Camera on shoulder or front of it?

[therussian]

well for one. thats NOT a video head. its a photo head. youre not going to get good moves with it. its design to stay in one position. not to move

but i have that head. and you can attach it's quick release plate to the bottom of anything with a 1/4-20 thread. in fact i think it even has an option for a locating pin.
but a "rig" will overload that head. and probably the sticks as well. id be looking into a new, budget video tripod+head.

Thanks again!

I don't want to make moves with that tripod+head.... I just want it for a few static shots, nothing more.

I was considering to get a cheap video head like the 701HDV... But... I don't think I would need it.

It all comes down to the visual language... And I want to walk on the route of handheld+ some static shots. I was thinking and still thinking about buying a cheap slider, like the Glidetrack, to add production value, but I'm really not sure how true it is today. With the advance of dslrs and cheap sliders every amateurish cheap video has slider shots, actually all the cheap music videos and short films are nothing more but slider shots....., it became a cheap gimmick I think and doesn't give any high production value anymore. So I think I go on the route of handheld + some static shots on tripod.

By the way... I received smallHD DP4+EVF a few days ago. I'm so glad I invested a little more money in the monitor question and bought it. It's a grate piece of gear! I'm still learning and getting accustomed to it, but it's a great device! What I found is that only my D7000+SmallHD EVF installed on it gives me a lot more stability with the one more point of contact, than the camera itself... So I think with a proper shoulder rig I could get really steady shots!

Thanks again wgzn, I really appreciate your help!

 

[Inprogress]

Best to shoot videos right now

Best to shoot videos right now

Best advise I can give you considering how you can't decide what you have to buy, is go out and shoot stuff. Don't shoot your short film, shoot other stuff, anything. A birthday party. A rally event or beach event of horse event. Random people in the street looking at traffic lights. Friends at your house. The dogs. The cats. The fish. Aeroplanes landing and taking off. Birds on the grass. ANYTHING.

The very first video I shot, I knew I needed a proper fluid head - didn't have that much money so I bought a Velbon cheapy tripod+fluidhead. It works, not great, but it works. The second video I shot I realised I need a monopod-fluidhead combo. Handheld there is too many micro-shakes in the footage which I just don't like. Tripod is too rigid. So now I'm purchasing a Weifing EL717AH fluid head, combined with a Benro A49F monopod and feet. It isn't the top of the range stuff, but from reviews, good value for money. I also learned I needed a bigger screen cause I was struggling with focus confidence using the LCD screen of my GH2, and I do NOT like the EVF of the GH2.

I also realised, I need to buy/DIY/Make a cage for my GH2. Why? I find the GH2 just slightly to small of MY needs and I want to be able to have the option to mount things on the camera without physically mounting it to the camera it self (mounting to the cage). Again, MY needs after shooting stuff.

After my third video (and I have learned a lot by just watching videos or others and how they made them, watching behind the scenes videos) I saw I need a lighting kit - I haven't made up my mind yet on the lighting kit. I also need a microphone boom when a lapel is impractical. I have a cheap Audio Technica ATR3350 which I kind of like except the incredibly long lead.

I filmed a birthday party last night using my 2nd hand SmallHD DP6 which arrived this week. It was a very good purchase for MY needs (I am very happy I bought it) at this point in time. I can see the use of a DP4+Loupe but I'll buy that later when I get into shoulder rig work.

For a future project I'm working on, I will need a slider and jib, and possibly a copter. I don't know if I'll need those three things when the time comes, but because of the time frame and various remote locations that will be shot (without much preshoot info until we get there) I envision I'll need those things. But until that time comes, more shooting will allow me to figure out if I do need them. With the cinematic language, many inspiring "moves" have been created when a workaround had to be found over what was impossible to shoot at the time. It doesn't mean don't aspire to shoot your vision, but shoot within your budget and make it work with workarounds or DIY stuff. Nobody is gonna care how professional your gear looks on your own shortfilm.

For shoulder rig work, all I need is one handle, two rails, a shoulder pad (looking at Tilta or Lanparte) with battery plate incorporated, and a base plate for mounting the camera/quick-release. The reason I want the battery baseplate (this also counts for my GH2 cage in itself) is that I have come to HATE all the different batteries that needs to be charged, and all the different chargers that needs to go along etc. I want one battery system to hook everything off of. Again, MY needs. For monopod work I want my GH2 cage with an incorporated battery. For shoulder rig work, I'll have the shoulder battery (and counterbalance battery) setup.

I have learned something which is built upon the saying "Need vs. Want".

Make a list of the stuff you want. Then cross of the things on that list that, if you didn't have that item, will it make shooting impossible?

I want a follow focus, but really, considering the prices of a FF without backlash, I really don't need a FF cause it is still possible to focus using my fingers on the lens (and I'm a one man show).

I want a shoulder rig but since I do very little following around video work, I don't need it right now. Plus, I found I can get quite stable footage following a person just holding the tripod (future monopod) close by like a make shift steadycam. It isn't perfect, but MY needs right now isn't following footage docu-style, but handheld footage using a monopod. The monopod takes away the micro-shakes I explained. I will get a shoulder rig merely because looking at the potential paid-for-work I can get, not having a shoulder rig setup can cost me the job.

So honestly, before you buy anything drastic, just go out a shoot something, ANYTHING. Here is the rig I used last night to shoot with handheld in surprisingly low light (the screen helped a ton for ME).

A note on the friction arm: Make sure the friction arm has a rosette joint. Meaning, the two arms, where they clamp together, make sure those to surfaces that mate together, has ridges.

Panasonic GH2
Rode Video Mic
SmallHD DP6
11 inch ebay Friction arm