World’s first wheelchair-based camera system

It’s the final day of Cannes 2024 and Diverse Made Media, founded by award winning disabled filmmaker Chris Lynch, have today held their international launch of Caerus. Caerus, taken from the Ancient Greek God of opportunity, is a project that has been five years in the making and has been designed to help create job opportunities for people with disabilities in a role that physically hasn’t been possible before. Through the early stages of his career, Chris Lynch quickly realised that he could not authentically take on the role as a DOP (Director of Photography) as he knew his disability was too restrictive in being able to get the types of shots that camera operators achieve by being able to move nimbly and at speed, particularly through small spaces. Caerus removes many of the barriers that people with disabilities would face in trying to work as a camera operator and has been built to accommodate a range of impairments. It can work in single operator mode, using the DJI Transmission System to control both the gimbal and focus, or these functions can be seamlessly handed off to other AC’s (Assistant camera operators) on set who are accustomed to these types of roles. This gives the operator the ability to focus on the movement of the system and other tasks such as a tracking subjects or talent. Caerus primarily uses a state of the art Segway-based wheelchair called a Genny, an Italian-designed, Swiss-made wheelchair that has a top speed of 15mph and a range of 26 miles. Given it has only two wheels, it can fit in spaces smaller than most conventional electric chairs and the advantage of using this particular device, means that Caerus can now compete with some of the industry giants such as Steadicam given its fast pace, long running time and ease of use. The system has brought together some of the leading global brands in TV & Film including RED, DJI as well as industry partners CVP and it is with thanks to them that a full production version of the prototype has been completed and ready to take to market. It has all been made possible however, by the pro bono work offered by the team at Feral Equipment who have helped with their engineering team to create the bespoke rig that has been designed to accommodate all the technology, however the story is not over for the team at Diverse Made Media. With much of the kit loaned for the first prototype, the company is hoping to raise the remaining funds to purchase the hardware needed and is asking for support from across the Film, TV and Advertising community for assistance. More information about their crowdfunding campaign can be found here: https:/