Smooth Camera Movement in the Wilderness

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djkoz

Well-known member
I've seen a number of videos shot in the wilderness where the camera appears to move very smoothly for what seems a distance too great for a short 2 or 3 foot dolly rig like the Kesslercrane Pocketdolly to handle.

Is there some secrete of which I am not yet aware?

Thanks,

Dan
 
Do you have any specific examples?

I think that the only secret may just be the carrying in of the appropriate equipment. There are small, light weight, camera stabilizer and dolly systems that can be carried into wilderness settings with just a minimal amount of extra effort. I think the limiting factor would be the actual access to the wilderness area that was used. Backpacking in is very limiting, of course, but I would image that a lot of what we see shoot in the wilderness had their equipment moved in with four wheel drive vehicles or ATVs. With that, bringing in the appropriate equipment would not be an issue.

On the low end, a device like the CineMover http://moveyourcamera.ambitiousme.com/ could be brought into the wilderness with very little effort.
 
djkoz said:
Thank you. This is helpful. I just ordered one. It seems like a very good deal.

Dan
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have one and like it. It is simple and rugged. For something portable to use as a rail, Home Depot makes plastic fencing/decking supplies that would work great. My local Home Depot has something like this, http://www.homedepot.com/Lumber-Composites-Railings/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbqov/R-202581618/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051 in lengths up to 8 feet long. I am planing on picking up a couple of pieces and make several rails of varying length.
 
Looks like another good idea, thanks.

8' may not fit into my car but I could always cut it down. The trick is to find a way to stabilize the rail/post when you are out in the woods. And, hopefully, it's not too heavy. With the camera and all the gear, I may have to hire a Sherpa.

Thanks,

Dan
 
djkoz said:
Looks like another good idea, thanks.

8' may not fit into my car but I could always cut it down. The trick is to find a way to stabilize the rail/post when you are out in the woods. And, hopefully, it's not too heavy. With the camera and all the gear, I may have to hire a Sherpa.

Thanks,

Dan
Click to expand...

One thing you would want are sandbags to help stabilize the rail, or what ever. However, toting filled sandbags back into the wilderness would be a pain in the butt. What I would do is get some kind of soft container you can fill with water, once you reach your location and use them like sandbags. I have not tried this in the field yet, but I have done some testing. I got a bunch of inexpensive unfilled sandbags from these guys off of eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-PHOTO-STUDIO-20lbs-SAND-BAGS-FOR-LIGHT-STANDS-U-S-A-color-Green-Gray-/150770450737?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item231a9e8131 and filled them with Quickrite Play Sand from Home Depot. What I did, to cut down on possible leakage of sand from the bags is to insert two gallon sized double zipper zip lock storage bags into the bag interior and then filled the inner bag with the sand. I sealed up both zip lock bags and zipped them into the bag. They work great as sand bags. I kept a few of the sand bags unfilled, just for a situation like you are describing. I tested them with 3 of the gallon sized double zipper zip lock storage bags in them. I filled the inner bag with water and carefully zip sealed it and the two bags it was inserted in. This also worked great. A gallon of water weighs 8 lbs, so with two sides to the sandbags filled with water, they are right at about 16lbs. If you are going to a place that does not have enough water available to fill the bags, you may be able to fill them with dirt, rocks or sand from the location. When you are done, empty them out. You can then fold them up and put the in a back pack with no problem.
 
I am thinking of getting the same thing. Do you have any ideas how to attach legs or a tripod to one of these plastic fencing?
I will get one 8 foot and also another and make a 3 foot selection.
For you guys that made this already and are using the cinemover, how do you like it and can I see any of your footage?
What type of tripod head do you use on your cinemover?
 
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