Headquarters Woodinville, WA, USA Number of employees 70 Founded 2011 | Number of locations Woodinville Website freeflysystems.com | |
 | ||
Industry Unmanned Aircraft Systems Products MōVI, CineStar, ALTA, TERO, MIMIC Founders Tabb Firchau, Hugh Bell, David Bloomfield, Megan Fogel | ||
Freefly Systems is an American corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets camera movement systems and camera stabilizers used in cinematography including unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial cinematography, gimbals, and remote controlled vehicles. The company headquarters are in Woodinville, Washington.
Contents
Freefly Systems gained notoriety within the digital video production industry after the launch of the MōVI M10 camera stabilizer that provided a smaller and lighter alternative to the Steadicam. The MōVI M10 eliminated the need for camera operators to wear a harness with an iso-elastic arm and counterbalance weight to get steady shots.
History
Freefly Systems was cofounded in 2011 by Tabb Firchau, David Bloomfield, Hugh Bell and Megan Fogel. Its first product was the CineStar, a multirotor camera platform that enables camera operators to capture low-altitude aerial shots. The CineStar gained popularity among professional users due to its simplicity, and adaptability.
In 2013, the company launched its MōVI® M10 stabilized camera gimbal at 2013 NAB Show winning the InGear Technical Products Award and Digital Video Magazine’s Black Diamond Award. In 2014, the MōVI M5 was debuted as a more affordable stabilizer in the MōVi product line and was named “BEST Stabilizer” of 2014 by the editors of Videomaker Magazine.
At the 2015 NAB Show, Freefly unveiled the ALTA™ small UAV, a ready-to-fly, multirotor platform for aerial cinematographers. Most notably, the ALTA allows for camera payloads to be top-mounted as well as bottom-mounted. The company also announced the MIMIC controller, enabling remote camera movement on the MōVI by physically tilting, rolling, and panning the controller.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Freefly manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles and compatible drone accessories used in photography and cinematography. The CineStar was Freefly’s first commercial product aimed at the professional aerial cinematographer market. Two models were launched in 2011, the CineStar 6 hexacopter and the CineStar 8 octocopter. On 3 August 2015, Freefly launched a ready-to-fly and ready-to film hexacopter called the ALTA.
Handheld Stabilized Gimbals
Freefly initially built gimbals for use in stabilizing footage captured with its line of CineStar sUAV. This CineStar gimbal product line consisted of a 2-axis and 3-axis servo based gimbal with a proprietary RADIAN stabilization module. In 2013 Freefly launched its MōVI line of brushless gimbals with the M10 3-axis handheld camera stabilizer. MōVI stabilizers incorporate a proprietary quick-release system and an optional mount adapter which allow the stabilizers to be changed from handheld, aerial, tripod, dolly, jib, or cable mounts.
Unmanned Ground Vehicle
In 2014, Freefly Systems released the TERO remote controlled car providing cinematographers with an alternative tool to create low-angle tracking shots without the need to lay track. Additionally, the TERO is noted to be a good tool for capturing car tracking shots and extreme sports.