Gary Thieltges to receive Academy Award for Technical Achievement

[Tim Tyler]

Long time commercial cinematographer Gary Thieltges will receive the Academy Award for Technical Achievement at the Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony Saturday 2/18/06.

 

Thieltges, who has photographed nearly 2000 spots in his 30 year career, turned to the design of motion picture equipment after the development of the Doggicam, a balanced handheld camera system first used to shoot the Red Dog beer campaign in 1996. Doggicam Systems, a company Thieltges created to bring innovative new products to the art of cinematography, has since brought numerous unique tools to the industry. Camera Rigging systems for extreme shots, The Power Slide, a wireless dolly system and The Super Slide, a high speed dolly system, are a few of the new tools offered to the creative community. The Bodymount System received recognition form The Society of Camera Operators with the 2004 Technical Achievement Award for the development of this unique camera mounting system that locks the camera to the person being photographed.

 

The Sparrow Head has been used extensively in commercials and Feature films where true remote operation is required. Controlled through a wireless link up to one mile away, the Sparrow Head has been mounted to nearly everything that moves while being operated from a safe position. Countless high speed Motorcycle and Car spots that call for dynamic camera action have called upon the Sparrow Head?s unmatched capabilities to deliver great shots without putting the crew in harm?s way. In addition to it?s major safety advantages, the Sparrow Head offers camera operation in situations never before dreamed of. The system has been mounted to motorcycles, bicycles, roller coasters, Ferris wheels, race cars, go karts, ATVs, snowmobiles and even people using the Bodymount system. At just a bit over 16 pounds and with integrated rigging capabilities, the carbon fiber remote head has provided the creative community a new tool to capture their vision. ?I started the design process of the Sparrow Head with a blank sheet of paper. I made a list of shots I had in my head that I had never seen on the screen. Then I designed the Sparrow Head to give everyone the ability to imagine and create their own list of never before seen shots.?