Steady-cam and lenses used in a videoclip

Danilo Del Tufo

Danilo Del Tufo

Well-known member
Hello there, I've watched the video "A contre courant" by Alizee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNOIo4rolC4) and contacted the director of the videoclip. He doesn't remember exactly which gears he used (just reply me about cooke lenses and steady cam and 35mm Aaton camera). I would like to know if someone that uses steady-cam can explain how to obtain a very smooth movement of the background in the shoot (from 1minute and 44 seconds to 1 minute and 47 seconds, also present at the end of the footage) while the singer performs in front of the camera remaining at the center of the frame , and the circular movements of the background seems to have a different speed maintaining the subject in focus. I've suspected he used for those shots wide angle lenses or tele, to achieve this effect while he was running around the singer. Thanks in advance for your support :-)
 
Hi: it looks like the singer was placed on a platform to raise her above the operator, who simply circled around her. I would estimate that the wider shot at 1:44 was around 40mm and the tighter ones therafter around 100mm. The apparent speed of the background is heightened with longer lenses so it appears the camera is rotating faster than it actually is--a fast walk will deliver these results rather than a run. There are no particular tricks to achieve this, other than being a good operator (and having a good focus puller). In fact the horizons are not particularly rigid in these shots and that may be by design...or not!
 
Thanks Charles Papert, for exhaustive explanation so the the apparent speed of the background is heightened with longer lenses (do you intend 100 mm)? Thanks again :-)
 
But the steady-cam operator simply walks from the right to left horizontally, doesn't circle walking around her, right? Thanks
 
No, circling, otherwise the subject would appear to recede in the frame. She is rotating slowly to stay frontal to the camera, which is imperceptible.
 
So the singer is placed on platform that is rotating, do you know if they are commercially platforms that can achieve this effect and how many money they will cost? Thanks again :-)
 
I've another question, watching the video I can't say if it's shooted in 25p PAL, it seems have a little of slow motion, any suggestion?
 
I can't say for sure if anything was used to help her rotate because the shots don't last long enough. If a given shot lasted through at least 180 degrees of camera movement it would be fairly easy to detect if she simply used her feet or if she was on a turntable.

As far as how much a turntable costs--when I've used them they were rented from a prop house. Obviously not too complicated to make a manual version if one is handy. We improvised one once from the base of a swivel chair that happened to be on set. A more sophisticated version would be motorized and remote controlled.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top