SPARKED
SPARKED is a short film that combines human dramatic performance with a group of computer-controlled drones, resulting from a collaboration between ETH Zurich, Verity Studios, and Cirque du Soleil. Its visual textures are real – no CGI, wires, slow-mo, or fast-forwards were used to enhance what you see. Learn more about it below.
Technology
Many of the research results from projects in the Flying Machine Arena (FMA) have been fundamental to the realization of SPARKED. This includes advancements in quadcopter control and state estimation, trajectory generation, increased autonomy, adaptation and learning, high-precision flight maneuvers, and cooperation between multiple vehicles. The seamless coordination of multiple vehicles, the design of suitable trajectories and choreographies, and the high reliability and robustness of the Flying Machine Arena infrastructure were key ingredients for the success of the film shoot. Please browse the publications on the research page for more details.
Credits
Many people from ETH Zurich, Verity Studios, and Cirque du Soleil were involved in the realization of SPARKED. The following people from the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control contributed to this project: Federico Augugliaro, Simon Berger, Dario Brescianini, David Brühlmann, Marc-Andrè Corzillius, Raffaello D’Andrea, Michael Egli, Carolina Flores, Luca Gherardi, Markus Hehn, Gregy Huber, Mark W. Mueller, Robin Ritz, Markus Waibel, Alex Wilkinson, and Evan Wilson.
Behind the Scenes
For three days, the Flying Machine Arena became a film set: Three hardwood work benches, 50 lamps, and other props occupied the space. During the shoot, the Flying Machine Arena also hosted the researchers, creative team, producers, technicians, and film crew, as well as 11 actors – one human and 10 machines.
Gallery
Flying machines dancing with Nicolas during their flight choreography.
The repairman is surrounded by ten flying lampshades during one of the choreographies.
Getting ready before the landing scene.
Reviewing a dolly-shot sequence on the camera’s monitor. While computer control makes the motions of flying machines perfectly repeatable, manual control of dolly position, camera zoom, and camera focus requires the work of three people in perfect synchrony.
The film set. Some props were removed for certain choreographies.
A camera man gets up close and personal with the human and machine actors.
A quick last-minute change to alter the choreography’s scaling and timing to better fit with the camera angle.
Quadcopters hovering in position just before the start of their flight choreography. The red circles of the camera tracking system mounted between the ceiling’s beams are visible in the background.
Quadcopters requiring new batteries.
Setting up before a flight scene.
The Flying Machine Arena control room. The flying lampshades can be seen on the shelves.
During the shooting.
The film crew reviewing a scene.
Human and machine actors getting ready for a scene.
Nicolas, the human actor, doing some repair work in his workshop.
The film set. The shooting took place in the Flying Machine Arena at ETH Zurich, a portable space devoted to autonomous flight.
These six lampshades were the topic of the conversation.
Setting up one of the 50 lamps used in the film set.
Evaluating a choreography before shooting it.
The Runt, one of the flying lampshades.
Members of the Flying Machine Arena team discussing the next steps.
A quadcopter as a flying lampshade.
An early flight test in the Flying Machine Arena.
One of the quadcopters used during the shooting of Sparked.
