture Company DIT pipelines, so the rig output and on-set color stay in lock-step from capture to dailies.

Here is how the picture comes together. NYC specialty work lives or dies on permits and traffic control. NYPD Movie/TV Unit holds for chase work need advance lane-closure plans, FDNY presence is required for crane operation above pedestrian exposure, FAA Part 107 waivers govern drone work over the boroughs with TFR planning near JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, and bridge-and-tunnel restrictions dictate which crossings a Russian arm Mercedes or tracking SUV can take while loaded. Our coordinator builds the safety briefing alongside IATSE Local 600 cinematographers and Teamsters Local 817 precision drivers, sets the risk assessment with the production's insurance broker, and stages backup rigs at Long Island City or Brooklyn Navy Yard depots so a hydraulic fault on a Sunday morning shoot doesn't cost the day.