Well, this might be the craziest filmmaking story since the collapse of the Fran 8K. Let us introduce a Kickstarter campaign for a product that lives up to its name… the GimbalGun!

What’s a GimbalGun you ask? Great question! From the looks of it, it appears to be a long railbar which you strap to your back to swing around like a Chuck Norris machine gun circa Missing in Action. But the cool thing is you’re using it as a filmmaking accessory!

In all seriousness, while the design might look a bit crazy at first, Kickstarter-er William Graham’s invention might be more practical than you might first think. Let’s take a look at the GimbalGun in all its run-and-gun supporting glory…

Meet the GimbalGun Kickstarter

Recently launched on Kickstarter, the GimbalGun is looking to raise $15,000 for a first round of productions shipping in October (estimated). The design is for solo run-and-gun use where an operator uses the rail as an armguard extension leaving one hand and arm free to operate the camera and focus on focusing.

From the founder William Graham:

I shoot a lot of run and gun projects - events, concerts, documentaries, weddings, fashion shoots, etc. It involves long hours and a lot of unpredictable scenes where you have to set quick and be able to shoot on the fly. Plus I don't like sticking out like a sore thumb. I don't have the budget for a Easy Rig or Steadicam, nor do I want to wear those robotic devices and sweat all day. The GimbalGun™ gives me a technical yet minimalistic setup that's comfortable for long shoots. My next goal is to mount an Electronic ViewFinder on the monitor mount and shoot with that!

Is the GimbalGun Right for You?

Designed to partner with your gimbal of choice (the Kickstarter claims to offer support for DJI Ronin S, Pilotfly, FeiyuTech, Zhiyun, and Moza products), the GimbalGun has support to attach any single-handle gimbal at the end of the rig (1/4 inch screw insert or 3/8 with adapter). From there your camera connects and attaches to a monitor which is higher up at eye level for you to monitor.

The Kickstarter offers some sample footage:

And some behind-the-scenes footage:

While you’ll need to supply your own camera and gimbal of choice, here are the full specs which the rig includes.

  • 1x 70cm Aluminium Support with stainless steel threaded rivets

  • 1x Padded Shoulder Strap with Gun Metal Swivel hooks

  • 2x Professional 1/4 Inch Standard Screw Camera Strap w/ Quick Release to attach shoulder strap

  • 2x Hand Grip with 1/4 "Thread On Head & 3/8 Inch Screw Hole + 1/4" – 3/8 Thread Screw Adapter. Allowing you to mount the hand grip on the support where you like.

  • 1x Adjustable Monitor Mount with slip resistant grip and  1/4" threaded hole at bottom and mini ball head at top. This allows you to mount your monitor at the desired position on the support and adjust your monitor in different angles.

  • 1x Aluminium Mini Tripod with Ball Head for Support. This allows you to place the GimbalGun™ on a flat surface without falling over and can be used as an additional grip.

Pricing and Availability

You can check out the Kickstarter here (which goes through April 27th, 2019). The lowest pledge offering which includes one of the first edition product comes at the $120 offering. Although $149 includes a carrying case.

What are your thoughts on the GimbalGun? Let us know in the comments!

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