Shooting Low angle, and Low tech

Luis Caffesse

Luis Caffesse

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So I'm working on a new show about animals.
(yes yes I know...kids and animals).

Well, after shooting for one day I woke up with TERRIBLE lower back pain.
I didn't realize it at the time, but because I was trying to follow the animals around (mainly dogs) I had been shooting hunched over all day long.

So i set out yesterday to figure out a good and cheap way to shoot really low handheld shots. I called a friend of mine and asked him what to do - and of course he suggested that I get a steadicam flyer. Well... I was looking for something cheaper than 7K. Like, really cheap.

I couldn't find anything out there that would seem to work - I looked at the multirig, and a bunch of other handheld stabilizers - but all I really needed was an extension on my HVX handle so I wouldn't have to hunch over all day - everything I saw seemed like overkill and way over my budget right now.

I had resolved to make some sort of rig myself - and talked to another friend (an engineer who definitely knows what he's doing considering he builds jibs) and he helped me put together a really simple plan for a low mode stabilizer.

I was all set to go out to Home depot and buy some aluminium and spend the next day building this thing.

Then, as i'm going to sleep it hit me.

What am I doing?
I have a Grip arm, a couple of heads and a mafer clamp....
With that....I can do ANYTHING!

So, it's not pretty - but it's adjustable to any angle, it'll get the job done and its free.
:thumbsup:

gripcam.jpg


Yeah, I know - it's not groundbreaking by any means.
Just thought some of you would enjoy this.
 
ive been using a sticky pod upside down, linked into the threaded screw port on the HVX handle..... works great.
 
I use a stills camera monopod upside down - screwed into the HVX's handle thread (similar to TimurCivan).

It can hang vertically and is very stable - I suspect more stable than the offset arrangement in your picture - but of course, more expensive.

Good luck with it - can we see some footage sometime?
 
I use a Glidecam 4000 flipped upside down. Since it has a gimble, it gives you silky smooth steady shots without any walking vibration, like the camera is floating inches off the ground.

If you need more adjustable angles down low, you can also attach a tiltable monopod head to the glidecam.

I was shooting people putting golf balls and following them going into the hole and it worked great.
 
Do any of the above actually let you keep the camera right side up? Cause it looks like Luis' does?

I see that Timur's does, can you do angles as well with that similar setup? I need something like this next weekend!
 
Maybe because when you import it into your NLE it's upside down. I actually shoot with my M2 upside down because flipping it is annoying. Granted, something like that would be good for me because I wouldn't have to flip it in post thanks to the M2 already doing that...

But naked HVX, you would.
 
But isn't flipping in post as easy as dragging a flip filter onto your clips in your NLE? There shouldn't be any rendering required so there is no time expense or quality degradation.
 
TimurCivan said:
ive been using a sticky pod upside down, linked into the threaded screw port on the HVX handle..... works great.
Click to expand...
I've done this too, but the handle and the aluminum threads appear too flimsy to me for any type of motion, especially sideways, or quick movements. There is not a lot of strength there. Plus the camera is not balanced at that point, so to level the shot, you are introducing a torque at the thread point that is not good.
 
Lowest tech is when you bend over and hold the camera in your hand. It's surprisingly smooth, even without a "steady cam" device. Just need to bend over.
 
Indywannabe said:
Lowest tech is when you bend over and hold the camera in your hand. It's surprisingly smooth, even without a "steady cam" device. Just need to bend over.
Click to expand...


That's what I did the first time - which worked out alright until I woke up the next morning with terrible lower back pain. Nothing like shooting all day bent over to remind you you aren't 18 anymore (at least Im not).

andynick said:
I use a stills camera monopod upside down - screwed into the HVX's handle thread (similar to TimurCivan).

It can hang vertically and is very stable - I suspect more stable than the offset arrangement in your picture - but of course, more expensive.

Good luck with it - can we see some footage sometime?
Click to expand...

Well, I could set it up so that the handle is directly above the camera, which would be easier to balance - but it makes it much harder to walk around with.
Given that I'm moving around pretty quickly, trying to keep up with dogs that I can't control, I'd rather be able to move freely than risk kicking my HVX by accident.

So, we'll see how it works out - I'm going out tomorrow to shoot the next epsiode of this show, and I'll use this set up for all my low angle shots (which is 99% of the show).

As soon as these things are done and online I'll post a link so you can see the handywork of my hitech solution.

:thumbsup:
 
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