HELP!!! Glidecam not gliding

S

spanky

Member
Hi again

I'm having amazing difficulties gettin this damn glidecam 2000 system to work. I have a DVX100ae with a mounted sennheiser mk64 & KP module. Everything joins together nicely, no problems with parts. But when it comes to balancing, it seems impossible to achieve vertical balance. In the manual it says the camera should return to stationery (or close to it) after three seconds to be properly balanced. When I swing the thing it goes on for ever, baby. Also to horizontally balance it required using all of the weights - 16 of them - it's heavy as sin and I still think it could do with a couple more. What AM I doing wrong? Please advise!!

Thanks
 
try just lengthening the main shaft .. you can have more leverage or effective"weight" on the bottom without using as much actual added weight if yo lengthen the shaft. it will also keep the sway more stabile... think of a tight rope walker. they sometimes use a long pole to help them balance. becasue it is hard to chnge the inertia of something ith so much leverage sticking out to the sides.. a short pole wouldnt help them much though.. so if you extend the bottom down.. you can probably take some wight off, and youll also notice the sway will be reduced and the rig will be more stabile overall.

also, you shouldnt use weight on the bottom to balance it from tipping side to side. the weight on the bottom should just be slightly more than the weight on the top.. once it is. you should just adjust the camera position on top so that it balances striaght up and down. adding more weight on the bottom will only make it heavier and make it sway more when you change direction or motion. the idea is to make it just like a tight rope walkers pole.. and equal weight on each side. .. in the case of the glidecam the pole is just straight up and down (with slightly more weight on bottom) and effectively stops the poole from "tipping" when you move it. if you have to much weight on the bottom and you move it forward and then stop.. guess what will happen? the bottom weighs more so it will move forward still, and the top will swing back.. like a pendulum. if the weight is near equal on both sides.. the light control ith your fingers on it will be enogh to kepp the weight balanced as you change inertia and the rig wont tip when you change direction/inertia...because there is a very near equal weight on both sides. anyway .. lengthen the shaft and take some weight off untill it is balanced where the camera part tips up in 3 secs like they say.. then balance the cam on top using the sliding plates. if you need a little more weight on bottomtry lengthening the unit down a little more before you add more weight.
 
IAL--that was a great explanation of the principles and use of the Glidecam.

Spanky-- I'm wondering why you have your mic mounted to the camera? That's a run 'n gun setup and the Glidecam is anything but a run 'n gun solution. Ideally, you should have a boom op taking care of the mic placement and be recording double system sound so you don't have a mic cable messing up your balance. The mic is also taxing the weight limits of the Glidecam 2000, so a Glidecam 4000 might be a better choice if you want your mic on-camera.
 
Both responses well said. Also keep in mind that it takes a little while the first couple of times but once you get it, your balancing time will be shorter. I went from a half hour when I first got it to about 7 minutes now. I also marked some of the positions with a permanent white marker where it was correctly balanced on the mounting plate. Also slightly bend your knees and as the manual says, it should be as if you are trying to walk with a cup of tea (or coffee) without spilling it. I'm assuming you don't have the new vest and arm that came out this spring, so take breaks and rest the unit in between practicing or actual shooting. Remember to use two fingers under the gimbal to postion the camera where you want it.
 
..right on. setup time definitely gets shorter with experience. i balance my rig in between 2-5 minutes now no prob. 10 minutes for absolute perfection.
 
If you use the same attachments for camera configuration each time then adding a quick release should mean almost instant setup cause you won't have to muck about with the balance much at all after you get it right and lock everything down for next time.
 
Don't forget to balance exact configuration you use, including battery, tape, and open LCD. My DVX with shotgun on the 4000 uses 3 weights on each side (6 total), and I have a QR plate.
 
yeah thats important.. you need to balance it ready to shoot.. meaning lcd open and everything sitting EXACTLY as it needs to be for you to start shooting right then.
 
I don't know if it's the same for a Glidecam as for a Varizoom, but I find that hair-line, teeny-tiny plate adjustments make a noticeable difference...

...just added quick-release hardware and the new big battery to the top end, and found that radical rebalancing was needed...but the extra weight seems to (seems to) make movement smoother.
 
Ernest_Acosta said:
it should be as if you are trying to walk with a cup of tea (or coffee) without spilling it.
Click to expand...

This is close to one of the best tips that got me on track to perfect glidecam shots. My modification to this is to put a silver dollar on the top handle, just resting there. When you walk around, try not to let the coin fall off. You would be amazed at how much this little trick will help you get the feel for balance.
 
oh.. also about the weight. Glidecam 2000's now come with a 2 week membership to Gold's Gym so you can go build up your wrists... you need it cause its gonna kill you after 5 minutes.
 
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