Whether it’s dropping a camera off a 100 story building in New York City for “Spider-Man” or flying a camera over a waterfall in Mexico for “Apocalypto”, Spydercam is in the business of moving cameras.
Their innovative camera system utilizes winches, weights, cables, and computer software to move their cameras in ways that are fast, safe and extremely accurate. With a camera system that can travel over any distance at up to 60 miles per hour, and move in any direction, they truly are the premiere suspended camera company in the industry today. They were notably recognized for their outstanding work in 2005, when they received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement.
Founded in 1998, Spydercam became a well known company in that same year working on Stephen Spielberg’s “Artificial Intelligence.” Since then, they have grown to be an elite company working on big budget productions including concerts, commercials, the x-games, and over 60 major motion pictures, including the “Spider-Man 1-3”, “Mission Impossible 1-3”, “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Superman Returns.”
Today Spydercam is run by Oregonian Todd “Hammer” Semmes, based out of Hood River and known by those in the film industry as “Hammer.” Hammer worked as a professional sailor before starting Spydercam. His experience with ropes and winches, paired with his love of film making makes him the perfect man for the job.
As Hammer and the Spydercam team look to the future, they are creating a company that will flourish in the ever advancing technology of the movie making industry. As films become more and more reliant on visual effects, Spydercam can keep up on the set, whether it is outside and on location or in a sound stages’ virtual environment.
One member of the Spydercam team is native Oregonian and local business owner, Tim Lawrence. Tim wants to make sure more of this type of on location filmmaking is done here in Oregon. After starting his own media company, Digital Works, in 2005, Tim became aware of Spydercam, and joined up with them in 2007. Tim wants to help educate filmmakers not only about Spydercam’s suspended camera system, but also about the benefits of filming in Oregon.
Spydercam may have worked on films and productions all around the world, but they definitely have roots in Oregon and they only appear to be deepening. < View additional Spydercam Demo Videos Here >
