In a youtube video I found, Greg Collier shows us all the great tools he thinks are important to great cinematography. He has worked been a cameraman on everything from music videos to documentaries and everything in between. He brings up the value of the steadicam, that has not been any significant changes since it was invented about fifty years ago. He explains how the steadicam basically defies gravity. It completely isolates the camera from human movement and gravity itself. It comes with basically three pieces: a vest, an arm, and a gimble. Being just three pieces does not make it easy to build, in fact building this piece is extremely difficult and must be done with much precision.
Greg brings up the jib next. He starts off by saying, "the jib is what can go above and beyond". It can get a birds eye view with out aerial cinematography and can transition down from an aerial shot down to eye level. It is great for an establishing shot of a large crowd. With in one shot you can go from that large aerial crowd shot down to a single person with ease. Putting your jib on a dolly can also further your options and movements for your shots as well. More advanced jibs like the one Greg shows in the video have remote controlled cameras on the end of their jib that give the cinematographer the ability to pan or tilt.
Greg Collier says that our camera movements are there to basically energize the shot. Although sometimes less it more, other times just having actors being shot with no movement is not entertaining enough for an audience. As Greg is fan of movements, he is also a fan of solar power. He is one of the only camera men in Los Angeles that has a solar camera cart to charge all of his equipment.This individual cart can produce 75 watts of power on set. Greg's final advice for all cinematographers is to get the shot, make it look good, and make it work for what the script calls for.
Lately I have been trying to expand my DSLR accessories while trying to get the best deal because as many of you know video equipment is not cheap. Hell a replacement canon lens cover is 10 dollars. While we do have PPECS which is an awesome resource for now, we won't always have this access to equipment for free. I have been trying to decide what I should invest in next and I've come to the conclusion of some sort of stabilization system. While I could just buy a relatively nice video tripod for under a hundred dollars, a tripod really limits me to only be able to shoot so much, as well as not a lot of creative shots. What I believe the best investment is going to be is a steadicam, more specifically a glide cam.
A glide cam is a newer steadicam system which can allow you to get amazingly smooth shots, and the system, for what its worth, is relatively cheap to most other steadicams.
The picture above is of the Glidecam HD-2000. This is the medium priced model. There is a HD-1000, 2000, and 4000 and the difference between each of them is the amount of weight they can hold and the length of each unit. The 1000 can hold about 1-3 pounds which seems very impractical because while lenses and attachments most DSLRs will tip that scale. The 2000 holds about 2-6 pounds more weight and a little cheaper for those who are just beginning with steadicam use. Finally the 4000 can hold up to 10 pounds and extend to 28 inches. Now the HD models are the older brothers to the XR models. If you are looking to save a little bit more money the XR's may be right for you, however getting them to balance is a much more tedious process.
For a more in-depth look at the process visit the link above, it covers a lot of good information especially if you are looking to invest in one of these systems. This on Phillip Blooms website, an independent cinematographer, a lot of useful film tips can be found on this website, I suggest you take a look around.
The person to really get the name of this system out there is Devin Graham. Devin is a Youtube partner who creates some pretty insane videos using DSLRs combined with the glidecam. He films a lot of free running videos ,especially for the video game series Assassins Creed. Using the glidecam in this style of video is really cool because it makes it feel like you are running right with the character the whole time. The video is posted below.
Devin usually posts a Behind the Scenes video which really helps you see how they do all of the unique shots. The link is posted below.
This is another video by Devin which is shot on the Canon 5D Mark II and the Glidecam 4000. The whole video gives you the feeling that you are almost flying.
Now the most expensive model of Glidecam is about 600 dollars with a little bit of hunting around the internet and in reality for a steadicam this is an extremely good deal. Just typing in steadicam to a google search the results show models ranging from 1000 dollars to about 9000, and they can go even high then that. There are also cheaper models but typically in video equipment you get what you pay for and thats quality. Another thing besides price to take into consideration is that steadicams do make your shots look good but you can't just pick it up and expect a beautiful shot, these skills take practice just like anything else. But if you want to start getting some hands on experience with this equipment for a relatively cheap price the glidecam cam could be the piece of equipment for you.
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.
A large part of what separates the amateurs from the professionals in the visual media industry is how smooth the shots look. When you think about it; it makes sense. As of now, steadicams, (currently the easiest way to achieve these seductive, sweeping shots) go anywhere from $150 to over $10,000. Your average Joe isn't about to dish out a thousand dollars for smooth shots when he's got a built in stabilizer on his T3i. However, in the future we might see a steady drop in the price of steadicams with the introduction of the Freefly MoVI rig.
So you may be thinking, "What's so revolutionary about the MoVI?" This video will clear up any questions you may have:
One thing I found particularly intriguing about the MoVI rig is it's ability to not only be operated by one person, but also operated dually. Much like how a follow focus could be focusing a camera from another room, the MoVI allows one person to follow the action with the camera while another sits somewhere else concentrating entirely on framing.
Secondly, even those looking for that, shaky, running with the camera look can find the MoVI rig useful. For example, the MoVI M10 offers a user adjusted shakey cam that allows the operator to shoot with consistent, realistic movement. Who would have thought that a device could be so good at being smooth that a shakey camera would be considered a feature?
Below I attached the link that directs you to Laforet's finished video. Keep in mind, the short was made for the purpose of displaying the MoVI's abilities. Therefore, the plot of the video is fairly lacking and in itself not so interesting. However, when focusing on the shots one can easily see the upgrade in production quality the MoVI brings to the table. As of now, a MoVI rig goes for about $15000. However, I doubt it will be long before similar rigs aimed towards consumers come unto the market. Knowing this, one must question how much longer the line separating amateur productions from professional productions will remain in tact.
