Steadicam------Amazing

rextilleon wrote on 4/10/2005, 8:08 AM
Just thought I would relate this interesting experience. I am directing a documentary for a foundation. It has lots of elements of dance, so I thought, heck, why not get a steadicam guy to do some filmming. I hired a guy off a list----100,000 dollar rig, who has only been at it for about six months. Although he was trained by Garret Brown (inventor of the steadicam), he had very little to show me as far as a reel goes. Anyway, his rates were fantastic (500 for the day, based on his experience--experienced operators get 1500 bucks a day and up) so I took a chance. Let me tell you, the footage is very exciting! The guy has an incredible eye, and although I monitored the shoot, I didn't have to do much. Never before have I seen dance captured in a way that the viewer feels as if he is part of the duo, gliding, circling etc.

If any of you guys are looking for a REAL Steadicam, and a REAL talented operator who is a joy to work with, let me know. He is willing to work for lower rates until he gathers enough footage for his reel and can then enter the marketplace with experience. The man is a joy to work with and incredibly talented. Although I live in the New York tri-state area, I know that he will travel if expenses are covered. Anyhow, just wanted to turn you guys on to a good thing. I have no commercial interest in this.

Comments

jlafferty wrote on 4/10/2005, 10:21 AM
Only $500 per day?! Must be nice ;)

Would love to see the footage at some point...
rextilleon wrote on 4/10/2005, 5:14 PM
I will try to post some of it in a few days.
rmack350 wrote on 4/10/2005, 10:35 PM
Actually, yes that's pretty inexpensive for an operator's day rate and equipment package too.

Real steadicam can be pretty fantastic. It's quite different from the hand-held glidecam gadget. For one thing you can put a really good camera on the full-on steadicam.

When I worked in a rental house we had a flyer of what I assume was the Brown brothers. It was a before and after shot. The "after 6 months" shot showed the operator as if his spine had been shortened by about 2 feet.

We had a Steadicam 1 at the rental house (it was the mid 80s). I borrowed it to shoot some scenes for a friend's student film and after a day with the thing I think I've never been more sore in all my life. It's a workout.

Rob Mack
farss wrote on 4/10/2005, 11:33 PM
Absolutely,
we hire out the Hollywood rigs, now handled by Varizoom. Without getting these things setup properly and getting to know how to use them you can easily end up with a worse result. Part of the trick is knowing how to 'walk the walk' and once you know that you can get good results just going handheld.
Bob.
rextilleon wrote on 4/11/2005, 4:55 AM
Interesting comment about the guys back. The longest our operator could go was approximately 7 minutes---The guy was 28 years old and in incredible shape but after each seven minute session he looked like a marathoner who had just sprinted across the finish line on an 80 degree day.
rmack350 wrote on 4/11/2005, 6:10 PM
Well, he's the expert but he may find a more comfortable balance point over time.

The whole thing is about balance because, obviously, you've got 30-50 pounds floating out in front of you. Ideally you tweak it so that you're fairly comfortable and the camera will float in a comfortable spot in front of you. You set it up to find a nice "home position" where you're expending the least amount of effort to control the camera when you come to a stop.

Dads who balance kids on their hips ought to do well. Regardless, it's hard work.

Rob Mack
richard-courtney wrote on 4/11/2005, 6:35 PM
Forgive my ignorance....
Is there a gyro or spinning wheels in a real rig?

I remember the spinning bicycle wheel experiment in high school science
class.

Is it just a balanced arm?
farss wrote on 4/11/2005, 7:15 PM
No,
they rely on the moment of inertia. You can add gyros but that adds weight and the cost and you ideally need more than and they need a power source.
Bob.