13 November 2023

Atomos takes Skynamic to new heights

Close range aerial filming company Skynamic are no strangers to Atomos, having incorporated the Shogun, Sumo and Shinobi monitors into their workflow for several years. Here’s how the products helped simplify their system and enhance their customer offering.

By Atomos

Aerial cinematography is growing in popularity in the filmmaking industry and it’s easy to see why. Drone technology can offer a sense of scale to a motion picture, whether it’s capturing landscapes or chasing moving vehicles for an action sequence, their dynamic images provide the viewer with a unique perspective.

Skynamic, an established close-range aerial filming company, pride themselves on using the latest technology to capture unparalleled content for their clients. Consisting of professional pilots, filmmakers and photographers, the team specialise in aerial filming across multiple countries covering environments such as mountains, deserts, and sea. Together, they have worked on an array of projects, from car commercials for BMW, Porsche, and VW, to renowned films and television programmes such as Guy Richie’s The Covenant, Amazon Prime’s Citadel and Netflix’s Army of Thieves.

For several years, Skynamic have incorporated the Atomos Shogun, Sumo, and Shinobi monitors to help streamline their workflow and enhance their customer offering. Prior to this, the team were using a variety of small cameras to capture footage without a remote monitoring system. Now, thanks to the playback feature on the Sumo and Shogun monitors, the crew can observe shots captured by drones mid-air, while their clients can review clips part-way through filming.

Skynamic CEO and Aerial Director of Photography Gabriel Manz, explains how integrating Atomos monitors has helped speed up their workflow: “Not only can we record using smaller cameras with the Shogun and Sumo, but we can swiftly adjust settings such as false colour and review footage while the drones are in the air.”

“Using Atomos’ bright monitors gives us so much freedom when filming.”

Filming on location can often bring about its challenges, including varied weather conditions which often have a significant impact on recorded footage. However, when the team travelled to the Moroccan desert to capture stunt footage of a colliding car, there was no question that the Shogun’s impressive 2000 nit high-definition screen could handle the brightest of environments. “The clear display on the Shogun meant there was no need to use a sunshade. Using Atomos’ bright monitors gives us so much freedom when filming.”

Using the larger, 19-inch Sumo monitor also had its advantages during the Covid-19 pandemic, as Gabriel recalls: “The Sumo’s sizeable display allowed us to have multiple crew members working in front of the monitor without getting too close to one another.”

With competitive price points and different sizes available, Atomos ensures there is a monitor suitable for all types of production. For Gabriel and his team, using the range has enabled them to meet the needs of their clients. “Having affordable monitors such as Atomos has been valuable to us; it has allowed us to expand the services we can provide to our customers.”

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