Suggestions needed for a steady shot...

givemefood

givemefood

Well-known member
I'm trying to take couple very steady shots of a person jogging. I want to track the shot - what i mean is i want the person to follow the camera. This way... it will appear as if the person's jogging and following the camera. Example, all those shots in "The Shining"... where the kid rides a bicycle in the hotel room hallway or Jack Nicholson trying to kill the kid in the snow.

I'm thinking of sitting inside my SUV with the rear glass open and shoot the person while he jogs. However, i'm unsure if i'll still get a very steady shot. Sure, i'll have to make sure the road doesn't have bumps and stuff. But can u think of any other factor i MUST take into consideration to get a very steady shot? What would u recommend?

Please advise. Thanks in advance.
 
Your SUV plan sounds fine. If you (or your operator) is good at
shooting handheld, and the road is smooth, no reason why you can't
get beautiful tracking shots with an SUV. I've shot out the back and side
of vans, cars, pickups, even from a scooter... on a smooth road, this
can work great.
 
One additional thought: when in the vehicle, you can brace yourself by hand
against the door/window, brace the camera against the base of the window,
(with a towel or furniture pad under it to cushion it)
to keep it steady. The road has to be smooth, of course.

Good luck!
 
Here's what I 've done.

You can buy a relitively inexpensive vacume camera mount US$100ish. Mount that to the window half way down and your in business.

(In the Sci Fi Fest go to BASS COPS by THX and you can see it in use. I wanted the first shot of the car to be bumpy but the in car shots about half way through while it's moving are smooth and you can see it in action.)

Set up your tripod in the SUV weight it down with sandbags or whatever you 've got. Zoom in a bit to avoid the sides of the door and you've got it.

Another tip do the above but borrow or us a a convertable...top down of course.


The rule is the camera must be locked down to the car body in order to acheve the smoothest look.

If you want a handheld look than just point and shoot.


Also, I've shot using golf carts...results not too bad, again the smoothness of the road matters more when the "car's" weight is less.

Hope that helps,

Kip Kubin
 
THX-1138 said:
.... the camera must be locked down to the car body in order to acheve the smoothest look.
Click to expand...

Yes yes yes

Use tie downs, bean bag, sticky-pod.........................

Lock it down.
 
A stationwagon or SUV w/ the rear door open would work well. Lower the tire pressure a bit, and have several grips push the car so ther is no engine vibration.

-j
 
j said:
A stationwagon or SUV w/ the rear door open would work well. Lower the tire pressure a bit, and have several grips push the car so ther is no engine vibration.

-j
Click to expand...

THAT is a cool idea. Had not thought about that at all.
 
Also: SAFTY SAFTY SAFTY!

Be carefull, go slow, cehck the route befor hand.

Strap yourself in if you can - at least something to make sure you neither can fall out the back, or shoot forward if the driver hit's the breaks.

Tie the door/glass open! You don't want it slamming on you! Check to make sure that it can not close durign the shot.

Wear safty gear, gloves and kneedpads are good, but whatever you do: WEAR A HELMET!


Then worry about your shot. Tie it down to the vehicle and use it's mass for stability.

Or... (you know it's coming) ...Get a Steadicam.

- Mikko
 
j said:
... and have several grips push the car so ther is no engine vibration.
Click to expand...

You better have some strong grips... this is for a shot of a guy jogging!

Having people push the vehicle with the engine off is a great idea for slower moving shots... also allows you to record cleaner audio.
 
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I shoot from cars with sticks all the time, and it works pretty well. The only problem is keeping your horizon level on your pan head, since the the "crown" of the road (curvature) affects your horizon.

The BEST vehicle shots I've ever lensed, were with a Steadicam rig (full-size Model II) with the arm hard-mounted with a Garfield bracket to the back of a pick-up truck.
 
Thanks guys, every piece of info provided here is extremely useful. Pushing the SUV may not work because i'm expecting the jogger to run at a set pace...

Thanks again
 
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