IN THE FIELD
IN THE FIELD: LUNA REMOTE SYSTEMS Having been the camera system of choice on a number of global tours, Luna Remote Systems has recently found a new niche in the world of livestreaming. TPi speaks to Luna Remote Systems Co-Owner, David Nixon and Camera Operator, Brendan McCool about the company’s offerings and why we are likely to see them on more riders in the future.
Since 2014, the team at Luna Remote Systems has cemented its place as one of the leading remote camera system suppliers in multiple markets, including broadcast, film and live events. For the latter, the company’s products have been a regular sight on a number of large-scale live tours in the past few years – from Shawn Mendes to Drake. Despite lockdown being in full effect, the Luna team has not neglected the live music market, having been the camera system of choice for a handful of bigbudget livestreams, including James Bay’s show at Shakespeare’s Globe and Niall Horan’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall. “We started from the ground up with a single system operating out of a garage in Barnet,” stated Co-Owner, David Nixon, who alongside Dean Clish, founded Luna Remote Systems with high aspirations, hoping to become the largest supplier of high-end specialist remote camera support systems in the UK. “Breaking into touring came naturally to us,” continued Nixon. “Many of our systems were already used on multi-camera TV music shoots. Despite this and after some research, we felt it was important to cater for the specific differences and working practices to make our equipment more
tour friendly. We worked hard on repackaging the kit, stripping weight and reducing the number of boxes. All of which help to significantly reduce load-in times for crew.” To get a first-hand account of how the equipment handled a long world tour, TPi grabbed some time with Shawn Mendes: The Tour Camera Technician and Operator, Brendan McCool. For the duration of the 10-month tour, which comprised 100 shows across five continents, McCool and the team manned an arsenal of two Junior5C Remote Dollies and two Series5C Axis Hotheads. “I have worked with Luna since they first got started,” recalled McCool, outlining a long working friendship with Co-Owner, Dean Clish. “For Shawn Mendes: The Tour, we had the two Dollies on the main stage – one at the front and the other in the rear,” he explained. “We then had one of the hotheads on stage for a locked-off shot, with the other on the b-stage.” The entire setup meant that two operators were able to control the four machines via a purpose-built operating station. The systems were configured into an IP network and run over a single SMPTE fibre per system. 50
