Video production for tall people & back pain

QuickHitRecord

QuickHitRecord

Veteran
I'm almost 6'4" and for tripod shots (which for me is most of the time), I find myself hunched over the camera. Because of my height, it seems like I am usually shooting subjects that are shorter than I am. This takes its toll on my posture and I get a lot of tightness and fatigue in my thoracic spine/upper back that can hang around for a few days after a shoot. I've had this for the past nine years I've just accepted it as part of a day's work. But after a particularly long day this week, I thought I'd bring it up here. Maybe some of my fellow DVXusers have encountered this as well?

Things I've tried that have seemed to help (but I have yet to find a 100% solution):
- When possible, placing the monitor on a stand and bringing it up to eye level
- Acupuncture (specifically cupping)
- Stretching
- Foam rollers
- Ibuprofen, taken before the shoot
 
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What about mounting an EVF or monitor above your camera at your own eye height ? ( so that you don't have to bend or tilt your head down )
 
QuickHitRecord said:
I'm almost 6'4" and for tripod shots (which for me is most shots), I find myself hunched over the camera. Because of my height, it seems like I am usually shooting subjects that are shorter than I am.
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If you're getting good camera position, it's almost always below eye level. For just about anyone of any height standing. Interviews, for example, often have cameras at waist height. Where the camera locates to has to be dictated by the needs of the shoot, not the needs of the operator.

What the operator needs, is a monitor that's in good position. At least that's what works for me. Clearly, YMMV.
 
If I'm on sticks, I ALWAYS have some sort of big and bright monitor on or near the camera rig at my eye level. It's just much easier for me to work like that. I wouldn't be hunching to look at any small LCD or EVF.

It's also nice to have a bigger monitor for clients (if you don't have a separate one for them) during playback as well.
 
If I know its going to be a long day of operating from a fixed spot (interview, junkets, live show etc) I will bring along a simple stool I can spin to adjust the height. Also as mentioned by others for fixed position long take work a large monitor is a must. The wider viewing angle allows you to move naturally and not clentch your body in one position for the entire take.
 
Massage therapy and inversion table. It's amazing what an hour and a half massage from someone that is good can do for you. When I was on the road and doing HOURS of handheld everyday, I had a 1 1/2 massage every week. Then bought the inversion table and used it religiously. Probably saved my life... ; )
 
Good feedback, fellas. I've seen rigs with Zacuto Graticals suspended way up over the camera, presumably for ergonomic reasons. Maybe I can get my Ninja Blade up a little higher somehow (I'm still waiting for someone to offer a wireless headset viewfinder but to my knowledge, no one has).

A massage sounds great right now.
 
A stool, depending on the shoot. If you can find a high enough drum stool, those would be ideal since the legs fold up and makes it portable. You could lose at least a few inches or even a foot by sitting on one and still operate.
 
I've seen this come up in different forums. My answer is always the same, and honestly what I think is the best form of preventative medicine.

Join a gym. Learn to do squats and deadlifts. Get strong at them, and these problems will largely go away.
 
I'm 6'5". I think I've just been blessed with a strong back. I've never had serious back problems. All the people I know close to my height have chronic issues. I run about 8 kilometres three times a week, which really helps with stamina on shoots. Try to lift weights at least once or twice a week. My biggest problem is that I'm a heavy sweater. Any physical activity and I just sweat and sweat. I'm forever sweating on my gear and all over the set. It's embarrassing and uncomfortable.
 
DBP said:
I've seen this come up in different forums. My answer is always the same, and honestly what I think is the best form of preventative medicine.

Join a gym. Learn to do squats and deadlifts. Get strong at them, and these problems will largely go away.
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Great real world advice.

But just a note that squats and deadlifts are the two worst exercises that anyone can do with bad knees or a bad back...and the reason for that is because they are the two best exercises in the world to build strength. And the bench press. They call them the "Big 3" and they work dozens of muscles in your body that you didn't even know you had. Go for a run too.

Getting stronger and faster is amazing for the brain.
 
There's strength, and there's flexibility, and of course stamina. These have all been covered by others in this thread, but the last and in my opinion the most important piece is use. How you use your body. In the dance, music, and theatre world this is addressed often times through something like Alexander technique. There are other techniques and ways to deal with it too (Gokhale Method, Feldenkrais, etc), but the types of unhealthy subtle patterns of tension that we all develop to varying degrees need to be reprogrammed if you are going to do anything even mildly repetitive and/or prolonged without injuring yourself.

Ergonomics/placement is important too of course, but even with ideal placement you can injure yourself if you hold tension in unhealthy ways. Doing squats can or anything else that demanding will also lead to an injury if done incorrectly, but those activities are so obviously demanding, that we tend to be more careful how we execute them. However, we don't notice the unconscious ways that we hold tension when doing mundane daily activities. These too need to be trained.

Anyway, my two cents. I got into this stuff mostly in my other work which is orchestra conductor and classical guitarist.
 
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