Shooting handheld while walking (?)

[moonlitnite]

Originally Posted by romaneagle

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I'm still going to work on mastering the whole GlideCam balancing act. It just drives me nuts that it un-balances so easily.

Cheers!

Rehi,

Sorry you're having rebalancing problems. Assuming you don't have a damaged unit or a procedural error*, hopefully soon you'll master how quick it is to rebalance the GlideCam.

Below are my notes that might be of help. FYI - I find I can usually get by simply rotating the washers back and forth a bit to readjust the balance.

Good Luck, Michael

* Procedural errors include things like loose equipment, taking gear on/off before/after balancing (lens cap, tape, etc), changing camera weight distribution after calibration (flipping out on-camera monitor, etc), twisting counterweight pole and not first realigning it visually to see if glidecam returns to balance, etc...

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1. If you don't already own one, buy a music stand or similar rig to hold the GC during setup. I can't imagine anyone ever adjusted a GC without a rig - if they have, never agree to wrist-wrestle against them! The GC handle is actually a hollow pipe so it can be supported by a vertical rod. I use a portable stand that collapses all the way down for portability at the event: http://www.elevation-music.com/hebsezsefoal.html

2. Okay, once the GC is assembled, sit it on the music stand and make sure everything is stable. You should be able to rotate the GC horizontally 90 degrees.

3. In the 90 degree horizontal position, rotate the GC post clockwise and counterclockwise. Is the unit balanced so that it doesn't always come to rest in the same position? If it does, move the appropriate thumb screws on the plate so when you twist the pipe the camera and GC do not favor one position.

4. Now the famous drop test. With the GC post at 90 degrees, drop the bottom end (gravitational plumb) with the weights and count the seconds until the bottom moves into the horizontal position. The ideal time should be around 2.5 - 3.0 seconds. If not, move the GC back to 90 degrees horizontal, loosen the telescoping clamp and slide the counterweight assembly in (to lengthen time) or out (to shorten time). If you have to add additional washers, you may need to repeat prior steps.

5a. Next set the GC in its normal position. Adjust the counterweights so the GC post is exactly vertical. If you're in a building, you can use a doorframe or other vertical benchmark as a reference. Rotate the music stand so the camera is pointed to the reference point. Frame the post so you can see the doorframe behind it and adjust the counterweights left or right so the post lines up perfectly with the doorframe. Now rotate the music stand 90 degrees so the camera is pointing at right angles to the doorframe. Adjust the counterweights left or right (towards front or back of camera assembly) so the GC post is again perfectly parallel to the doorframe.

5b. If you're in the field without a reference, go to "plan b". Buy yourself two inexpensive small 2 inch leveling bubbles found in most hardware stores. Sit them on the base platform that holds the counterweights at 90 degree angles (front-back and left-right). Actually, this method is much easier than the above method - I recommend getting the leveling bubbles with contact adhesive and mounting them to the base platform.

6. Finally, take the GC off the music stand and give it the left-right and forward-backward sway test. Initially, a fast movement sway test is okay just to get a feel of the balance. Tweak the counterweights as necessary. If the GC has too much of a pendulum sway, loosen the telescoping clamp and raise or lower the counterweight assembly (but not more than 2.5 - 3.0 seconds per step 4). Next due the GC sway test slowly left-right and forward-backward. Try to get a "read" on what's causing the sway by watching the latency when it makes a slight wobble due to the inertia of your movement.

[mburgh]

Originally Posted by romaneagle

Hi,

I need to shoot my subject while walking AND sometimes panning. Does anyone have a secret to keeping the camera as steady and even as possible?

I did a test run and it looks very "cinema verite," which isn't the way this needs to look. It needs to look like it's all shot on a moving tripod or dolly, as much as that is humanly possible, except without the tripod and without the dolly!

Got any tips? (I would prefer avoiding the purchase of a SteadiCam system.)

Much thanks!

I've used both handheld and the Glidecam 2000 for shooting. The Glidecam works best with the forearm support. Also, you should know that the Glidecam takes a lot of practice to use well. Unless you are extraordinarily gifted (which I am not) at walking smoothly and gracefully, you won't get the results you're after. That's not to say its not worth getting a stabilizing system, but for doc work, too smooth undercuts the credibility somewhat. I'd suggest looking at docs you admire and watch what the filmmakers do for that problem.

[jdmoviemaker]

The Glidecam is the best for getting a good smooth look , but its not too portable.
You may have trouble if you ever film in the mountains , or on long hikes.

[romaneagle]

Hey JD,

Well, I'm vested in mastering this GlideCam whenever I get some free time to do that. But just for the sake of knowledge... what would you use for stabilizing footage while going on a mountain hike? If that's even possible. At this point, I'm not sure it is!

Cheerio

[John Godden]

Originally Posted by romaneagle

Hey JD,

Well, I'm vested in mastering this GlideCam whenever I get some free time to do that. But just for the sake of knowledge... what would you use for stabilizing footage while going on a mountain hike? If that's even possible. At this point, I'm not sure it is!

Cheerio

Nobody has mentioned this so I will:
You will improve your apparent steadiness (by a lot) by adding a wide-angle adapter to you cam. Something in the <0.7 range will help a lot.

As an aside, I bought a Glidecam 2000 and found that it was very easy to setup by using a full length miror and watching how the rig swayed when moved back-forth in each orthoganal plane.

Good luck..................... I eventually sold the 2000 because I couldn't get used to what I thought was a very awkward grip/wrist interface. Seemed like it was designed to torture my wrist.

JohnG

[zoostory]

Here's another idea, when shooting HD of some flavor. Check out Final Cut Pro 6.0s new "SmoothCam" Plugin. I do a lot of VFX work and usually motion stabilize in Shake or AE, then zoom in, say around 5% to steady some shots... but I have to say, SmoothCam, though it takes a ridiculously long time to analyze a clip, has done wonders in totally smoothing out handheld shots.

I played around with it after the fact on a shoot where the EPs wanted one specific shot to seem more like a steady push in than a handheld thing, and it totally worked for them. I honestly had no faith in it.

If I were to go into a handheld situation knowing I were going to use SmoothCam, I would try and emulate complex dolly/crane moves by hand, while still trying to keep things as smooth as possible (don't get too bumpy or you'll have to zoom in way too much and things will get lossy). Do some experiments and you may be amazed at what you get.

Granted, zooming in takes a quality hit, and I am sure some purists will rage against it. But if you wind up in post with shaky footage, then it's that or reshoot - which one is more affordable?

Anyway, check it out, technology really is quite amazing!