3 Minute Shot - Thanks to Glidecam

C

chrislaing

Member
Let me know your feedback on this Glidecam 2000 Pro shot. Runs about 3 minutes without a cut or loss of sound. Realize it's a little sea-sick in spots and that the sound quality is probably the best thing about it.

Feel free to explore the rest of the site. This continues to be an evolving and learning process. Click on the link below:

http://www.sashalaing.com/Amoroso_Place_6.mov

All feedback continues to be welcome.

Chris
 
It's getting better Chris! Much imporved over the last one I saw. On this; concentrate on getting down. You must be a bit taller than out hostess? Gotta bend those knees (Take the Pain!) and/or get the Camera down more even with the hostess.

Looks great and I love this concept. Still impressed at how comfortable your hostess (wife?) is; she's a natural.
 
Looking good -- not easy to hold the rig for that long (at least for me). Too much headroom during most of it. Got better towards the end when you went around to the side of the house.

What did you use for audio? Was she wearing a lav?

I see Chris!
reflection7qs.jpg

@ 3:08 (Hitchcock had cameos, so hey, why not!)
 
Chrislaing, nice work. People here have been talking about head room, but I actually get what you were doing. She's not the subject of the piece, I see you're really framing the house and her. Right?

Keep up the good work. Quick question, are you in auto exposure/manual focus? Makes the most sense right? Changing lighting conditions, but keeping her in focus, Right?
 
much like everyone else to much headroom. i understand you were trying to get alot of the other features of the property but i think it would have been better if you framed that lady up tight throughout the whole house first then went back and got a bunch of cutaway shots that would really show off the property.
 
From a more global perspective on what you might be trying to do (DIY, HGTV-style show) I have a couple of pointers.

While the Glidecam stuff is looking good, in a reality-TV production you would want to avoid the type of shooting you did in the demo.

Contain your shots so that they work from a lighting perspective - you shouldn't have more than two or three relative stops in any given set-up. The camera just can't handle it and auto-iris only announces the fact that you haven't taken time to light. Lock down that iris inside and frame to avoid windows.

Again, this demo is qualified as just that - a Glidecam demo, so take this for what it is worth. Each of the areas the host is highlighting needs to be shot or "staged" as a unique coverage element. The walkthrough stuff is a nice value, but there wouldn't be enough coverage there to generate a workable edit.

The question then becomes, do you intercut static, handheld or complimentary moves for each unique location with the "master" Glidecam move? It is sticky if you can't nail studies of each location during the steady walk - every cut will have a jarring effect on the larger master. I'd get around it by shooting:

1. Host introduces exterior and sitting area outside in one pass, then breaks frame after announcing "...there's more of the indoors out, outdoors in theme inside!"

2. Grab more locked-off, handheld angles or almost static Glidecam cutaways in the garden for coverage without the host. These would cut in right after the #1 sequence and would also fill for bumps and wraparounds.

3. Move inside by having your host come through the front door in total continuity with her front yard opener. Light the room to match the backlight or lock you iris to blow out the door when it opens. The room will be properly exposed for its study, which is paramount. People are used to seeing blown-out exteriors, so if you can't balance the two it isn't going to kill you.

Reverse and repeat the above when you move into the back yard. Keep shooting!

e
 
She was wearing an Audio Technica lavelier. I know, the reflection in the French Door is just a dead give-away. Thanks for watching though.
 
Hey Phil:
Thanks for the feedback. You got it about the house be an equally important co-star. Went pretty lazy on the auto-iris, which is why it gets pretty dark at times. Thanks for watching.
 
Thanks for the excellent advice, Erik. I appreciate you taking the time to give some very valid pointers. Was impressed with the body of work you've already amassed and your experiences south of the border. Thanks again for the time and suggestions. It's a continuously evolving art and craft.
 
2. Grab more locked-off, handheld angles or almost static Glidecam cutaways in the garden for coverage without the host. These would cut in right after the #1 sequence and would also fill for bumps and wraparounds.
Click to expand...

You're entire message was very informative overlandfilms e. Thanks for taking the time.

Chris, ever think of getting a second camera in on the shoot? I think I remember a long time ago watching the first Amarosa Place and you had the owners of the house on camera with the host. A second camera, even if its not up to par with your DVX, will also fill in trouble spots and provide more dynamic coverage of the scenes.

She really is a good host. I'd love to see interaction with the homeowners but preferably with a second camera operator. Of course... you might naturally need a boom mic operator or a second lav in that situation.

Also if you used a simple preset in Motion you could make your title sequence a lot more appropriate. You can always concoct a real introduction later.

This reminded me of Cribs even though a glidecam is no steadycam rig... I dont believe they use much lighting indoors? Im assuming he has a camera light just in case but... that'd be interesting to find out.

Without doing anything else to the makeup of the show... host really needs to be framed mo betta in your future episodes.

Did I mention I like it and hope I get to see more?

-Ben
 
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