Smartphones today are rapidly improving and continue to push what is possible for cinema shot on smartphones. Bill Hines, creator of the ROVER smartphone camera cage, hopes to push the medium even further. Th MSE ROVER will be on display at IBC 2017 in Amsterdam next month.
“Whether you’re a YouTube creator, mobile journalist or aspiring cinematographer, the challenge is in how to get a smartphone to behave more like a professional style camera rig,” said Hines. “We aimed for a minimalist design that is strong and comfortable yet versatile enough to work with most smartphones, lenses, microphones, lights and other accessories.”
Hines conceived the idea of the ROVER when he wanted to create a rig that provided “comfortable ergonomic position” allowing the operators’ hands and arms to stay relaxed and keep the camera steady.
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“Every detail of the ROVER has been designed to provide a professional level of performance. To ensure flexibility, ROVER was designed with 16 Points of Freedom which are industry standard ¼-20 screw mounts for customizing and accessorizing the rig for any situation,” says developers of ROVER. “Combined with MSE’s MicroGrip hardware it can be mounted to rails, windows, trees, cars; almost anywhere. With ROVER’s strength, comfort and versatility, the smartphone is now ready for an upgrade to professional.”
The ROVER is suppose to be able to adjust to any point of 360-degree rotation without extra tension adjustments or locks. “This one-of-a-kind design also allows the handles to become a natural extension of the body; and they double as easel arms, perfect for low angle shooting, table-top viewing and editing.”
Some of the key features of ROVER listed by its developers include it being lightweight, an open cage design that allows it to accommodate 3rd party lens systems, repositionable and stackable dual textured handles and 16 ¼-20 mounting points.
For more information about the ROVER, go to mserover.com