Motion Impossible Agito steadily changes the game for safe filming

Motion Impossible’s Agito Sports is able to act as a remote reporter

Agito, the modular dolly system from Motion Impossible, has been proving its versatility and worth in the new COVID-aware live production environments that crews and talent have to deal with every day.

Now that remote filming is needed more than ever, Motion Impossible claims the Agito is considered to be a great solution for creating cost-effective organic shots while keeping the highest level of social distancing and keeping productions close to the action while keeping everyone safe.

For example, working with Sky Sports Cricket and leading sports filming specialist Batcam on coverage of the recent cricket tests at the Rose Bowl in Southampton and Old Trafford in Manchester, Agito Sports captured shots and sound on the outfield where handheld cameras and reporters are no longer allowed due to the new social distancing regulations.

Agito has is also being used by Fox Sports in the last month to replace camera operators for the return of Dutch football post-lockdown (read more here).

At the cricket, carrying a full foldback speaker system, onboard monitor and a Freefly MoVI Carbon gimbal, the Agito was able to move up to cover the coin toss at the beginning of the match and was then used for the following interviews with the captains. The monitor on the front and the speakers allowed the players to interact and converse with the interviewer remotely.

First launched in 2019, Agito has helped to change many aspects of video production, providing the most versatile dolly system yet seen in the industry. Initially launched as a free-roaming, all-terrain platform operated by remote control, it has already seen extensive use in live sports coverage, film production, live entertainment and many more. With speeds capable of up to 32mph, or as slow as only 1cm per second, it allows smooth motion from a slow crawl up to high speed, even in the same shot.

The modular system recently gained an impressive addition in the form of Agito Trax, which converts the system to run on rails as a remotely operated track dolly, while the Tower gives Agito the ability to offer adjustable camera heights up to eye level.

Rob Drewett, co-founder and CEO of Motion Impossible, said: “Agito has been utilised on lots of different sports, but recently has seen a lot of action as a replacement for situations where you can’t actually get a camera crew due to COVID-19 restrictions. It’s really easy to set up and the fact that we put gyro-stabilised heads on our system means the shots that you’re getting off it are completely solid. But the thing about the Agito, is it keeps on growing, we’re adding more functionality to it all the time.

“So on the Agito Trax for example we’ve introduced a magnetic sensor that is used for stopping distances,” continued Drewett. “We have a magnet that attaches to the rail and the sensor on the Agito will pick that up so it can tell right away when it needs to brake. Being all magnetic-based means it’s a much safer solution than other systems.”

Further drive-end modules are in development and the system has even been upgraded to include new regenerative braking, dumping the power generated by the motors during braking back into the batteries.