The BubbleCam System
TO DATE The filming of dangerous or elusive animals has been confined to a world of limited perspective and conventional techniques, where big zoom lenses rule. Some close up video has been captured, but during aggressive moments where the animal and the videographer were placed in unfortunate unsafe circumstances. Sadly, often the safety of the animal is the last concern. The BubbleCam is here to change all that.
TOO DANGEROUS The BubbleCam is constructed of super-tough materials capable of withstanding incredible shocks and pressures. Engineered with a very high margin of safety utilizing continuous curved surfaces, antibacterial materials, and aircraft grade hardware. These combined technologies allows us to film animals which have always been off limits to anything but zoom photography. At times, only fractions of an inch separate our lens from the nose of some of the most dangerous animals in the world.
TOO TIMID Some animals are so illusive or cautious of humans that close up video was captured only with a massive lens and infinite patience. The BubbleCam has proven itself innocuous enough to the species to bring them calmly close up. Such video adds a totally new perspective for educational studies such as behavioral science and classroom observations. Equipped with night-vision and under-water capabilities, even animals of the dark waters are open to close up video capture.
TOO FUN Designed and built for big animals such as lions, tigers and bears sometimes we just can’t resist the opportunity to just have some fun. The little guys seem to never fail to entertain us when we put the BubbleCam into their enclosures. Interaction from the curious to the cautious and sometimes bizarre is captured from a point of view never before seen. Simply shoving a camera in an animal’s face is not only hazardous to the animal but also usually results in the same familiar images. Not the BubbleCam.
To view demo footage or scheduling a film date,
email: info [at] bubblecam [dot] net
phone: 800-489-1759
The BubbleCam, designed and built by Cetacea Sound, Inc.
In the BubbleLab
Design and Construction
The BubbleCam was designed differently from most media engineering projects. Our primary concern was for the safety and well-being of the animals we were planning to film. After all, we were going for Lions, Tigers and Bears––and that’s no small feat.
Cetacea engineers met countless times with zookeepers, veterinarians, and animal experts with prying detail after detail until a unique design began to take shape. The use of large, continuously curved surfaces keeps big animals from getting too good a hold with a tooth or claw. We employed some very high grade, antibacterial materials to construct the system. Aircraft grade hardware and a few proven deep-sea ROV tricks were all topped of by an incredible high-end ballistics grade dome lense capable of withstanding pressures of thousands of pounds per square inch.
The BubbleCam includes several discrete wireless systems, ranging from 150 to 6000/MHz, each dedicated to relaying rich and detailed content optimized for both internet playback and high quality television broadcast. Different frequencies carrying redundant information were employed to combat body mass as well as exhibit cage and structure interference.
The primary camera system is remotely controlled by a videographer using a three axis joystick and touchscreen interface. Though capable of zoom powers beyond x300, the object of the BubbleCam is to capture a 1:1 “nose to nose” type experience. This ratio generates fantastic results when viewed using virtual reality video headsets.
Surround audio is obtained through the use of our specially designed, field-pressure microphone.
The primary BubbleCam is capable of extraordinary feats for a camera system. It has the ability to cover an area 360º x 180º and may be both horizontally and vertically mounted. It has night-vision, full live two-way audio and plays back recorded sound files.
The BubbleCam is totally remote and self-powered. It also floats! Yes, it even films under water. Video capture of animals without a human photographer present provides a the most natural atmosphere, producing the most authentic animal behavior. In the water, the system appears more as a big jellyfish rather than an object of threat or danger.
The BubbleCam system is currently the only proven and tested system available that contains all these features, and assures the safety of the animals and the videographer while providing a relaxed natural-feel environment. Our experienced film crew has the knowledge to use this equipment with an energy that yields what most keepers refer to as a “very fun day” for all involved.
No other system but the BubbleCam is capable of filming the back of a tiger’s throat, the bottom of a bear’s claw or the strike from a rhino’s horn and survive to tell about it. The BubbleCam gets the footage the world has never seen.
