True story: the first gimbal I ever owned was one that I built myself in high school. I saw a video on YouTube about it and was like, “This seems cool.” Then, a few weekends later when I was bored at home, I showed the video to my dad, and we decided to make an afternoon of it.

I made a list of all the PVC pipes and counterweights that we’d need, then we went to Home Depot and bought all the pieces (which probably totaled under $50, max). Then we followed along with the video while we put everything together.

Boom! In what was probably two hours max (and no more than $50), I had a DIY gimbal which I actually used quite frequently for several years. I don’t remember if it eventually broke or I just decided to upgrade when it made sense. But the point remains that making DIY gear can not only be a good investment, it’s also just fun.

What’s this story have to do with you? Well, it’s just to prove two points. One, making DIY gear can be a fun way to spend an afternoon, and two, for someone just starting out it’s actually a pretty great investment.

If you’re interested at all in DIY-ing up your own filmmaking arsenal, then look no further than the DIY shenanigans of the guys from Cinecom.net on YouTube. In this video below they break down just how they were able to individually problem-solve their own DIY obstacles.

So check it out as we go over their tricks, as well as share some additional DIY gimbal tutorials to help you pick out a fun project for yourself.

The Guys Craft Their Own Gimbals

Okay, let’s start with our Cinecom guys. In the video above we have another fun “Cinebattle” between their channel’s filmmakers Jordy and Yannick. Tasked with needing to craft a DIY gimbal stabilizer and recreate a Steadicam shot, we watch as they YouTube around trying to create a DIY concoction that will make the most stable shot.

If you’re looking for any creative inspiration, I’d absolutely keep this video on loop as there is certainly something fun and infectious to how these guys rib each other while trying to problem-solve this particular DIY problem.

If you’ve seen other videos on their channel, they are quite an industrious bunch and have plenty of DIY-tinkering and indie-filmmaking knowledge to share and impart. 

Other DIY Gimbal Tutorials

However, if you’d like to check out some additional tutorials for creating a DIY gimbal of your own, there are honestly plenty of other great videos to check out. If you’re serious about following along with a step-by-step guide, consider some of these options below which have clearly laid out lists for what pieces you’ll need, the tools you’ll need to use, and detailed steps for you to follow.

Here are some of our best selections:

Feel free to skim through a few of these options above to see if the end product is going to line up with your camera(s) and gear. 

However, if you really do fancy yourself a bit of a tinkerer type, you can always take all these videos simply for exploration and send yourself out with the task of making something unique for your own needs like the Cinecom guys did. It’s up to you!

Source: Cinecom

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Cinematography & Cameras