Flyka Launches Tenth Electric Tracking Vehicle

Flyka Ltd has launched its tenth Flyka electric tracking vehicle for the film and television industries.

Designed by Tony Holker, the Flyka is the culmination of several years of R&D and live trials.

Tony said: "There is a huge demand in our industry for tracking vehicles and it’s surprising how few companies specialise in this field considering the dynamics that a tracking shot offers, and when the moving camera is so integral to added production values. I realised that there were almost no electrically powered dollies slim enough to fit through doorways or narrow pathways, so I decided to design and build a prototype to see if the concept worked. I was able to start renting the fifth model and made improvements from feedback from Steadicam operators and DPs along the way. This tenth model marks a very significant step forward as we have increased the speed from 12mph to over 25mph with even more controllability.

"Flyka offers different tracking solutions to other moving vehicles in use today. Quad bikes, rickshaws and Segways all have a firm place in the industry and Flyka offers different options where the others may be too wide, too noisy, too slow, or the tracking shot is too long to rely on a grip tirelessly pulling a rickshaw."
that shooting from a standing start to high speed works well."

The Flyka dolly will fit through narrow spaces; up pavements, between lamp posts, into parks, down corridors and narrow alleyways. The electric motors and batteries are very high spec and cutting edge technology, so are very quiet if recording sound, with no jolts from pick-up and acceleration matching an ATV.

Tony continued: "The main concept behind this vehicle was for it to be totally designed around the Steadicam operator in camera positions, comfort and safety. Vest-mounting and hard-mounting offer different solutions depending on the shot, and getting the camera very low is an easy task without the operator hanging off the back of a higher tracking equivalent. Step on/off, front, rear and sides, adds to the versatility of the platform. Couple this with positioning your focus-puller on-board too and you can see why it has some attractive advantages in getting the shot quickly and easily. The dolly comes with a Klassen hard-mount for Steadicam, which offers extra fine tuning in balancing the camera.
"Almost all the shoots require fully-rigged Steadicam or isolators, but I think it is only a matter of time before some of the lower budget film-makers using MōVI style rigs can see Flyka as a very affordable tracking option that lends itself well to pass offs in tight, urban spaces.
"The DoP often rides along with a hard-mounted monitor and is able to make decisions 'on the fly', then we watch playback with the Director, taking any notes or getting final approval. Nobody needs to rest, so shooting is quick, effective and efficient."

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