Michael FitzMaurice in the open cockpit of the Cinejet

Meet our Aerial DP

Michael FitzMauriceIMDb

Managing Partner, XBRAND

Aerial DP

A pilot and a cinematographer, involved in remote camera heads from their genesis.

Behind the lens

Working with Michael

Michael fell for photography in seventh grade and for flying not long after. A pilot as well as a cinematographer, he understands the shot from both sides of the cockpit, and he has spent more than three decades bringing those two crafts together.

He was an aerial director of photography on Top Gun: Maverick and The Blue Angels, and on Ad Astra and Night Always Comes. Together with Kevin LaRosa II, he is one of XBRAND’s two biggest assets.

Aerial cinematography from helicopters and camera jets
Stabilized remote heads, including the Shotover K1
Planning aerial sequences before they are flown
Instrument-rated pilot and ground safety pilot

On the ramp, on set and in the air.

Michael FitzMaurice seated in the open cabin of an H125 helicopter, talking with two crew

Two men walking on the flight line with Blue Angels F/A-18s behind them

The standard

Remote heads, from the beginning

Michael has been involved in remote camera head technology from its genesis. On The Dark Knight he was an Ultimate Arm camera operator for Christopher Nolan.

Today he operates stabilized gimbals such as the Shotover K1 from helicopters and camera jets, where framing, timing and flying all have to come together at speed. On The Blue Angels he operated a Sony Venice 2 in a Shotover K1 from the helicopter and a Phantom Flex 4K for 1,000-frames-per-second slow motion. On Top Gun: Maverick he spent more than a year with the aerial unit, helping develop camera systems mounted on the jets and planning aerobatic sequences with models before they were flown.

The difference