The film industry in Atlanta is a tight nit community. We work shoulder to shoulder pulling long days rain or shine. All though each department has their unique skillset, we all share the work load to get the perfect shot. Camera and grip departments work hand in hand on every camera rig and every camera move. So it was a natural fit when our friends at Commander reached out to us grips at Film Speed for a custom truss camera target calibration structure at their amazing facility here in Atlanta.
Commander is Atlanta's leading professional camera rental house, serving film, television, commercial and underwater production clients across the Southeast. Their cameras are right there with the workers in the elements pulling long days, and after every gig, they need a tune up.
The Engineering Challenge
Six individual trolley target systems needed to travel along a fixed overhead path, each suspending a calibration target and light fixture below the carriage. The system had to maintain precise, repeatable positioning across a 20-foot span — with minimal tolerance for flex, sag, or lateral drift that could compromise calibration accuracy.
Film Speed's team designed the entire system with our partners at XSF Truss, taking the project from a blank page to a fully engineered CAD model before a single piece of aluminum was cut.
The render above shows the carriage interface — a fabricated aluminum frame that clamps to the truss chord and provides the overhead rail structure the trolley targets ride along, with the calibration target suspended below.
Key Design Considerations
- 20-foot span with structural rigidity requirements to eliminate deflection across the full run
- 6 trolley target systems operating on the same gantry — load distribution and spacing engineered accordingly
- Truss integration — the carriage mounts directly to existing truss chord, keeping the system clean and avoiding additional floor structure
- Repeatable positioning — the trolley path had to be level and consistent to ensure calibration data integrity across every camera that passes through
Installation
The Truss installation was a breeze using XSF Protective Bolt Plate 12" Box Truss which we keep in stock here at Film Speed. Columns were anchored directly into the concrete. The camera target trolley track was designed to clamp directly to the truss structure using standard truss couplers aka "Proburgers". This allows for easy repositioning if needed.
About Commander
Commander is an Atlanta-based camera rental house specializing in professional cinema and broadcast equipment. Learn more at commandercamera.com.
Have a custom installation challenge?
Film Speed handles everything — engineering, fabrication, and installation — for studios, production facilities, venues, and beyond. Contact us to talk through your project.