Meet Bryce Fritzel | High-Speed Imaging Technician & Cinematographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bryce Fritzel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bryce, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Professional level, ultra high-speed imaging has always been expensive, difficult, and hard to access. Since my teenage years, I always wanted to dive deep into that industry, learn the ins and outs, own the top-tier equipment, and be able to provide it to the world. No matter the industry; ballistics, defense, cinema, commercial, manufacturing, I wanted to be able to offer my experience in the field, my equipment, or both. I knew it would be a long haul plan. And now, over a decade later, I’m able to deliver on most of those plans I had many years ago.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The most exciting part of my career is the ability to see anything and everything in a way that most people don’t get to. It’s like a visual super-power. Just like you can use a microscope or telescope to reveal things normally unseen (spatial resolution), you can also use high-speed imaging technology to bend time and reveal some incredible phenomena of this world (temporal resolution). My career has taken a very long time to get to where I am. It’s quite difficult. The main reason is because when I started my interest in around 2010, the technology was still in its infancy. Being able to record 1000 frames per second was still a novel, new idea, and the cameras that could achieve that were wildly expensive and rare. It has taken me many years to save the money, buy older and used equipment, learn the equipment and software, trade up into newer models, save up more money, learn new software, etc.
It is also difficult to learn how to best integrate this imaging technology into other “normal” film and video productions. You need very specific types of lighting, special lenses and supplementary equipment, you need to think totally differently about how to creatively and technically convey your idea on film. When 1 second becomes several minutes, a new type of thinking needs to be involved.
I’ve learned so much on this journey. Mostly, I’ve learned just how valuable this technology is to so many different types of industries. The military, film sets, industrial manufacturing, ammunition and armor development, they can all benefit from seeing their products or processes slowed down to a microsecond level.
I really want other people/businesses/companies to know that while the technology that I own and use is very expensive, my goal is to save all of them time and money. Instead of paying $200,000 for an imaging setup, spending days or weeks learning how to use it or hiring an outside imaging expert, and then spending resources to analyze the data from the results, my goal is to be able to provide as much of that at once. I travel all the time as a Phantom technician, my rates and prices are well below the industry average, and my background in Physics and other sciences allow me to intuitively work with companies on how to best capture their dataset, but also how to get a good start on interpreting it.
I’ve also turned this career into a YouTube channel called “Ballistic High-Speed”, which focuses on using this technology to make edutational, yet fun content with firearms, explosives, and more!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, and while the city may be smaller than what other people are used to, there is still plenty of adventure packed in this part of the state! Starting with the Embassy Theater, a wonderful piece of history and architecture. Many live performances and concerts can be found here.
If fun and interesting cuisine is your thing, very many different cultures make their presence here. So many varieties, and all of great quality. The Koto Japanese Steakhouse, Cork ‘N Cleaver, Chop’s Steak & Seafood, and Proximo are all great options to start with.
There are also plenty of historic sites to visit. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge is a constant reminder of history as you drive over it. Especially at night when it’s lit up. The Old Fort is another great example, which is a faithful copy of the actual post from 1815 under Major John Whistler and his American Troops.
There are also plenty of fun things to do in the area. Golfing, Go Karts, the Glenbrook shopping mall, laser tag, ax throwing, etc.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe my interest and success to many people, groups, movies, and TV shows. It all started with my parents when I was a child. Their support for my interest in science, astronomy, physics, and just learning about the world around me was crucial in my development of skills and knowledge that would later cultivate my current career.
I was lucky enough to be in an area (Warsaw, IN) where my Middle School and High School offered various Physics, Calculus, Chemistry, and other various science & math courses that allowed me to continue these interests for many years.
Watching TV shows like Mythbusters and Time Warp (both on the Discovery Channel) was pivotal in demonstrating me how applicable science and engineering and even imaging were to everyday life. Learning about high-speed cameras and the scientific method are so important to this industry, and those shows were incredible for that.
Various teachers of mine recognized my deep passion for these topics, and helped me down a path of self-learning and access to various resources that kept my current grade level from holding me back.

Website: www.RentHighSpeed.com

Instagram: @ballistichighspeed

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BallisticHighSpeed

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@BallisticHighSpeed

Other: Email: bryce@renthighspeed.com