Ron Dexter, the Santa Barbara Bandsaw Master and Wizard, who never saw a piece of camera equipment he couldn’t improve by cutting, slicing, and taping – has come up with his latest wonder.
After years of research and development, Ron’s Anyone-Can-Make-a-Movie-Cam is ready.
Constructed of aircraft quality composite materials, mostly made in America.
From Ron’s new state-of-the-art research facility in Santa Barbara comes the ACMAM-Cam system. His new R& D shop is 6 feet wide and 20 feet long, see below. This is significantly down-sized and reduced from his 1200 square foot building in Hollywood.
At 80, Ron says he’s going to shoot his next movie with one. His last movie was in 1976, shot with an Éclair CM-3 in a Carroll Ballard blimp that Ballard build in Ron’s Venice California garage.
Dexter is known for his award-winning commercials as Director-Cameraman. He’s also know for inventing and building dollies, track, portable cranes, hi-hats, tilting front lenses, video taps, 270 degree shutter motor drives, crank dollies, inertially stabilized camera mounts up to 20 feet long, gyro stabilized cameras, Shaki-Cams, the Body Mount, relay lens systems, mechanical effects and bucking the system.
He is also the the inspiration for the tongue-in-cheek FDTimes Ron Dexter Award for outrageous modifications and retrofits. The last award was won by Matthias Uhlig for being the first with a PL to Canon EF Lens Mount Adapter.
Ron’s ideas come on the way home asking, ‘There has to be an easier way to do that”.
The ACMAM-Cam makes it all easier. iPhone not included.
One of the sponsors should really consider offering Dexter a new hat for this work!
Danys, Pass the chapeau. Although knowing Ron, the hat is a carefully planned prop.