» Posts Tagged ‘steadicam’
They are coming. Gyro-stabilized camera rigs, that is. Some of you are officially not impressed, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t about to be inundated with stabilizers. So what’s the big deal? Should you even care? The answer probably depends on the kind of work you do, but in the next 3-5 years, gyro camera stabilizers like Freefly’s MōVI are going to be as ubiquitous as sliders and jibs. Don’t think so? Read on for more and check out some exclusive footage from NAB 2013 using the MōVI. More »
Reading through the comments on our post about the innovative new camera stabilizer MōVi, I was reminded of something I saw recently at LACMA’s amazing Stanley Kubrick exhibit. It is a 1976 letter from producer Jan Harlan to Kubrick himself, in which Harlan talks about a new device he’d just discovered: the Steadicam. More »
Speaking of gyro-stabilizers, it’s very rare that I look at a demo video of new gear with my jaw all the way on the floor, but after watching one for the new handheld stabilizing system called the MōVi, I simply couldn’t help myself. Designed by Freefly Systems, based in Seattle, the MōVi utilizes gyro stabilization and accelerometer technology that, when seen in action, seems less like a mechanism and more like magic. Think of it this way: it’s basically like your handheld rig is now a Steadicam, and pretty much anyone can learn to use it in minutes and get footage that normally would have required years of experience. Sound scary and wonderful? Read on for more. More »
While you might have already seen the recent video featuring the history of the Steadicam in cinema, today we’ve got a video from Kevin B. Lee — who most recently gave us his best films of 2012 — that gets much more specific, and follows the career of Paul Thomas Anderson and his use of camera stabilizers. Not only does the video focus on specific shots in his films, but it also goes into the psychology of what the shots do (or are trying to do) for the scene in the context of the movies. More »
While hand-held shooting has basically been around since there was a camera light enough to do so, it’s safe to say that the Steadicam (which is technically a Tiffen name) constitutes a cinematographical revolution all its own. Hand-holding dates back as early as 1911, but it was a long time before cinema gained the dolly’s fluidity of motion coupled with the hand-held operator’s freedom of travel. Audiences would first meet the ‘Steadicam shot’ in 1976′s Bound for Glory, and the first impressions were enough to earn the film an Academy Award for Cinematography. Larry Wright of Refocused Media recently created a supercut called The Art of Steadicam, paying homage to the ground-breaking invention and the artists who helped reshape the possibilities of cinematic movement — check it out below. More »
DIY Builds: Portable Jib That Doubles as Shoulder Rig, Panoramic Head, Dirt Cheap Steadicam
There’s a variety of rigs out there for pretty much all your mounting needs — Cinevate and of course Kessler are go-to solutions for jibs running the gamut from heavy-duty to collapsible, respectively. The same goes for shoulder rigs, with options ranging from professional solutions to lightweight prefabs all the way down to homebrew kits. Of course, something that can pull double duty as a portable jib and custom shoulder rig — which you can put together yourself for $50, to boot — may be the best of, like, three worlds. Read on to check out some details — plus info on how to build your own 360 degree panoramic head mount, plus some hardcore DIY stabilizers — all geared toward the low-to-no budget but crafty shooter. More »
We posted a DIY stabilizer not too long ago that should actually prove to be very capable, but if building your own isn’t something you’re interested in (and you need one specifically designed for a smaller camera), some brothers from Cambridge, MA have come up with their own stabilizer that is specifically designed for that purpose. While it will work well with camera phones like the iPhone and compact cameras, it can also handle smaller mirrorless cameras and DSLRs like the Canon T2i. Check out the intro video below, but if you want a discount you’ll have to hurry ($140 vs. $180 at retail), as the Kickstarter campaign is ending at 6:53pm Eastern. More »
There are a lot of tutorial videos out there about making DIY camera stabilizers/steadicams, but usually the ones I come across are either made for tiny consumer cameras or the test footage looks ok, but doesn’t quite possess that creamy smooth motion that I come to expect from a good stabilizer. Then I came across a video by Studio Amarelo in Vimeo’s Video School channel that demonstrated a highly adjustable rig that could be built from cheap off the shelf parts, and produced some fantastically smooth footage: More »
The Camera Motion Research Blackbird Stabilizer Gives Glidecam a Run for Its Money
As I’ve said before, if you want a simple, no-nonsense review of a product, Dave Dugdale over at Learning DSLR Video is a good place to start. This time Dave takes a look at the Camera Motion Research Blackbird Stabilizer which is a camera stabilizer similar to the Glidecam and Steadicam Merlin products. Ryan has talked about the Glidecam in the past, but more and more companies have been getting into the camera stabilizer business in the last few years. Check out Dave’s review below. More »
Among the dozens of booths touting cool gadgets at this weekend’s PhotoPlus Expo was Glidecam, whose camera stabilization devices (otherwise known in popular lexicon as, ahem, Steadicams) are always a hit on show floors. However, while it’s always easy to pick up a pre-configured device and take a few steps with it, the real trick with camera stabilizers is to spend the time to set them up and balance them just right. Because it’s by no means plug-and-play, Cristina Valdivieso from CanonFilmmakers.com has recorded a good how-to video for setting up a Glidecam, step-by-step: More »
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