Two years ago, Redrock Micro released the One Man Crew to much fanfare. Not only was it one of the first fully automated sliders that could capture smooth live action shots without an operator, but it had the advantage of a slightly curved track, which added a unique aesthetic touch that is difficult to capture with other sliders. Two years later, Redrock has taken feedback from users to give the One Man Crew a much needed upgrade.

Here are the launch videos for the latest version, called the One Man Crew: Director:

The biggest complaints about the original One Man Crew were the motor noise (not great for interviewing) and the fact that it wasn't particularly easy or intuitive to use. Redrock has solved those issues by completely redesigning the One Man Crew: Director to be insanely quiet — lower than ambient and camera fan noise in many cases — and by building a brand new app to control the slider wirelessly through a bluetooth connection. Not only is the app capable of the basics (starting/stopping motion and controlling speed), but it can also be used to start and stop recording on your camera, and the "gestures" mode lets you modulate the speed and direction of the One Man Crew in real time while keeping your eyes on the interviewee.

Here's a demo of the new app:

And here are a few situations where the One Man Crew: Director can be extremely helpful in documentary and corporate work:

You can learn a little bit more about the One Man Crew: Director over at the Redrock Micro website. No word on pricing or availability yet, but we'll keep you updated as that information comes in (likely during NAB).

Source: Redrock Micro

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