
Being a perfectionist pays off for Christopher Probst, ASC. A prominent name in music video production, he works with artists like Taylor Swift, Eminem, Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z and Billie Eilish, and lenses spots for Apple, Nike, Google, BMW, Samsung, Audi, Adidas and Uber. He s also credited with creating the show s look in David Fincher's Mindhunter for which he was nominated for an ASC Cinematography Award. In his spare time, he co-authored The Cine Lens Manual, an 840-page opus to the history, design and usage of motion picture optics. Throughout his diverse filmography, Probst appreciates tools that efficiently help deliver an image. I ve been using the MAX Menace for over 15 years now on virtually every project, he says.
Cinematography has taken Probst around the world, and it isn't uncommon for him to work on projects set in particularly delicate or touchy locations. Imagine you go into a sensitive location like a mansion or a historic building. You can t rig anything onto walls; no wall spreaders or screwing stuff into the structure when it s a protected building. So how then are you going to get the light up in that corner? For Probst it's a no-brainer. I just crank the MAX Menace Arm up, wheel it into position, and now I ve got 20 feet of reach to work with.
Made by Matthews Studio Equipment (www.msegrip.com), MAX Menace is a familiar sight on any Probst set. Naturally, for the An Ace Up the Sleeve short showcasing the new ARRI Orbiter Light, he pulled out all the stops. To help debut the new LED luminaire, the cinematographer demonstrated its versatility by recreating an old western saloon scene. Light is always a huge part of that expressiveness. Color contrast, atmosphere, flare, changes in light these are the tools of the trade. And a unit I can use to quickly mold those elements on the set is a valuable tool indeed. The location had high ceilings, but with the MAX Menace Arm, the Orbiter was swiftly lofted into position over the card table where the central conflict plays out.
For Jackson Wang's Cruel music video, the MAX Menace can be spotted behind the scenes, arming in Chimara-softened Arri Skypanels safely over the dancers. I have recently found the MAX Menace especially useful for virtual production jobs on LED volume stages, where I often need to place a light into tricky areas, but don t have the time to yank a panel and put a backlight in, he explains. The dancers make dynamic use of the stage, so the ability to back the stand against the LED wall and out of the way was invaluable. It s a perfect tool to get a backlight in quick because you have all this sort of reach without a cumbersome stand, mast, and counterbalance.
With his creative lighting moves, often one MAX is not enough. I like to bring two or even three MAX Menace Arms on virtual productions because we need to move very quickly. I could put a 100-pound light on a MAX Menace Arm and crank it up or down myself without any help, and I can put a light 20 feet out, with no fulcrum/counterbalance, right up against the wall. That, for me, is a game changer.
Read Chris Probst interview at: https://bit.ly/ProbstMAX
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
27/06/2026
There's no doubt that you've seen the world through Amy Vincent's ey...
27/06/2026
Brings together saturation & lo-fi effects
Following on from the release of their Voxcraft vocal-processing plug-in, UJAM have announced the launch of Retro...
27/06/2026
A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA Wo...
27/06/2026
Why CRAS Upgraded to Symphony I/O MK II When an audio school runs studios all day, every day, gear doesn't just need to sound good , it needs to survive rea...
27/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/06/2026
Krotos Video to Sound Plugin Now Available for Adobe Premiere Pro
Brie Clayton June 26, 2026
0 Comments
Editors can analyze footage, generate synchron...
27/06/2026
Mirai Media Elevates Digital and Broadcast Productions with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 26, 2026
0 Comments
Studio uses Ultimatte 12 HD and Po...
27/06/2026
DURHAM, N.C. - JUNE 26, 2026 - Lutra Cafe & Bakery has opened its first brick-and-mortar location at American Tobacco Campus after owner Chris McLaurin operated...
26/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
26/06/2026
Strike Fighter League (SFL), a professional air combat digital sport combining f...
26/06/2026
Wisycom has announced three new additions to its professional wireless ecosystem...
26/06/2026
Eurovision Services inaugurated an expanded Master Control Room (MCR) in Madrid on June 1, 2026, building on a broadcast hub the company has operated in the cit...
26/06/2026
Midco Sports and the University of North Dakota (UND) have announced a two-year ...
26/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both part of the Panoptec Technologies Group, have appointed Vutec (Pty) Ltd as exclusive distributor for their KVM and ...
26/06/2026
Visit Seattle, the official destination marketing organization for Seattle and King County, has launched what it describes as the world's first drone scoreb...
26/06/2026
CP Communications provided RF video, audio, and crew communications support for ...
26/06/2026
Produced by longtime partner Echo Entertainment, the action-sports property is now a team-based year-round league
The inaugural season of the MoonPay X Games L...
26/06/2026
The deal establishes MultiDyne Robotics and Motion Control, maintaining the well-known MRMC brand.MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems has acquired the assets ...
26/06/2026
PX1 will debut at Sonoma as TNT leans into super-slo-mo, drones, SMT data integr...
26/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
26/06/2026
Virtual session musician plug-in gains new percussion options
Celemony's latest update for their virtual session musician platform complements the exist...
26/06/2026
Half-size model joins Console 1 line-up
Shortly after the release of their new Flow Studio controller, Softube have announced the launch of another new surf...
26/06/2026
ELT Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial...
26/06/2026
For Teddy Swims sold-out I've Tried Everything But Therapy tour, event technology specialists, PRG, provided video, automation and lighting across 19 date...
26/06/2026
Modern exhibition and event venues face the challenge of seamlessly integrating traditional conference technology, professional broadcast workflows and IP-based...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/06/2026
Neko Oji: The Guy That Got Reincarnated as a Cat Edited with DaVinci Resolve Stu...
26/06/2026
Adobe to Acquire Topaz Labs
Brie Clayton June 25, 2026
0 Comments
Adobe has seen strong demand for its AI products for creatives, including Adobe Fire...
26/06/2026
Berklee Students Earn Dedicated Section at Raindance Film Festival in London Five documentary short films produced in the Africana Studies Department screen a...
26/06/2026
How IMS Productions and FOX Sports scaled coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500.
The last lap of this year's Indianapolis 500 delivered the kind of ending...
26/06/2026
Flicker Productions to produce five-part docu-reality series following women who have fallen for men in prison and have become TikTok sensations, with brands an...
26/06/2026
Catch up on the latest developments across Baselight and Daylight v7, Nara and F...
26/06/2026
26. June 2026 News
DFT is pleased to announce that a second Polar HQ film s...
26/06/2026
New documentary Freedom Founder: Thomas McKean and the American Revolution airs ...
25/06/2026
Launching a Career in Broadcast Engineering: Academic Paths and Essential Certif...
25/06/2026
This superstar shooter/storyteller from Central Indiana hopes to make his mark in the blossoming sports-documentary and -features space
In the live-sports-vid...
25/06/2026
Presidio and the National Hockey League have announced a multiyear renewal of their North American partnership. Presidio will remain an Official Technology Inno...
25/06/2026
Strike Fighter League (SFL) is the world's first professional air combat digital sport that combines elite human performance and physical immersion with cut...
25/06/2026
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce the global mentoring cohort for...
25/06/2026
The 2026 American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) All-Star Game will...
25/06/2026
Mediaproxy has named Heartland Video Systems (HVS) as its exclusive partner for US television broadcasting. The Wisconsin-based systems integrator will represen...
25/06/2026
Backblaze has formed an agreement with CoreWeave to create The Essential Cloud for AI.
Under the multi-exabyte, $335 million agreement, Backblaze will provide...