Steadicam and Money Shots

[Kathi Carey]

On 3/7/04 6:01 PM, "Macintosh Digital Video List"
<MacDV at lists.themacintoshguy.com> wrote:

> 
> Message-Id: <882E9B7E-707A-11D8-851D-000393B3BF58 at go2rba.com>
> From: Richard Brown <richard at go2rba.com>
> Subject: [MacDV] Re: Steadicam and Money Shots
> Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 13:00:58 -0800
> 
> Just  thought I'd put my two cents in on this issue. I am a certified
> Steadicam operator (trained by Garrett Brown, Steadicam's inventor,
> long before the company was sold) as well as an owner of the Steadicam
> Jr. for DV cameras.
> 
> Steadicam shots are all about sophisticated dolly shots impractical for
> dolly crews. They also save time and money on indie features because a
> good operator CAN get reasonable lock-offs (witness the multi minute
> end of long Steadicam shot lock off in the interview scene in "The
> Shining") while also simulating crane moves with simple cherry pickers,
> and generally do fun stuff like going up and down stairs smoothly.
> 
> Center of gravity is the focus of Steadicam operation. Whether you are
> home brewing a Steadicam-like devise, or renting one at some time, the
> object is to keep the center of gravity of you AND your rig as close as
> possible to being simple downward pressure on your feet. Anytime you do
> moves with the rig away from your body, well, get out the Doan's Pills
> for the coming backaches. Operating a Steadicam or clone thereof is
> more like a tango with the rig as your partner. The rig stays as close
> as possible to your body to keep the weight over your feet.
> 
> As to the Steadicam Jr., as others suggest, your arm may work for a
> short time, but eventually, you succumb to the weight of a PD150 or the
> DVX-100 (which requires EXTRA weight on the sled to balance [wireless
> receivers work well with velcro in this instance] the thing.) There's
> also a problem with panning (Steadicams LOVE to pan, tilt, boom a
> little, and such in the "real" world) on the Jr. because the control
> surface is too small - you find it too easy to disrupt the flow and
> create an annoying yaw, even a rocking yaw as the unit settles itself.
> There's also not quite enough size in the sled to inhibit yaw in the
> first place. That all said, when the Steadicam Jr. works (YOU do
> everything right) it passes for the real thing in DV. It also collapses
> quickly and makes a decent shoulder mount.
> 
> Over time, doing a lot of shots with a Steadicam Jr. - you find the
> operator's muscles begin to lock from the oppressive weight of the rig,
> you begin to see a sine wave "pulsing" as the horizon smoothly moves up
> and down in correlation with the footsteps the operator is attempting
> to remove.
> 
> Now that the patent has run out, apparently, on the Steadicam, the
> generics are beginning to abound. There were many "steadiclones" at the
> NAB show last year, even a sexy one from Sachtler, and so, I should
> think someone will put out a pro DV/DVCAM steadirig which features 1)
> the addition of MASS to the DV camera [heavy as a PD150, DVX-100, or
> the less professional XL1 are, they are not heavy enough to emulate the
> stability equation of a big film camera]  2) a vest and iso-elastic arm
> with spring tension appropriate to the lighter overall weight, and 3) a
> set of accessories for low mode, radio focus, proper docking, vehicle
> rigs, and the like. This, of course, assumes the camera owner has
> already purchased wide angle capability - standard stuff for human
> mounted Steadicams (but not really needed in vehicle mounts!)
> 
> Dispensing with the idea of Steadicam for a minute, the independent
> producer can get a lot of bang for the buck by picking up a good used
> wheelchair. Smooth floors and wheelchairs are a great "poor man's
> dolly."
> 
> Also useful to add visual dynamics to a show: jib arms, which  can add
> their own stable motion, panning, tilting, and booming with smooth
> lock-offs. You can design shots with the boom arm in mind which can get
> actors walking and talking.
> 
> Poor man's track dolly: skateboard wheels mounted to an angle iron so
> as to ride on PVC pipe. A small wood platform with such wheels, then
> add your boom-equipped tripod (tie it down!) and suddenly, slick images
> at little cost. Smaller versions of this technology can make for
> interesting tight interiors shooting.
> 
> Finally, with the small size of the PD150 and DVX-100,  practicing
> handheld operation is well worth the time, and perhaps investment in
> time and experimentation in finding what handheld rigs work best for
> you. Handheld is the stuff of kinetics, which can add to drama.
> 
> Well, 'nuff said for now,
> 
> Richard Brown

Richard,

Thanks for a pro's info and viewpoint!

Kathi