MTJibs Taps Agito
The Cine Gear Award-winning Agito system enabled MTJibs to stay busy in 2020.
Shortly before Covid-19 shut down motion-picture production, MTJibs acquired a Motion Impossible Agito system, a modular remote dolly that provides for both traditional rail use and multi-terrain use, and the company soon found it was “the perfect purchase,” says MTJibs owner Michael Taylor. “The system is wireless and provides social distancing by design.”
MTJibs put the Agito to work on NASA’s May 30 launch of SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. MTJibs was tasked with capturing the crew getting into transport vehicles after walking out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building and posing for pictures — iconic shots that span the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle eras. This time, says Taylor, NASA wanted to do something more dynamic than a typical camera pan.
According to MTJibs camera-motion specialist Xavier Mercado, the Agito system was the fastest part of the build. The Agito can be operated by one person, but in this case, both Taylor and Mercado operated the system, with Taylor running the camera-head mount and Mercado handling the Agito. “With two people, operation goes very smoothly, but the Agito is just as smooth when operated by one person using foot pedals,” Mercado observes.
MTJibs subsequently deployed the Agito on a variety of awards programs, including the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2020 for Telemundo and the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards and Premios Juventud 2020 for Univision.
“When our Agito owners succeed, we succeed,” says Rob Drewett, CEO and co-founder of Motion Impossible.
Recently, MTJibs has been seeing a great deal of extended reality (combining augmented and mixed reality) music production work. “We’ve learned new techniques with new technologies,” says Taylor. “It’s one of the reasons we bought the Agito in the first place.”
Follow MTJibs on Facebook.
Follow Motion Impossible on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Keep up with American Cinematographer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
