Vehicle rig
The gyro-stabilised camera crane mounted on a fast camera-car. The standard tracking rig for vehicle chases since the early 2000s.
Mechanism
A Russian arm (also "U-Crane" or simply "the arm") is a 4-to-6-metre telescoping crane mounted on the chassis of a heavy chase car. The crane head carries a gyro-stabilised remote head with the camera, electronically isolated from the chase car's motion. The crane operator and head operator sit inside the chase car, working from monitors. The arm extends, retracts, and articulates while the chase car moves at full chase speed alongside the picture-car, allowing the camera to circle, dive, and rise around the action without ever cutting. The crane's hydraulics are tuned to the chase car's suspension so the head-end stays smooth at speeds up to 100 mph.
Safety
The chase car requires a trained Russian-arm driver — the dynamic load of the extended arm changes the vehicle's handling envelope significantly. Crew separation between chase and picture cars is calculated for the failure mode of the arm fully extended; in a worst case the arm must not strike the picture-car if the chase car loses traction. Maintenance is intensive — hydraulic seals are replaced after each production and the gyro head is recalibrated daily.
Governed by
Variants
A specific high-speed tracking vehicle (the Mercedes-AMG-based "Black Bird" by Filmotechnic) that pairs with the Russian arm for the fastest chase work.