How To Get Started with the Moment SuperCage

What is SuperCage?

SuperCage is our first pro-level mobile rig for shooting all day on your phone. What makes it unique is the open rail mounting system with a built-in USB-C hub so you can connect everything in one spot - storage, batteries, lights, and mics. Giving you much more flexibility to build the rig you need with the accessories you want.

Unboxing SuperCage

What's in the Box

When you order SuperCage it’s going to come with everything you need to connect your phone and start recording.

• SuperCage
• Industrial Phone Clamp (installed already)
• SuperFlex 4” Cable with right-angle to right-angle connectors.

Compatibility

SuperCage is designed to be an open rail mounting system, which means it can work with lots of existing NATO and threaded accessories on the market to rig it your way. Moment offers a set that are compatible:

• Grips with NATO clamps for flexible positioning on the side or one along the top rail
• Expandable power that delivers up to 100W of juice
• Our low-profile, directional Shotgun Microphone
• Cheeseplate accessory that expands your SuperCages available mounting points

Beyond what Moment makes you can also connect…

• Headphones with a fixed cable 3.5mm TRRS jack
• High speed SD Cards with write speeds of up to 250Mb/s.
• Expandable storage like an SSD or SF Express reader with write speeds up to 10 Gb/s using USB C.
• Filmmaking monitors via a fullsize 4K60hz cable
• Portable panel light, powered by a battery or tethered to the hub

Setting Up Your SuperCage

Now that we have all of the items open, lets set up your SuperCage.

Phone Clamp

First we’ll install the phone. SuperCage comes with an industrial phone clamp which expands to support phones that are up to 90mm wide with the case, like the iPhone 16 Pro Max. You can adjust the lateral position within the cage left-to-right for balance or cable clearance. To adjust, remove the hex key from the bottom of the cage, loosen the mounting bolt, slide the clamp into position and tighten. You can also flip the position of the clamp 180 deg by fully removing the bolt and rotating the clamp, allowing you to have the hub ports on the opposing side for different rig configurations.

Once your phone is in place you’ll need this 4” SuperFlex cable. The dual right-angle connectors offer the cleanest look when connecting your phone to the cage, and the ends have been extended so that they can still reach your phones port when it’s in a case. Simply connect to the hub at the dedicated Phone-In USB-C port, then the other end to your phone. You can use any other USB-C cable to connect to your phone, making sure it is rated for at least 500mb/s of data and 15W of power.

The NATO / ARCA Rails + Thread mounts

The outer profile of SuperCage has been designed as one open rail system. The top and sides profiles use a NATO profile for attaching compatible NATO accessories, like handles and adapters. To do this simply enter the clamp through the cold-shoe slots, slide them into position, and tighten. There are four cold shoe positions for you to enter, with the top left position having a wider cutout for larger NATO clamps.

The bottom profile uses the Arca-Swiss standard that let’s you slide or drop the cage into most Arca-Swiss tripod heads or clamps. Check first that your tripod doesn’t restrict plate length or have a locking pin as this may make your SuperCage incompatible.

If you don’t want to use the rails for mounting we’ve also provided a variety of 1/4”-20 and 3/8”-16 threads on all sides of the cage, and four standard cold shoe slots - two on the top and one of each side.

Memory

To record to external memory you have two connection options on the SuperCage:

Your first option is to use a highspeed SD Card. We’ve included a SD card slot as a super quick way to extend your phones storage and transfer files. The card reader will write data at up to 250 Mb/s which is enough to shoot in mid tier formats like Apple ProRes 422 HQ at 2K 30p. Just be aware you want to use a V90 card with a write speed of at least 220 Mb/s.

The second option for shooting in the highest quality formats is to connect external storage via the dedicated USB-C. Simply connecting the drive to the port for transfer speeds of up to 10 Gb/s, with 10W of available power to run your drive. We like using this low profile options like the (Samsung T7 Shield) SSD, an NVME drive, or CF Express card reader.

To avoid dropped frames or losing your footage we suggest using an app with external storage features, like Moment Pro Camera. This will allow you to control what storage device is connected and give your a real-time update of how much space is available. To connect your external storage using the app enter the settings menu (gear next to shutter button) then:

• Tap “Save Media To”
• Tap “Configure Storage Location” in the “External Storage Available” section
• Use the file browser to navigate to the folder you want to save media to, then tap “Open” in the top right

An alert will also show when a new drive is plugged in. It has the option to go straight to the appropriate settings.

Power

Attaching power is as simple as connecting to the dedicated USB-C power port using a USB-C cable that is rated to deliver 100W of power, like our 4” or 9” SuperFlex cables. No matter what size power input you attach the port will only draw up to 100W, and your phone will negotiate how the power is spread amongst the accessories. For example, connecting a larger 240W battery will step down to 100W, the phone will take the power it needs to charge, as will the hub, and the rest will be divided amongst the accessories. For a basic setup with low-consumption accessories such as a mic and SSD, we suggest using a power bank with at least 22.5W.

Audio

Connecting a directional mic is a simple way to vastly improve the audio quality of your footage.

You can connect traditional mobile mics, like shotgun mics, using the 3.5mm input jack, that’s marked with the microphone symbol. Mics with USB-C connection can be connected to the USB-C data or accessory port.

To listen to your audio directly you can connect the wired headphones via the 3.5mm audio input, marked with a headphone symbol. Note that when your phone is hooked into the Supercage all audio output will be directed to the 3.5mm headphone port. The actual microphone input is selectable in the Moment Pro Camera app.

Cheeseplate

The cheese plate is a bolt-on accessories that serves up an additional array of industry standard mounting points. To assemble simply bolt the plate arms onto the plate, making sure to align the A and B markings. Then align the arms with the Supercage and tighten it down.

At the center of the plate are 3/8”-16 threads with anti lock pin holes. These are surrounded by standard 1/4”-20 threads with an 18mm thread distance between holes. At the plate edge are four 1/4”-20 slots for flexible positioning. The bottom slot has a wider opening to allow USB-C cable heads to pass through for better cable management.

Monitor

Using a monitor gives you the optimal viewing angle of your shot or when your phone screen is obscured. The HDMI ‘monitor’ port is hidden at the bottom corner of the cage to allow the cable to flow more naturally. The cage will allow for 4K60hz output via a standard HDMI cable. The cable needs to have a straight end with a low profile connector (under 17mm x 17mm x 8mm). Most monitor specific cables should fit.

If your monitor uses a USB-C connection we suggest using the USB-C accessory port on the lower corner of the cage. Make sure to use a USB-C cable that provides HDMI video output.

You’ll need to use an app that has a clean feed output to view your shot correctly, like Moment Pro Camera or BlackMagic mobile app.

Time to Start Shooting!

That’s the rundown of SuperCage’s core features. Where it really comes alive is once you start rigging it in different configurations. We’ll be sharing our favorite setups from mild to wild, with tips and tricks, as well as your own rigs, so keep an eye out on our YT channel and social media.

SuperCage FAQ

Mechanical

Electrical

Troubleshooting