XM2 PURSUIT has been at the forefront of film camera and remote head technology, creating and integrating these cameras with the latest stabilised heads. As early adopters of this fusion of new and old technology, they have been able to optimise the equipment and processes to ensure constantly high-quality footage.

Their first project to heavily utilise film cameras was Westworld in 2017. Working with Director of Photography Paul Cameron, they were able to integrate an ARRI 235 with a 400-foot magazine with their drone mounted remote head. This was used to capture action sequences of talent riding horses and chasing stunt vehicles. Westworld maintained the practice of shooting on film into season 3, with their team employing both aerial and ground based remote head platforms carrying the ARRI 235.

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (directed by J Abrams, with Dan Mindel, as Director of Photography) utilised film cameras across Main and Second Unit utilising the ARRI 235 and ARRI 435 systems. A drone and remote head capable of operating the ARRI 435 was a world first that came about from our in-house research and development capabilities. XM2 proved this technology on day one and it was utilised consistently until the end of the shoot. 

More recently, we utilised the ARRI 235 on No Time To Die (directed by Cary Fukunaga, with Linus Sandgren, as Director of Photography) across Main and Second Unit. XM2’s team travelled across Europe including England, Scotland and Italy with the Tango aircraft shooting high action stunt sequences, chasing vehicles and working in coordination with the aerial unit. 

Taking film to even greater heights, we successfully integrated the ARRI 535B with the Shotover K1, complete with 1000ft magazines, 1000mm zoom lenses and a full HD video feed. This involved a complete re-engineering of XM2’s existing 6-axis gimbal to accommodate large mags and long lenses, as well as provide an additional support structure to ensure smooth footage from a camera package that can run for over 10 minutes. This system was utilised on their A-Star helicopter in Los Angeles, also for Westworld to shoot stunning aerials. 

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A collaboration between XM2 and Pursuit Aviation, XM2 PURSUIT forms the world’s premiere complete aerial solution provider. Capable of capturing amazing aerial content from almost any airborne and many ground-based platforms, XM2 PURSUIT caters to the major motion picture, visual effects and TV industries.