Need some guidance on building a multi camera rig...

M

MichaelA

Well-known member
Set me straight if this is a bad idea.
I've got the DVX, as well as a C100MKII, and some DSLR's. All different tools for different stuff, and seldom do they all come out to play together. BUT I am leaning towards a tripod mounted rig of some kind that can accommodate a follow focus, matte box with french flags, and maybe some way to stick external monitors and/or recorders. Then I can "standardize" my filter collections to just what fits in the matte box across multiple cameras. One basic rig, adaptable to various cameras. I've seen a lot of stuff for DSLR's, and even the C100/300's; mostly shoulder rig ENG type stuff which I don't do, but nothing that is "cross platform" or universal for various tripod mounted cameras.
The whole "rig" thing is a bit new to me, but I think it will help with manual focus and filters. Is there a good source of all the bits for this anyone knows? Pretty sure I'll have to build something from scratch unless there is a "universal" rig out there I haven't come across. Building separate rigs for various camera's can add up! The usual big places offerings are pretty camera-specific and I'm not even sure what I would need. So if anyone knows a good economical source of building blocks or maybe a rig-building guide for idiots kind of site I'd appreciate being pointed in their direction!
 
I do not think what you are trying to get exists. Camera bodies are too different, as are lenses. The reason cinema lenses are all the same length, regardless of the focal length, is to facilitate the use of a matte boxes etc. without disturbing the setup. You are not only not using cinema lenses, you are attempting to use various camera bodies. I might be wrong, but I think what you are trying to do is very difficult. Maybe Jason (JRJphoto) might know, he is a DP and is pretty technical.
 
Thanks for that! I'm slowly coming to the same conclusion, but it's good to have some outside validation. I have more EF lenses than cinema glass at the moment, but never noticed that they are all the same outside dimension until you mentioned it. Hope springs eternal, but reality may come crashing in!
 
I like SmallRig. They're just as good as Wooden Camera but at a fraction of the price.

What you need is a universal baseplate with 15mm LWS rod adapters to affix rods to support your mattebox, etc. Underneath the baseplate you should have some kind of sliding quick release adapter to 1. quickly attach or remove the rig from a tripod, 2. be able to slide the rig back and forth upon the tripod head to find its center of gravity quickly. The part that attaches to the tripod, be sure to get multiple copies for each tripod, monopod, shoulder rig, etc you have so you can quickly move between each support system as necessary.

The VCT-14 (not VCT-U14) system is broadcast standard so I'd look into that.

Something like the Blackmagic Ursa Mini Shoulder Mount Kit might actually be a good solution. Then all you need are the VCT-14 QR adapters. The camera would slide on the shoulder mount for adjusting for its center of gravity every time you change a lens or camera. You could do a quick release system here between the camera and shoulder mount to make changing cameras faster. Something like that.

The rods would live with the shoulder mount. Personally, I'd want 15mm LWS rod pairs in several lengths: 3", 6", 9", 12". Carbon fiber rods are pretty great, but aluminum is good, too.

This might be a good start: http://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-multipurpose-u-base-1674.html
 
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Oh man... this is going to turn into something like Lego kits when I was a kid... "if I just had 'X' kit, then I could do 'Y'..... but I have to get a bunch of 'Z' adapters first.... which are only available if you get the entire 'A' package first...." THIS is going to be a project... :Drogar-BlackEye(DBG
 
MichaelA said:
Oh man... this is going to turn into something like Lego kits when I was a kid... "if I just had 'X' kit, then I could do 'Y'..... but I have to get a bunch of 'Z' adapters first.... which are only available if you get the entire 'A' package first...." THIS is going to be a project... :Drogar-BlackEye(DBG
Click to expand...

Anything can be built, but is it practical and worth it? The rig looks nice, but it appears that you would be playing Legos every time you changed cameras. Or you would have to have several rigs built and several base plates. I think Jason gave you some good tips and a good starting point. If you do accomplish this, please share your results. Sounds tough.
 
Wow! What a great Link that is, Small Rig I did not even know of this company, Very cool, allows you to really customize, at a very affordable prices.
Thanks JRJ!
 
Well, the bag is working out great.... building a multi camera rig... ummmmm... that a tougher one. Need to make friends with a CNC machinist! Getting a matt box/rod combo is easy. A single camera baseplate, easy. Making baseplates swappable so cameras can line up quickly with a set matt box, not so easy! Is it doable? yeah, but no one is making a quickly adjustable mounting system that will interchange cameras AND line up to preassigned coordinates on a rig. I roughed together something using telescope mounting and alignment stuff as well as some adjustable drill press bases. It actually worked in theory, but is totally impractical and needs a lot of refinement. Ideally, a pre-adjusted base would be fitted to the camera, with a receiver base mounted on a tripod with the matt box. Once everything is set up for each individual camera, they could just be clicked into the receiver and be ready to go. Simple, eh? Yeah... like rocket science! I'm still messing about with the concept, as long as my "Junkyard Wars" type supply of re-purpose-able bits holds out (as well as the vodka...) I may yet come up with something but am convinced it would really have to be a new evolution of a rig rather than piecing together something existing for the most part.
 
Oh... one down side to the big bag... it's big! So ya keep stuffing crap in it! It holds the camera, the rig, the lights, the monitor, the recorder, the spare batteries AND chargers AND cords and the HDD, and on and on. It swallows it all, but the damn thing is probably pushing 30lbs now!!! But hey - it works for me, it's just getting heavy as I one-more-thing it to death!
 
I'm going to make a second recommendation: the Zacuto VCT Pro Baseplate plus however many VCT Pro Top Plates you need to cover however many cameras you have.

You'd have to find the camera's center of gravity which changes depending on lenses and other things. You can't have a working rig with all the changing elements you require and that the cameras require, and have it all line up universally without a little tweaking. It just doesn't work that way...can't work that way. Best you can do is find a common ground, the camera+lens+battery+media's center of gravity, line that up with the baseplate's center (whatever is comfortable on your shoulder), then adjust the rods accordingly. It's gonna take a few minutes. That's just how it is.

Also, you'd want a VCT-14 plate (the expensive metal ones, from Sony or Zacuto, not the cheap plastic ones that'll break and cause your camera to come crashing down), which can also be adjusted on the tripod head so that whatever the center of gravity is on your shoulder will line up onto the head so everything is perfectly balanced all the time provided the camera system is balanced on the baseplate.

There's also a far-less expensive knock-off from SmallRig due for release in early June, I hear. I've pre-ordered one as it looks like an almost exact copy of the VCT Pro Baseplate and SmallRig makes some pretty quality stuff on par with Wooden Camera.
 
Thanks, Jason! It's been a fun month tinkering around, but really I've come to the conclusion I'm creating a complex solution to what I have learned is essentially a non problem. The up side is I did get to learn A LOT about building rigs that otherwise I may not have explored so ultimately (to me anyway) the effort was worth it for that alone. The reality is as you state: It's better to rig each camera separately and likely far more economical. That Small Rig site is pretty cool, got lots of ideas from them and will likely use them to build up something "conventional."
 
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