C100: Tampa Steadicam Reel

Eric Coughlin

Eric Coughlin

Veteran
This is a Steadicam reel I put together of footage I've shot with the C100. The first minute and 10 seconds is with the C100 Mark II and the rest is with the original C100.

Comments and constructive criticism welcome.

 
looks good, i think you'll pick up quite a few jobs, many productions would be lucky to have you.

i'm no steadicam operator myself but as a viewer, keep practicing and getting your horizon line more even and you'll jump to even bigger productions.

best of luck
 
Hello,
nice work! Can you tell us which Steadicam you are using? the original steadicam, with arm and harness? I use a Glidecam HD 2000 with my C100, and I can't afford too long shots with it, it's quite exhausting.
Another question: which focal, which lenses did you use? I only tried my Glidecam with tokina 11-16 mm, but I was eager to experience it with less wide lenses; and the first shots of your demo (the back of the man phone calling for instance) look like the things I want to achieve: some smooth and short movements that are very close to slider moves...
Thx for sharing your experience...
 
About half of this was shot handheld with the Glidecam HD4000 and half with the Steadicam Merlin/Pilot arm and vest adapted to the Glidecam HD4000 with a Berkley adapter. I find the HD4000 to be quite better than the HD2000 in my limited experience with the 2000. I'm planning to buy a Steadicam Zephyr in the next few weeks which can handle 9-24 lbs so made this reel in preparation of buying it so I can get work on bigger productions with a wider range of cameras.

I used the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, Canon 24-105 f/4, and Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. When I first got the Glidecam I started out using just the 11-16, but now I only use that when I want wide establishing type shots, and use the other two lenses for most non-establishing people shots. It takes more control and practice to use longer focal lengths but the results are better in the majority of situations. The first shots you mentioned I believe were at 35mm with the Sigma and the following walking shots of the two guys were around 55mm with the Canon 24-105.
 
Fantastic work. This video makes a good argument for buying the cheaper C100 and using the extra money to invest in a steadicam.
 
Eric:

Finding out after watching most of the reel that you shot this with a handheld Glidecam or a Merlin with vest and arm made me appreciate your work even more--you are getting better results with those setups than most longtime Steadicam operators would be able to get, because the finesse required with systems that light is actually considerably more than when you have 60 lbs of inertia on your side. When I was still operating Steadicam I dabbled with both of those lightweight setups and found them quite frustrating! So--great job at what you have achieved so far. I suspect you will be very happy with the Zephyr and I believe you will discover your operating will quickly raise to new heights.

I would recommend mixing up the shots more at the beginning--most clients will make their decision-making process in the first 30 seconds. The best approach is to make a montage of your best shots in varied settings, essentially a sizzle reel opening that can then give way to longer shots or a sequence from a given project. It looks like your market ranges from indie film to architectural video to event video etc...a producer from a particular discipline is not going to want to sit through the "other stuff" without seeing that you have done "their stuff" first.

Keep up the good work!

Apologies that I can't go through it with a fine toothed comb but the shot at :21 jumped out as not quite being up to snuff with the surrounding shots--some framing and horizon issues. It's the first thing I look for on a Steadicam reel and while I likely have a more discerning eye for that than most people who might hire you, it's usually not worth including shots with those sorts of issues (or trimming out the rough patches).
 
Thanks, Charles. I've read a lot of your posts on the Steadicam forums, particularly in relation to the Zephyr. I just bought a Zephyr from Libor Cevelic on the Steadicam forums last week (which worked out well because I was able to do a local pickup in Miami), though I'm still in the process of buying batteries and other accessories to make it functional. I'm looking very forward to using it.

I've got some other edits in the pipeline but I'll look forward to taking your advice on the reel edit once I get a chance to get to that; a couple people from the Steadicam forum also suggested I make it closer to 1.5 to 2 minutes.

Yeah, I never liked the shot at :21 but used it for continuity purposes for the shot sequence; I suppose continuity isn't quite as important for a Steadicam reel, though. I'm thinking maybe I'll cut all of the shots from that sequence except for the one at :16-:22 which has a decent follow at 55mm, though the second guy does block the first guy for a moment. Slow motion can look cool but I also realize it hides imperfections and is probably better left out of most Steadicam reels so perhaps I should get rid of the opening slow motion shots.

It's a good idea to put several different shoots in the beginning and probably leave any longer takes or sequences toward the end. There are 18 different shoots in the video but at 1:15 into the video there are only two different shoots shown so far and I see that's a problem.

And just a little clarification on your wording; I didn't use a Merlin at all, just the vest and arm that is used with the Merlin and Pilot which I have adapted to the Glidecam HD4000 (pic of setup below). I had tried using a co-worker's Merlin before and found it incredibly hard to balance (though I tried it out before I got the Glidecam so didn't really know what I was doing in terms of balancing at the time) and not good, but I've been using the Glidecam HD4000 for about 3 1/2 years now and am pretty comfortable with it and find it to be a good rig for the price and for when there isn't enough time or room for a vest setup. The vest and arm I got about seven months ago and also found it to be quite good for the price, though obviously the Zephyr is a lot better.


C100sFacebookPic.jpg
 
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Gotcha on the Merlin vest/arm with Glidecam. Makes sense, and that arm performs much better than anything else of that scale, so good choice there. I've seen some nice work done with GC 400's including yours and it surprises me because coming from more sophisticated (and of course more expensive) systems, that gimbal is a challenge to overcome, but the proof is in the pudding.

Cheers!
 
I guess 50-70% of this reel was shot after I got auto-focus with my second C100 purchase (I've essentially purchased a new C100 with each upgrade that comes out, hence having three now). Auto-focus works great for Steadicam use such that you can do shots that would have otherwise been impossible with a remote focus setup which often isn't practical for the kinds of shoots that C100s are mostly used on. I'm really looking forward to the improvements of the C300 Mark II for auto-focus as that will open up the possibilities even more for Steadicam use on run n' gun type shoots.

Since the C100's auto-focus is obviously limited to center framed, if I know my shot is going to be rule of thirds, as many shots are, particular close following shots of a person's face, what I'll often do is quickly turn the auto-focus on to get in focus, and then turn it off before I roll my shot (of course, keeping a set distance from the subject then for the shot). Doing it this way, particularly for live events when I'm in a hurry, greatly speeds up my efficiency at focusing (as opposed to having to reach my arm around to grab the lens and bump the whole setup), even though the auto-focus is turned off while I'm actually doing the shot. For wider shots or in general when I'm able to keep what I want in focus center framed I can leave the auto-focus on during the shot. That's where the C300 Mark II will be awesome; I can keep the auto-focus on and keep rule of thirds at the same time while doing a Steadicam shot, either by using face detection or moving the auto-focusing point to the proper third of the image.
 
Nice reel. Is the girl around :26 Erin from the Office/Kimmy Schmidt? Or just a facsimile? haha, just wondering.

I'm digging the flyover the pool shot at :40 and your interiors around 1:10 have a great, warm look.
 
Scott F said:
Nice reel. Is the girl around :26 Erin from the Office/Kimmy Schmidt? Or just a facsimile? haha, just wondering.

I'm digging the flyover the pool shot at :40 and your interiors around 1:10 have a great, warm look.
Click to expand...


No I think its some youtuber whos name I can't remmeber. Reason I know that is because thats playlist Live in Orlando florida.

Not going to Lie Eric once I saw Tampa in the title I had to click on the link since I also live in Florida (well on the other side of the coast from you). Awesome work man, and Like Scott said I love the pool shot.
 
Yeah, Playlist Live. That would be Tessa Violet. Yeah, she does look like Ellie Kemper.

Here's the video we did of her performance.



Thanks. The pool shot was done in low mode (upside down) holding the Glidecam handheld with me reaching my arm out over the pool.
 
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