This Robot Shoots Stunning Slow-Mo Portraits on Red Carpets
If you don’t watch entertainment industry awards shows, perhaps you’ve never heard of E!’s Glambot, which has been hitting the red carpets at major shows (e.g. Oscars, Grammys, Emmys) to shoot stunning 1000fps slow-motion portraits of celebrities.
Here’s an epic shot of singer and actress Sofia Carson that Walliser captured with the Glambot at the 2018 Academy Awards (you can find more shots from this show here):
Whenever a celebrity shows up at the booth, Walliser only has about 30 seconds to explain the Glambot and 1-2 minutes total for the whole shoot. The robot itself has about 12 pre-programmed moves that Walliser chooses from based on the subject’s position, attire, and movement.
“The pressure is on because you only ever have ONE take, and this is a dangerous rig that can knock you out,” Walliser writes. “I get good at explaining things, but sometimes the environment is so frenetic you can’t really hear me or focus.”
Here’s a 5-minute behind-the-scenes video Walliser shared last year showing how he ran the Glambot at the Oscars:
Here are a couple of behind-the-scenes looks at shots Walliser made during the Oscars this past weekend of J-Lo and Lady Gaga:
And here are some of the best Glambot shots from the night:
“It’s quite a unique process that’s half live show, half beauty spot directing, have movement coaching, nothing else I work on a director comes close,” Walliser writes. “We shot about 140 takes at the Oscars this year and a lot make it into broadcast.”
