Jib/crane question

D

David W. Richardson

Chapelgrove Films
I'm so ignorant of the terminology in this particular area, so please bear with me.

What I'm trying to do is get a shot of a park bench -- with the camera fairly parallel to the ground -- and then have the camera float up and away from the bench, while still keeping the bench in the shot. Like a spirit floating up and away.

I've got a tripod crane, but of course what it does is keep the camera at a fixed angle to 'level', which doesn't help me.

What do I need in order to be able to get this shot?

Thanks in advance!
 
A drone would be able to execute that shot fairly easily, if that's an option? ..... and then I came across your IMDB page and had to rethink if it might be something more complicated that what I'm thinking......
 
DerekT said:
A drone would be able to execute that shot fairly easily, if that's an option? ..... and then I came across your IMDB page and had to rethink if it might be something more complicated that what I'm thinking......
Click to expand...

Why would my IMDB page make you think that??? That's very curious.

I had considered a drone, but I'd rather use something a little more conventional if it will get me there. Not implying that drones aren't rapidly becoming 'conventional' -- just that I'm old-school.
 
A jib or crane will do what you want, but it has to have one of two things:

1) A tripod head mounted between the jib and the camera. This allows for tilt and pan through the jib move, but must be done manually and is quite complicated to do smoothly. It also limits your vertical lift unless you are able to climb a ladder while controlling the jib AND the tripod.

2) A remote tilt/pan head. This puts the control of the camera at the operator end of the jib, and requires a camera monitor mounted there as well. It also may require remote focus and zoom control. This is the way it is done in a ideal scenario.

Of course, in either situation, the jib must be able to bear and to balance the weight load.
 
DPStewart said:
OR.... you can trade your cheap jib for a DIFFERENT cheap jib -Namely the ProAm Orion for $299- because it has........wait for it....... A TILT LEVER!

It is for this reason that I can't believe anyone spends more than $175 for a small jib/crane without this basic function.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1090174-REG/proam_usa_orion_dvc210_8_dslr.html
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Okay, now I feel stupid. The jib IS a ProAm. I don't see a model number on it, but it looks exactly like that one. So apparently the problem is I just don't know how to use it fully. Thanks!
 
David W. Richardson said:
Why would my IMDB page make you think that??? That's very curious.

I had considered a drone, but I'd rather use something a little more conventional if it will get me there. Not implying that drones aren't rapidly becoming 'conventional' -- just that I'm old-school.
Click to expand...

Was thinking that you might have already thought about that using a drone already that's all.
 
It appears that a drill and a couple pieces of flat metal could make your have a tilt function. Would probably need to extend the upper control rod back to an operating position too, but I can't see it costing more than about $50 in materials including fresh black paint. You lose the automatic stay level function, but I'm certain it could be modified to give you either mode at your whim. Instead of the upper fixed bolt, a clamp that would let the control rod slide through could be made, then if you needed it to track in a fixed way (stock operation), you tighten the clamp. If you needed to manually tilt the platform, then unclamp and let the control rod slide through the open clamp.

Easy (to type anyway). Now go far and mod that thing.
 
Well now I'm REALLY embarrassed!

I actually got my jib out and looked at it, and I was remembering it wrong. It does have the handle connected to the upper bar, but where that bar passes through the hinge of the jib there is a bolt that goes through the bar, effectively locking the operation of the upper bar so it's synched with the lower bar. (I said I don't know the terminology of this stuff, so I hope that makes sense.)

Because of this, every time I have used the crane I have been unable to tilt the camera platform independently from the tilt of the crane itself. BUT it seems that if I remove the bolt that goes through the upper arm at the hinge, then I should be able to do what I need to do -- with plenty of practice, of course.

Time to run some tests!
 
Greg_E said:
It appears that a drill and a couple pieces of flat metal could make your have a tilt function. Would probably need to extend the upper control rod back to an operating position too, but I can't see it costing more than about $50 in materials including fresh black paint. You lose the automatic stay level function, but I'm certain it could be modified to give you either mode at your whim. Instead of the upper fixed bolt, a clamp that would let the control rod slide through could be made, then if you needed it to track in a fixed way (stock operation), you tighten the clamp. If you needed to manually tilt the platform, then unclamp and let the control rod slide through the open clamp.

Easy (to type anyway). Now go far and mod that thing.
Click to expand...

You've got a good idea here! Now that I've discovered how my jib actually does work, I could add a clamp that would apply some additional friction to the upper bar, since I'm going to have a DVX100a on the jib. Awesome idea! Thanks!
 
If you change the mounting hole on the front, you can get it to do some pre-programmed tilts too. Making the bars no longer parallel and adjusting the place where the top support clamps so you can either push it forward or pull it back. Clamped like this with a different pivot at the front might get you some of what you need in a perfectly repeatable fashion.

Wish carbon fiber tubes weren't so expensive, I'd make my own jib arm.
 
Greg_E said:
If you change the mounting hole on the front, you can get it to do some pre-programmed tilts too. Making the bars no longer parallel and adjusting the place where the top support clamps so you can either push it forward or pull it back. Clamped like this with a different pivot at the front might get you some of what you need in a perfectly repeatable fashion.

Wish carbon fiber tubes weren't so expensive, I'd make my own jib arm.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've done that before. But that won't give me the range of motion that I'm going to need for this particular shot. The camera needs to start out more or less parallel with the ground, then tilt during the lift to a point where it's pointing almost (but not quite) straight down. That's going to require operator intervention, I believe.
 
I have the 8' Kessler, and you can do a tilt by tilting the head (the head the crane is attached to) with the existing pan bar. But it's tough to control since it's a lot of weight being shifted. I use an old Manfrotto 503 head for the crane and I think it will one day die a cruel death (impressed it's lasted this long - the Kessler is a pretty heavy beast.)

I rigged my crane so there's a Manfrotto QR at the camera end that attaches with a 3/8-16 T-handle; I also found a 75mm bowl adapter that attaches with the same fastener (the bowl hangs out past the end of the crane). This is really the best of both worlds, having a head at the crane tip, and suddenly your crane gets way more useful. You can use it as a tall tripod (just sandbag the weight end), you can do fixed overhead straight-down shots, and also use it to get a handheld feel that's much smoother. When there's time and space to set the thing up, I use it way more than the "just a crane" days - on a strong wheeled dolly it can really speed up a shoot and give you lots of options, you can even do moves that look like a "dolly" if you don't mind a bit of an arc to the move.

Sometimes it takes two people to pull off a move if focus is involved - but crane movement + tripod movement + focus pulls can make for some cool shots, if there's time to rehearse a bit and do a few takes.
 
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