Advice on an event shoot situation

[Ming]

Is there such a thing as a tabletop tripod -and sturdy and steady enough for a DVX? My dilemma is that I'll be shooting from behind a large bench in a photography/videography booth in a large indoor arena.

The bench is high enough and the standing area narrow enough that I can't use a normal sized tripod. Putting the tripod on the bench would put it too high for me to reach without getting up there too, and that's not how the booth is designed anyway. Putting the tripod behind the bench wont work either as then the tripod isnt high enough to get the camera high enough to get the bench out of the field of view. Nice booth!

I'd shoot from elsewhere in the arena, however this event requires that the judges in the arena be able to come look at my footage much like a ref looking at a challenge in football. They specifically require a monitor rather than the tiny LCD screen on the camera. My thought was to just use my Apple laptop with DV Monitor Pro installed, hence the need for the bench - to hold the laptop. This is a stadium sized arena, think hockey arena, only for horses so the seating area won't work, the steps would block people, the rail is too close and would spook the riders and horses, and the upper rim is too far back. Anyhow- a short tripod would be perfect. It needs to be a good one though, there is a lot of panning as I'm following the horses as they go around and around. Ideas?

-Eric

 

[Newt]

Hi Ming,

I was on a crew where we had low shots regularly and I think they used like a 15-20cm (about 5-7in) hi-hat. We couldn't find anything that was less than a 100mm bowl though. It worked out quite well.

 

[Ming]

Hi Ming,

I was on a crew where we had low shots regularly and I think they used like a 15-20cm (about 5-7in) hi-hat. We couldn't find anything that was less than a 100mm bowl though. It worked out quite well.

Really.. there's no mini tripod out there? Hmm.

 

[danny]

Really.. there's no mini tripod out there? Hmm.

One of the MultiRig functions is a low Mode tripod. by adjusting the grips angles you can go from almost zero to 25 cm, and level the frame.

 

[Sad Max]

I have a cheapie little mini-tripod that came as an accessory with a pair of spotting binoculars. At minimum height it puts the DVX's lens axis at about 8"-10" over the floor.

It's fine for static shots; the trouble with using it for anything more aggressive than very slow pans or tilts, is that the mass of the DXV is greater than the mass of the tripod, and it's very easy to push it over, or up on one leg, while moving. Maybe if you were to use something like that, but bolt/fasten/whatever it to a plywood or steel baseplate, you'd have the sort of tool you're after.

 

[Ming]

The multirig looks very nice, and I may pick one up as I'm looking for a stabilizer / weight distribution system for non-tripod footage as well. There's no head though, and I'll be panning like crazy in this application. I'm looking for more of a full on tripod, just a shorty. Thanks for the replies though. I seriously do like the multi-rig. It looks quite versatile for a lot of different situations.

 

[ben-s]

You could ditch the idea of a tripod altogether.
No, I mean seriously.
I have used a Cullmann clamp with a lightweight video head on it for shooting in tight places.

You could clamp the thing to your bench, and use a reasonable head on it.
http://www.cullmann-foto.de/en/products/tripods/special/2703.htm
This is like the one I have, but mine came with a little pan/tilt head, rather than a ball.
I usually use it with a Manfrotto 701 RC2 head - a bit underpowered for the DVX100 really, but it is very light.

You will need a 1/4" - 3/8" adapter for putting most proper heads on the clamp, as it has a 1/4" boss.

Just my £0.02 worth

 

[FBAS]

I have used a Cullmann clamp with a lightweight video head on it for shooting in tight places.

My first thought was similar - take the head from your tripod and clamp/fix it to the table somehow. Never done that myself though.
I'm not sure if you can easily remove the head from your tripod, but usually it should be possible.

 

[Ming]

I was also looking at the superclamp from Bogen with the 3/8 head adapter.

The problem is getting the whole thing up high enough. The bench is 3 ft wide and its on a raised platform shooting down into an arena. Clipped on to the back of the bench I need a center column or something to raise the camera up so the bench isnt in frame at any angle. I can't clamp the camera onto the arena lip (the away lip) because then it would be too far forward to operate. Whoever designed the videogrpaher booth was smoking crack.

 

[Erik Olson]

You lost me at "center column". Is there a reason you don't want to use a hi-hat? If it's because you don't know the actual height? If you want to pan and tilt, a hi-hat is the best, most stable option.

e

 

[bilgami]

If you have a shoulder brace that could help i have the spiderbrace and ive used it on table top stuff before.

 

[Ming]

Center column is the term for the post in a tripod that the head mounts on, isn't it?

How would the camera mount to the high hat? You have to speak to me like I were a child. Are we talking about a cymbal stand?

edit... ah google is my friend . Yes, that would be ideal if it were high enough. Let me sketch this out and I'll post a diagram.

 

[Ming]

I gave up on the diagram... it's simple though.. the bench is halfway up the bleachers and the angle is as you would find in any hockey arena. The frame just has to clear the bench at all angles.

A sandbagged tripod on the lowest setting will hopefully work. Thanks for input. I learned what a high hat was, so this thread wasn't in vein.

 

[FiddlerMD]

what about a beanbag / saddle type of solution? or do you need the ability to pan/tilt?

 

[Ming]

Pan and tilt are absolutely necessary, yep. I'm mid-floor in an arena shooting people riding horses around and around. A fluid camera motion is the number one concern. Don't worry about it, I was mainly just putting out feelers for what short (and solid/ smooth/ pro) solutons existed.

Everything was just perfect with using my tripod until they told me they required playback on a monitor which requires me to be stationary behind this lame arse bench that's too high for a normal tripod from the floor behind it. I've got an idea now of what options are out there to choose from.