For most filmmakers, capturing a good shot means worrying about getting the right exposure or making sure your subjects to hit their marks. Not Steve Giralt.

This New York City-based visual engineer worries about other stuff...like screwing down a high-speed Phantom camera so it doesn't fly off of a rig rotating at 200 rpm or finding a way to suspend a deconstructed burger and program robots to cut rubber bands within a fraction of a second so everything falls in a really cool way.


Giralt's work either looks like CGI or so simple anyone could do it...but it's neither. Luckily, Indy Mogul's Ted Sim was able to sit down with him to find out how he manages to pull off these crazy shots, as well as how mere mortals like us can work toward becoming magical geniuses (a.k.a. visual engineers) like him.

If Steve Giralt sounds familiar, then you've probably seen the breakdown of his famous burger drop shot and/or his powerful Inaugural Day video "United Not Divided".

But he has done so much more incredible work. In fact, his website The Garage is giving filmmakers of all experience levels unique insight into the world of visual engineering, from how to utilize robotics on various scales to the importance of "thinking big" in order to push the craft (and your career) further.

He even offers rare behind-the-scenes looks at various projects, including his TV spot for Jack Daniels, which features a complex spinning camera rig to get stunning orbital shots, and El Silencio, which uses the famous Laowa 24mm probe lens to peer inside the black bottle of mezcal.

And if you're thinking that visual engineering is too lofty of a goal for you, think again.

Giralt's whole message is that the most important thing you can offer in this line of work is a big idea, because the engineering side of the job, with all of the robotic arms, servos, and 3D-printed catapults, is something you can eventually learn and tinker with. What's a robot without a uniquely creative task, anyway?

Want to learn more about Giralt's work? Check him out on Instagram, his website, or The Garage's new YouTube channel, which launched a couple of weeks ago.

Source: Indy Mogul