Midas Mount to Begin SnapFocsus Kickstarter Fulfillment

Nov. 19, 2012 - PRLog -- This past June the SnapFocus, a revolutionary new way to pull focus on a DSLR or RED camera, was fully funded on Kickstarter in a few short days. Using BMX brake levers, this grip-level follow focus system allows filmmakers to focus on the fly and pull off Hollywood production value on a shoestring budget. It is still available for pre-order through the company’s website for $899.

“Since we launched the SnapFocus system on Kickstarter in June, we’ve been rapidly prototyping,” Said Brandon David Cole, co-inventor of the SnapFocus. “And we’ve come up with a version of our unique follow-focus system that will work for everyone.”

Cole, director of three feature films, bought a DSLR a few years ago to shoot an indie feature project based on his professional BMX riding career. He was disappointed by the DSLR support gear on the market. “There was a lot of offensively overpriced stuff or cheap junk out there I either couldn’t afford or didn’t want to own.” Cole recalls. “So I brought some old BMX bike parts to my neighbor's machine shop.”

Cole’s neighbor, Harry Gramig, 74, spent a lifetime building street rods, dune buggies and custom motorcycles. He also ran a business making RV parts and has sold his own patented inventions. “I try to look at something in terms of a solution, and don’t pay much attention to the way it has always been done.” Says Gramig, “So when I looked at how they were doing the follow focus, it didn’t make sense to me why the control wasn’t at the grip level.” Cole suggested the BMX brake levers he was so familiar with and the SnapFocus was born.

Since the launch of the SnapFocus on Kickstarter, the invention by Cole and Gramig has garnered attention by Hollywood heavyweights like JJ Abrams Larry Fong. “Our invention fulfilled the promise of DSLR and RED cameras for everyone from indie filmmakers to Hollywood studio filmmakers.” Cole says, “It’s a really intuitive system, so everyone from studio filmmakers to the high-school kid with a Canon DSLR just gets it.”

Cole, Gramig and their team of machinists and engineers plan to begin fulfilling Kickstarter orders within a month in small production batches. “Most Kickstarter projects that succeed never deliver their product because they get overwhelmed with this huge responsibility,” states Cole, “We have already begun building our SnapFocus rigs for early adopter customers who wanted to get their hands on it early and who paid a premium price to be part of our R&D team. Instead of being afraid of our customer feedback, we embraced it and made it part of our process.”

For filmmakers who missed out on the special Kickstarter pre-order prices for the SnapFocus follow focus system, it can still be pre-ordered on the company’s website for $899. “We still think the price point is reasonable because there is no other product on the market that delivers the promise of DSLR cinematography like the SnapFocus.” Says Cole.

See a the SnapFocus video update at: https://vimeo.com/53841611



About Midas Mount

Midas Mount Camera Support Systems builds and sells equipment by independent filmmakers, for independent filmmakers. All Midas Mount products are handmade in Los Angeles, California by local craftspeople. http://www.MidasMount.com