Hospital Hill Run shot with Steadicam Merlin / HVX

K

kevinM

Well-known member
This race was shot completely with the HVX and Steadicam Merlin. I was shooting for about 2 1/2 hours total and dumping cards onto an external USB drive. In a case like this, two more P2 cards and a P2 Store would have made life easier. However, the HVX and the Merlin were a blast.

This is a quick edit to eventually be used by race sponsors as a PR promo.

Please right-click and download.
http://homepage.mac.com/kphoto/hvx/HospitalHillRun06640x360x.mov
(New Link added)...Again
 
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NICE footage!

That's one hell of a combination right there, with excellent results.

But as a bit of critique/advice. I know the HVX is heavy, but try loosening up, relaxing, your supporting arm a little. There were a few footsteps visible in a couple of shots. Other than that, looks really good. Those shots that start tripod like but then move into a trackgin shot look really good. Love the use of slowmo too.

- Mikko
 
Hey Kevin,
Awesome footage first of all - I also own a Merlin but it doesn't support my HVX well - the stick guide pushes that metal connector up - it wont stay in a lower position because the cam is so heavy- also how many twists from the top is yours set at and which hole? I tried the cookbook settings but wasnt very successful...Your work with both of them are fantastic but my merlin is barely working - any help would be really appreciated - thanks!!
 
CINEMANIAC said:
Hey Kevin,
Awesome footage first of all - I also own a Merlin but it doesn't support my HVX well - the stick guide pushes that metal connector up - it wont stay in a lower position because the cam is so heavy- also how many twists from the top is yours set at and which hole? I tried the cookbook settings but wasnt very successful...Your work with both of them are fantastic but my merlin is barely working - any help would be really appreciated - thanks!!
Click to expand...


My gimbal handle is all the way in to the last click stop. I'm not sure what you mean by the "stick guide" and the "metal connector". Maybe if you can post a photo I can help.

The one thing I had to do was add three metal washers screwed between the lower weights to make the balance a little more bottom heavy. You can get a pack of metal washers the exact same diameter as the weights for very cheap at amy hardware store. Doing this was a big help in balancing the HVX with the Merlin. I wouldn't add too many though, three should do it.

Good luck.
 
mikkowilson said:
NICE footage!

That's one hell of a combination right there, with excellent results.

But as a bit of critique/advice. I know the HVX is heavy, but try loosening up, relaxing, your supporting arm a little. There were a few footsteps visible in a couple of shots. Other than that, looks really good. Those shots that start tripod like but then move into a trackgin shot look really good. Love the use of slowmo too.

- Mikko
Click to expand...

Thanks Mikko. I agree about the footsteps. It also helps me to have my knees bent a bit more when I walk. I can really see a difference in shots where I know I forgot to do this.
 
That footage looks Phenomenal.

I wanted to see some other footage with the Merlin besides the one they have at the steadicam site and this looks top pro.


Keep up the good work..
 
Really nice looking stuff. The kids and the water at the end is really cool. How many miles is the run?

That chick who collapsed was so friggin annoying... seemed put on and acted out.... Geeze, some drama queens for the camera..
 
There were several races all ending at that spot. There was a 5K, 10K, 12K and national ranking for the Womens Half Marathon all going on at the same time. The Womens Half Marathon was the woman who collapsed. I thought the same thing when I saw her at first but I followed them back to the medical area (camera running) and she really was in bad shape for a while. It's kind of hard to fake puke.
 
lol... ahhh. That's very true.. didn't get to see that. Just looked all "gone with the wind" kind of fainting and acting.. but puke is puke for sure and I know these people go full bore the whole way...

13 miles for me and I'd be ready for a Guiness and a new heart...
 
Justyn said:
lol... ahhh. That's very true.. didn't get to see that. Just looked all "gone with the wind" kind of fainting and acting.. but puke is puke for sure and I know these people go full bore the whole way...

13 miles for me and I'd be ready for a Guiness and a new heart...
Click to expand...

I stopped recording as they went into the medical tent and 10 seconds after I did, she honked on the medical guy's shoes.
 
Very nice work. It gives a very different feel to a Fig Rig, smoother I think in locked off situations, more stable overall. But the Fig Rig is fantastic for reacting quickly to events happening and being very nimble. A different kind of control.

I fancy a Merlin to compliment my 'Rig...
 
How do you deal with things like manual focus and iris and zoom without nudging the merlin? That's one of the big things with the FigRig for me in that I can mount a zoom/record remote on my right grip, and a Foxi for focus and iris on my left grip and I've got it all on one big gimble in both hands.
 
electricpig said:
How do you deal with things like manual focus and iris and zoom without nudging the merlin? That's one of the big things with the FigRig for me in that I can mount a zoom/record remote on my right grip, and a Foxi for focus and iris on my left grip and I've got it all on one big gimble in both hands.
Click to expand...

I've had reasonable luck using a VariZoom controller in one hand and flying the Merlin one-handed with the other. I did buy extension cables (from RadioShack) that were the lightest cables I could find instead of connecting the heavy VariZoom cables to the camera. It works "OK" but makes the Merlin harder to control. For the most part, I set the zoom for the sequence I am about to shoot and the auto focus does a good job at the wider half of the zoom range. With a Merlin, you are kind of a human zoom anyway so the zoom issue has not been a big deal.

When shooting in sutuations where you need an absolute level of control, you would want to use the Steadicam Flyer or another vest mounted system and not use the Merlin.
 
Nice stuff.

I have to admit, when I read the thread title, I thought you were going to set your HVX to 1fps, strap on the steadicam, and give us a nice 26-mile sample of what it can do... hahaaha.
 
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