Steadicam Work in Hugo

A few weeks ago I had my first experience with a steadicam. I was first AC for my friends ACP fiction shoot, and the DP happened to own and operate a steadicam. He let me try it on for a few minutes and it was awesome. The variety of shots that can be accomplished with a steadicam is unreal. After that weekend of working so closely with this rig really peaked my interest. I've been researching various set-ups and examples of shots used with a steadicam. One of my favorite examples i've found was from the final scenes of Hugo.

Here is a shot from the point of view of a go-pro mounted on top of the steadicam.

The way the operator moves around the set with flawless precision is un-real. He is able to achieve perfect shots and angles while the whole time avoiding actors and props.

Seeing the way that they move the set makes me wonder if that happens more often in movies and I just don't notice it. I think its amazing how they built the wall to be able to retract to make room for the steadicam, while still being impossible to tell that the wall can move.

Here is the actual clip from the movie:

Robert Richardson was the DP for Hugo, and if you have seen the movie you know that there are many shots as impressive as this one. Richardson has 3 oscars along with another 16 wins and 46 nominations.