Steadicam and F3, a deadly combination

Your shots are smooth, a few I thought the composition could have been better, but thats pretty subjective. While watching, I was waiting for something to wow me. Like a stair case, or some fast intricate movement, you know to show you can actually operate on a variety of shots and locations. This is what I would look for if I were going to hire an operator from a reel. lots of versatility. this was very slow, much of it seemed slowed down, which hides a lot of course when it comes to steadiness. just my 2cents.
 
Thisis exactly what I'm looking for! Yes thank you very much, some of them are definitely overcranked but there are many where I'm balancing leg to leg like I'm doing tai chi and that buttery smoothness is all me (specifically the daylight shots of the pianist and guitar player with the lens flare, are part of one single 2 minute move with multiple changing directions, lots of cables to trip on, etc which makes it much more difficult). For me the faster moves are easier to pull off because you don't need that sort of control, but that's just me. I have a few of those, I'll drop 'em in. Stairs is a good one to get in there too, just never had to shoot any yet...

I'm curious as to which compositions you feel could have been better and how.
 
I think a bit of variety would be good like maranfilms said. Although there was some good variety in your reel. The shot circling the dancing was really nice. And I liked the outdoor wilderness stuff- that really felt like you're floating. I'm not an operator but I wish I could because I love steadicam shots but I have a bad back so I'm scared to try..

Speaking of staircases, I love this shot for Blue Velvet. If you read the blurb it becomes obvious just how tricky it would have been. And he got such perfect framing.

http://www.steadishots.org/shots_detail.cfm?shotID=96
 
You have a good attitude, and are posting for the right reasons, I see many people ask for constructive critisicm, then get defensive when you give it to them. From what I have seen, you are good operator, Just wanna see more versatility.

Here's another idea I think might give a potential client some more confidence in hiring you to operate. you said you had cables and gear to manuever through, why not show some of that from a viewers perspective, this way they can actually see you operate, maybe take a sequence, cut it back and forth with the steadicam footage and the viewers perspective. I think another cool shot could be you taking direction from a dp. or director, then show how you put it into action on set. Just an Idea, I have never seen before to make it different.
 
maranfilms said:
Here's another idea I think might give a potential client some more confidence in hiring you to operate. you said you had cables and gear to manuever through, why not show some of that from a viewers perspective, this way they can actually see you operate, maybe take a sequence, cut it back and forth with the steadicam footage and the viewers perspective. I think another cool shot could be you taking direction from a dp. or director, then show how you put it into action on set. Just an Idea, I have never seen before to make it different.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen that either, but I think it is a great idea!
 
Thanks guys, this is all super helpful! Anyone that calls themselves an artist and can't take criticism isn't an artist :)
 
I love the outdoor shots at 2:01, looks like moving painting,, very nice. Overall nice reel and not sure what I would have done differently maybe just a faster clip perhaps someone jogging and you in front of them shooting 45 degrees towards them.

Can you advise how you were pulling focus and if you favour a specific focal length and f-stop for shooting with the F3 on steadicam?

Thanks,
 
Nick:

Footage is looking good. It will help when you get some more narrative work on there--most of the critical "tells" of Steadicam reveal themselves when following actors (headroom, horizons on turns etc) rather than rotating around/pushing in and out on fixed objects as much of this reel reflects. But considering the hardware you are working with, it's solid work.

I would not recommend that you include BTS footage, especially the suggestion of a director discussing a shot with you. There's a reason that doesn't show up in reels--it's irrelevant and can easily be construed as arrogant. Also: you are young and your setup is, to be honest, not top-of-the-line and it will be advantageous for you to minimize those facts rather than promote them.

As far as showing that a given shot had obstacles such as cables on the ground--that's all in a day's work as a Steadicam operator. Making the terrain disappear, making walls and corners and tight spaces invisible to camera is what the job is all about. On a reel, all that counts is the shot itself, not what it took to get it (unless it is a "wow" shot that obviously incorporates an elaborate and unusual setup--but that's more of a bonus featurette that would accompany a reel, not part of a reel proper). I made the same mistake for years by including this shot on my reel that required me to step over the (large) actor lying on the floor, in low-mode, no less. Eventually I realized that it was only the complication of achieving the shot that made it impressive, and that the actual operating was slightly flawed and it didn't belong on my reel, so out it went.

As far as hanging out your shingle as a Steadicam operator, obviously you will be somewhat limited with the weight capacity of the cameras you can fly but there are quite a few options these days. I would suggest that you always have a conversation about any add-ons that could possibly be mounted on the camera and make sure the DP is aware of the weight capacity--there's always the possibility of a ring light or zoom or prompter or gag mounted in front of the lens that no-one is taking into account, but could create issues when your system can't support it. I'm assuming you own or have access to wireless lens controls--I didn't note any focus pulls in the footage in the reel but I may have missed them. Working a "set-and-forget" focus is done more than I would think possible these days on low budget shoots but it has to be understood by all (to me it's non-negotiable when shooting with a large chip). Other standard items that I would expect would be a video transmitter or at the very least you having lightweight BNC jumpers, i.e. being comfortable with being cabled; and a vehicle mount (I saw that pic of you being held onto the tailgate of a pickup truck--please be careful Nick, that's not a good idea).
 
Hey Charles, as always I enjoy reading for posts!

Can you tell me if there is any "secret" focal length that gets used for steadicam shooting? I see amateurs shoot 28mm but I don't quite enjoy what it does to the subjects and FOV which I don't find very cinematic IMO. I do a fair amount of post-zooms/reframing myself so I'm quite certain that some of the highly-polished shots done with steadicam are also treated in post,... but perhaps I got that wrong.

I'm looking to get into flying my F3 so what rig might you recommend for both a light and fully equipped rig?
 
Definitely no "secret" focal length! In my time I flew everything from fisheye to 150mm. Certainly the more often seen range was probably between 18-50mm. Nothing wrong with a 28mm, that's a quite common focal length for a wide master--certainly you don't want to get into closeups with the actors because of distortion.

These days I make sure to have the Optimo zooms for my Steadicam operator (15-40 and 28-76, or 16-42 and 30-80 depending on budget) which covers much of what is needed. If a specialty long lens is required, we'll day play a prime. As far as reframing in post, it's usually avoided but we do work in zooms on set as required--the Preston system has three channels so it's a simple matter of adding the zoom motor to the rig.

For an appropriate rig for the F3, it obviously depends on what lenses and accessories are in use. A lightweight zoom and outboard recorder as standard gear will start to push the weight up to 15 lbs, and allowing for additional specialty items is important. So, the Steadicam Scout (18lb max payload) is a pretty good choice, and the Zephyr (23 lb) is even safer. While I myself chose non-Steadicam brand gear for my full-size rigs, I do recognize that they make the best kit for the smaller cameras (particular the arm design) so that's the brand I recommend. For lightweight setups, I suppose it's possible to use a fully stripped F3 with still lens and internal recording on a Pilot but it seems dodgy. An inexpensive option is a used Flyer rig.

Had to laugh at your signature line--I have a set of 4x4 Ultracons that was part of my "secret sauce" I used to use on Beta and Digibeta shoots in the early 90's that are sitting in my garage--haven't thought about using them in years!
 
Ok thanks Charles, sorry I called 28mm amateur. I think I just meant that I tend to see a lot of footage shot at 28mm by amateurs and NO other focal length, even when shooting dialogue medium and closeup shots and it makes my stomach churn it is so awful to look at. :S

Thanks for your advise on a steadicam rig for the F3. I weighed my F3 with v3 Zacuto baseplate, BP-U60 battery, carbon fibre rails, matte box and 35mm lens to be about 12.5 lbs. Now with an ext. recorder, video transmitter, remote FF, LCD, AB power I'm sure the rig would get into the 18 lbs range quite easily right? A stripped down F3 however without any extras and no plate, rails and mat box would weigh in around 10 lbs.

There seems to be a huge difference in price between what will fly a 10 lbs camera and anything over that so that's where I'm torn. I don't plan to do steadicam on a full time basis but want to be able to fly my F3 for when needed on some productions. I have flown a mini35 + Canon XL2 on a Glidecam 2000 once and man did it max out the spring arm, but to my surprise I was pretty good at it.. I even pulled focus manually on the barrel of the lens as needed. It was mostly outdoor shooting during winter in a forest (uphill both ways, yadda yadda yadda) and boy my muscles were sore for days after that...
 
I own the Glidecam Smooth Shooter that I bought back when the HVX200 came out. I manage to balance the F3 with KiPro Mini w/Anton Bower battery, but it is slightly over the spring capacity (no monitor, follow focus or mattebox). I wouldn't recommend it for full time Steadycan operators, but for a couple of shots were you would hire a full time Steadycam it can work. That said I wouldn't buy a new one for the F3 either.
 
Douglas Villalba said:
I own the Glidecam Smooth Shooter that I bought back when the HVX200 came out. I manage to balance the F3 with KiPro Mini w/Anton Bower battery, but it is slightly over the spring capacity (no monitor, follow focus or mattebox). I wouldn't recommend it for full time Steadycan operators, but for a couple of shots were you would hire a full time Steadycam it can work. That said I wouldn't buy a new one for the F3 either.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply Doug. Which sled did you use, 2000 or 4000?
 
I used it for one scene outside at night after a 12 hour day, but nothing on the trailer. It was actually after minute 1:30 when they were going back to the house walking and talking.
I used the Nikon 24mm f2.8 @ f4. That and a shot of them from across the pool with an 80-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm f4 were the only times I used Nikon lenses. The rest I shot on tripod with the RED 18-85mm T2.9.
 
How you enjoying that RED 18-85? Did you pull any live zooms with it yet, how was it, any clips used in trailer?

(sorry I meant pull live zoom regularly, not on steadicam, just in general...)
 
Last edited:
Yes, I know that rigs that can support heavier cameras get more expensive and of course the Steadicam brand is quite a bit more than others. I have a bit of a tough time recommending for "casual" users as a result. My philosophy is the same with stabilizers as it is with fluid heads and matteboxes: these are pieces of gear that you may own for multiple generations of cameras, so the investment will be amortized over many years. My O'Connor 1030 is 15-20 years old; I bought it used 10 years ago, it's never needed servicing and it's still the best head for smaller cameras. It's seen me through the XL1, XL2, DVX100, XHA1, 5D, 1DMKIV and who knows what's next. Stabilizers are a little more subject to change--certainly the monitors become outdated, but those can be ugraded. Overall the low end third party rigs have upped their game over the years but so far I have yet to see a performance level equal that of the Tiffen Steadicams, particularly in the arm and gimbal. Glidecam in particular has had issues with gimbal linearity--I'm not sure if they have worked on this in recent years but it was traditionally a big problem (a balanced rig panned 90 degrees went out of balance). And while the Smooth Shooter isn't terrible, it's nowhere near the performance of the isoelastic Steadicam arms.

Regarding remote focus: while a number of companies attempted to make low-cost follow focuses (some were downright smug about it), few to none have actually made it to market--at least, ones that are worth buying. The Hocus Focus, at $2K is probably the cheapest I'd recommend and the Bartech (about twice that) is the affordable industry leader. As far as set-and-forget focus goes--I'd much rather shoot on a smaller format that gives the camera freedom to move where it needs to go than design moves around a specific distance, or arbitrarily wide lens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top