In the last four years, much of the hype from the release of the first handheld gimbal stabilizer, the MōVI, has died down and with it a lot of the crazy and often unnecessarily complicated camera moves. Nowadays, new gimbal operators are just looking for the basics—the meat and potatoes that will help them build a sturdy cinematic foundation (on which they can build if they so choose). In this video from PremiumBeat, filmmaker Zach Ramelan provides a bunch of great beginner tips for working with a gimbal, including essential camera moves that you'll want to put into practice on your next project. Check it out below:


Let's get real—these camera moves aren't rocket science but they will come in handy on virtually every one of your film shoots. In the video, Ramelan mentions:

  • Tracking shots
  • Panning shots
  • Static shots
  • Crane shots
  • Slider/dolly shot

So, if you're packing up a tripod, slider, and a mini-jib for a shoot, knowing that a gimbal can actually do a decent job of performing all of these camera moves might save you a lot of time, effort, and money. Of course, the way you use it determines how good the shot actually looks on screen, so if you're new to gimbals make sure to give yourself enough time to practice and get comfortable with it. Spend a day or two shooting to find out how long you can operate it before getting fatigued, which camera moves are most challenging for you, as well as which ones would actually benefit from using a different stabilization tool.

Gimbals are not the be-all-end-all stabilizers, but they can definitely be a powerful and versatile one for many filmmakers.

Source: PremiumBeat