First shoot with glidecam

Justyn

Justyn

Veteran
Greetings all. I don't have any footage to post yet but I will hopefully later tonight. Just wanted to start a thread as a possible soure of info and exchange from one newbie stabilizer operator to others, or to people with experience.

I'll post the footage first and maybe rant about how friggin hard this was and how much practice I will need... But, believe in trial by fire, I picked a more challenging thing to shoot and had a pretty good time. I only nearly fell off the stage and broke my neck- once....


Cheers all and I'll be on later..


HERE"S THE FOOTAGE... Posted a few days after first notice: cheers:


http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CHRISTMAS 2010/3screensuite.mov
 
Last edited:
Looking forward to this. I have been trying to truly decide if I want to give a glide/steadicam a try. Would be curious to know your setup...ie handheld, arm brace, vest etc. I have actually been thinking about going semi full out and getting the vest and whole rig, but even then its still a "balancing act"...and that still scares me.

Keep us posted.

Regards,

G.
 
What glidecam are you using? It definitely takes some time the first time u use it. Especially to balance it, and I still haven't got a perfect balance.
 
Hey guys... I want to share the little that I know as a first time buyer and user. There's some good info out there but it's not gathered in one place, and the glidecam website and manual leaves a lot to be desired. Once I can get to edit it, then I'll post some footage and I'm more than happy to chat about this and give you my limited short term feelings.

I purchased the HD4000 as I knew I'd be flying a variety of different cameras and will be using acessories like an onboard light, monitor, etc. I haven't mounted a monitor yet, but after my first day of shooting I definitely realize that it's a necessity as the flip out LCD isn't always in an ideal location and just moving it changes the CG....

I don't have a perfect balance either, BUT, I do think that getting the balance brace will help in that setup and also in taking breaks during the shoot. I did also buy the armbrace and I think it's really useful for extending the shooting duration, but it's not perfect, and its not anywhere as good as a vest.. It is however only 1/10th the price. I also think that even when I get the vest, for some quick run and gun shoots the arm brace will be better.. so I'l probably keep it. Overall though it's a pretty heavy setup but it's not impossible. I shot 40 minutes of footage the first time and a lot of it was walking fast and spinning around the people. I might have to get to upload something tomorow, but it will be soon.

Overall I'm really happy with the purchase.. there's gold in the system for sure.. it's all user functionality though that makes it work... I'd say though that it's smooth for sure and it's fairly intuative, but sometimes the rig has a mind of it's own. One things for sure, walking don juan or backwards is a definite challenge....


peace and I'll be happy to share.... Rocan, what did you pick up?
 
Okay guys... I finally got around to editing the stuff together. Now, this hasn't been cropped or CC'd or anything done to it. Wanted you to be able to see out of the camera. A lot of this will be repositied as I shot it 1080 for a DVD delivery at our church.


Now.. This video will be used for a 3 screen kid's christmas show. I'll be doing a lot of post work to the video and adding some graphics, but what you kind of see is the starting point. Several shots aren't in the right spots and overall this is a rough cut... i did want to post it though so here you go. It might be a bit weird to see 3 screens but it's for the church to see and for me to see how it all lays out.

If you guys want to see a single layed out video with some post work and that.. just let me know. All of this was shot on the glidecam, and the center section you can tell was all circling the talent... Overall I think I give myself a B for my first time out. I already know so much more and think it's a process.. Each time a bit better and a bit quicker.


cheers and Enjoy.... Leave feedback and questions you might have...


http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CHRISTMAS 2010/3screensuite.mov
 
Looks great Justyn. Better than I've achieved with my $14 steadicam, for sure. Where did you order it from? I think a steadicam is going to be one of my next purchases, and I already had my eye on the Glidecam 4000 Pro (which I realize now is different from the 4000-HD... had you looked into both?).
 
Wilbur.... Thanks so much for your kind words. It was a great day and I didn't end up killing myself which is a big win....


Allen.... I also have that 14 dollar steadicam and it works very well for the low profile stuff. I've used that on golf shots when the ball is being putted and it's great. It works so well in the low-profile mode that I'm never going to get a low profile mod for this glidecam... I bought it from B and H.. which seems to be the only place that really has it in stock. I bought the HD version cause of a few major upgrades and I am so glad that I did. The old glidecam didn't have the ability to reposition the sled without taking off the camera which is a huge PITA..... The PRo version also had a problem with the weights shifting and moving which would be another big PITA. I also think that the HD version is just a better looking rig, and has a much better design so that's why I spent the extra 150 or so... When you look around you'll find others saying the same thing and comparison reviews.... I'm glad I went with the HD model... and also the HD4000. When you put the 150 on it with a couple of accessories then you'll easily be up to 5 pounds.... or whatever....


Thanks all.
 
Looked great. And that was your first foray into using a glidecam? Wow...nice. You might have said already, but was that all just handholding the unit? No brace or vest? Also, could you speak some to how difficult it was to get it balanced? Again, nice job for sure.

And another comment...not related to glidecam stuff. I sure like seeing footage like this from a 150. Man it looks good. I cannot for the life of me get mine to look like that. I know its me and not the camera. But one thing is for sure...when I start to want to upgrade because I am not happy with my footage, things like this bring me back down to earth and make me realize the only think I need to upgrade are my skills!!!! Same thing happens with my 7D and 1DMKIV.

But as always, your stuff looks great. Oh and yes for sure I would like to see the finished product when you get it done.

Regards,

G.

edit: and I meant to ask...are all these people from your church? If so, you have some talented folks in your congregation. They are all certainly comfortable in front of a camera. Its really easy to watch...they do a nice job.
 
Last edited:
Yes... This was my first shoot. It was done using the armbrace which is a good product for what it is. Easily extends the hold time and recovery time. I didn't wait too long between shots as time was at a minimum. I shot probably all of this in about 90 minutes.

Balancing is a chore but I knew that going in and I don't mind being meticulous. I also think that when the balancing brace is in stock, that will make the balancing a lot quicker. I also think that you can mess with this for hours and never get it perfect.. you just have to get it 99 percent.... Overall there's a few things that I learned before I did this or from actually doing it.

1. Whatever you balance, when you balance something else, will throw off original balance so you'll have to keep repeating till the tolerances are all about the same. This was key to me not freaking out... It all changes as you adjust until it's in the fine tuning stages.

2. Make sure the drop time is in real time... Count with the missisippi or get an actual counter. This should be 2.5 to 3 seconds for beginners which helps to keep the inertia high....

3. Find an even level of top and bottom heay.. perfectly balanced, and then make it just a bit bottom heavy... This really helped in keeping the drop time decent, but also allows you to fly the lightest rig possible. Don't just assume it needs to have so many weights... just use the minimum and then you'll have easier setup time and also a lighter rig...

4. Adjust the shaft height and the bottom width to get an appropriate drop time, with the minimum amount of weight. A longer shaft allows for less weight but isn't as easy to work with as a shorter shaft....

5. Make sure everything is on the glidecam exactly how you will fly it. Dont' balance with lens cap, battery missing, camera not turned on even. The LCD position also greatly affects the CG.. Just make sure to get it how you will fly it and balance it like that.

6. During the shoot your balance might change... You can adjust it, or just compensate with your left hand...



So, in terms of the camera quality.... I think that it's just a matter of getting things how you want them and like them. I think that the biggest thing you can do to make sure yo get the results you want is to push the exposure... This camera loves light and that's why I use zebras at 105... You can always deal with things in post,.... but panasonic cameras really love the light.. i'd say to try and push the limits and go from there... I'm not doing anything vey special with the camera or the settings at all..

I've kind of fallen off the 7D fanclub.. I think the camera is just kind of soft and sometimes it's amazing footage and othertimes it's just blah....

And Yes.. these are the beloved dance team from our church. They are used to me dealing with them and they are good sports. If you are in Orlando around Christmas you'll have to stop in. They have been a blessing as a client and give me lots of creative freedom.
 
K all... Heres the fine cut of this piece. Turned out okay for the most part. This has no resizing or CC.. straight out of the camera and edited on beat... Hope you enjoy and I'm doing my 2nd glidecam shoot tomorrow. Feelign a lot more confident about things now. I highly recommend the steadicam operators handbook for 25 from Amazon.. Really an amazingly great book... cheers


here it is:

http://www.electriccowtheater.com/CHRISTMAS 2010/nutcrackerfine.mov
 
Well I said it before and I will say it again...your talent folks crack me up. Oh and the music reminds me of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show I saw last Christmas. Excellent work and I too thank you for sharing.

Regards,

G.
 
I downloaded your clip and while it was downloading I went off and did something else. I'd already forgotten all about it by the time I came back to my computer later and saw the file on my desktop. I clicked on it and was pretty much thinking "wtf is this supposed to be...??" for pretty much the whole time it was running, haha.

The actual glidecam work looks alright! There were lots of movement, sweeps, pans but I gather that's what you were going for.
 
Thanks ya'll. This is for a kids Christmas show at our church. A thing about toy's coming back to life and then trying to discover the real meaning of Christmas... Kind of a Toy story mash up... It's also something that we will project simultaneously on 3 screens and it will accompany a dance pefrofmance by the troop. So, this is just background eye candy and I intentiionlly do want it to be a WTF thing. Just color and movement and a bit of a good time.


One thing I did yesterday on a new shoot was that I used a C-stand to balance the rig. I want to get the glidecam bracket but it's out of stock. The C-stand wasn't pretty but it worked and it really helped to show me my balance and how close I was. The one thing that sucks though is that you have to loosen the carriage to adjust, so getting that in balance is fine but then you have to tighten it back up and just doing that can throw it out of whack. So the trick it so have it pretty close loose and then when you tighten it, hopefully it's exact... So on my 2nd shoot I felt a lot more comfortable and I now know how it will perform and just able to be a lot more confident, even if the results don't come out better.


One things for sure, doing a 4 minute song with the 150 and a camera light is about the absolute limit my arms can handle. They were killing me yesterday and I don't think I could do much more till I get an arm and vest. If you are planning on doing handheld stabilizer work, just realize that it's a major forearm work and i'm in pretty good shape there already from doing kungfu. It's just a huge amount of strain even with the forearm brace... which is worth it just to spread out the stress a bit more. Doing it without the brace is just as heavy but it's a lot more pressure.


cheers all and I'll post something else when I get to it. Overall it's been a really great purchase. I just make sure I have half an hour to balance it... and I can't wait to get a modification done to then put up an LCD monitor. Right now I"m using the onboard LCD and it's a PITA.. If the monitor moves a little bit it throws off the CG and overall I can see why people put it on the bottom... Thats my next step..... thx.
 
I can't believe you did that without a forearm brace or vest. I try using my hd-4000 without any support and it nearly kills me after a short period of time (and I'm not out of shape at all).

Great stuff!
 
I did actually use the forearm brace, but even with that its really too much to do for too long. Maybe 3 minutes and I"m wiped out. I also tried to do two consecutive days of flying and that was a killer. Absolute killer. I'm saving up to get the arm and vest. I think I'm going to buy the Steadicam Merlin variety. One thing that has helped is using a C-stand to balance and to get me a bit of a break.

Thanks for the kind words. It's a great piece of gear, just tiring as all get out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top