Crane to Steadicam mount?

[Scotty Baker]

So I'm going to be the Steadicam op on this one-shot short and the director wants the camera to be able to come on and off of the crane to the Steadicam.
Due to the constraints of the location we can't have a crane big enough for me to step on and off of.
Our thought was to use a Techno crane, underswing it and have the camera "hang" with the sled still attached.
For this to work, we would need a 2-piece mount that would securely hold the camera during the crane shots, but allow it to seamlessly slide off and on when transferring to and from the Steadicam.

Anyone seen or used anything like this?
Anyone can make something like this?

Any better suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Jason Comparetto]

when I assist Steadicam ops it seems like they "rest" their rig on a C-stand with a special plate attached to it. That plate may contain a U-shaped bracket designed to hold the gymbal (?)

If such a U-shaped bracket were made to also grip the stem, then it would effectively be very strong and rigid, sounds like what you want.

I can make something like that for you if you still need it. Please send requests to jason@CinemaOxide.com

 

[chad vachter]

hiya Scotty , walking off the basket of one of the electric chapman cranes, is the too big/ wont work option?

i was curious of the constraints of this location , is there any overhead structure that could be used to pick a pully /sheeve from ..and lower you from desired height... then on landing , someone could wrangle your safteyline/ rope to allow you to walk forward ? being lowered on the pully would allow your sled to self stabilize " correct ?" then making that transition to walking away would take a practice run or 5 .. otherwise i have seen over the years quite a few 12 foot cranes with operator seats on them , but without seeing where youll be thats the best ive got .

 

[Martin Whittier]

If it has to be done as described from crane to steadicam rig then that transition point will certainly be the biggest challenge. Trying to dock the sled onto the arm pin would probably not be very graceful if the whole sled rode the crane, plus that would add a ton of weight to the crane. Does the movement allow for the camera to be static during transition or do you need to continue a movement seamlessly? If static maybe you could try a quick release plate for each system, one on top and one on bottom. When the crane settles, the bottom plate locks into the Steadicam then the top plate is released (crane underslung of course) then you take off.

 

[Scotty Baker]

@Chad It's an indoor location. A theater. No way to squeeze a Titan or anything like that in there.

@Martin I think that's what we're going to do... some sort of dual quick release configuration.

 

[Andrew Rieger]

Honestly, this sound like a job for that new MOVI system. Build a small bracket to hold the MOVI top handle and when it drops into position, the operator would grab it by the two main control handles, slide it off and continue on foot. Sounds way easier than trying to build something robust enough to hold a steadicam yet easy to slide off in order to make the transition seamless. If I were in your shoes, I would use the MOVI.

 

[Cliff Hokanson]

http://www.epicredcameravancouver.com/epicredcameravancouver.com/ON_SET_PHOTOS.html#10

build one out of 2inch pipe or speed rail.