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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Fun with MōVi

Christopher Barrett

Christopher Barrett

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I'm just getting the hang of it, running around the neighborhood and having a blast playing. I should have the last few pieces together by tomorrow and we'll start a new short with it on Friday.

 
Hi Christopher,

How are finding you're first (I'm assuming) days with the movi. The clip you uploaded is great and some of the shots are really lovely, but for example the shot at 0:32-0:39 is a bit shaky (for my taste). totally no disrespect but just wondering why that is?

how difficult are you finding it, to pick it up and go? sort of plug and play?

Cheers for sharing
 
That's a good point, Ethan. As with anything, one needs to develop a proficiency. Don't expect to take this thing out of the box, throw an Epic on it and go run around getting perfect footage. You have to balance a jib, you have to level dolly track and the MōVi is no different. I'm still learning how to balance it perfectly. I've only got a day and a half of experience with the thing, though and am getting pretty good results. While the shot you mentioned is def bouncier than I'd want, the shot where I'm circling around the tree kind of blows me away. We'll put this thing through heavy use of the next week and I'll report back.
 
Nice work Chris. Did your Movi come with the wireless controller as well? When did you place your order? I've been eagerly awaiting mine but the lack of a clear delivery date from freefly is a bit frustrating.
 
Thanks for your response. I thought there would be a learning curve to it (like any new tool). And I agree the shot around the tree is fantastic.
 
Thanks for posting this Chris. Can't wait to get my hands on one of these as well. One question: As far as fatigue goes, about how long are finding you can run the Moviwith the Epic on it?
 
Tree shot very nice.. The rest seems quite wobbly on the horizon.. I'm guess it would be even more wobbly if it wasn't shot high speed. What frame rate did you shoot it at, and could you post a clip at 24/25fps?

Thanks and congrats on gettin the things!! It's like gold right now..
 
I can definitely understand the quest for moves that are closer to "rock steady," but I liked the ever so subtle "floatiness" of the moves. A slightly different vibe from a floaty steadicam.
 
Travis, yep, dual operator controller is included with the M10. I placed my order somewhere between drunk and hungover, the morning of the launch from NAB.

Brandon, uh... yeah, I need to get back to the gym.
 
Jim McKinney said:
I can definitely understand the quest for moves that are closer to "rock steady," but I liked the ever so subtle "floatiness" of the moves. A slightly different vibe from a floaty steadicam.
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That's not what this rig is for though.. It's mean to give you rock solid moves. I think in a week or so Christopher will be posting rock solid videos.
 
Chris, I've found that wobbly horizon shots like Ethan was pointing out is simply due to the tuning of the motors. Once you spend a little more time experimenting with the right tuning, it's easy to get rock solid stuff. My first "out of the box" Movi footage looked just like this. Once I got the motor tuning dialed in just right, the steadiness improved drastically.

On my epic rig, I have the pan/roll/tilt stiffness set to the 40-50's range. That seems to be optimal for about a 10lb payload.

I'm on a KIA commercial right now and the operator is doing crazy running shots that he swears will be garbage when they call cut. When we watch playback though, he's constantly surprised at how rock solid the are.
 
Thanks, Man, I was just wondering about that. I had no idea where to set these and think mine are all around 10. I think I'm even running a little over 10lbs with the Cookes.
 
Christopher Barrett said:
Thanks, Man, I was just wondering about that. I had no idea where to set these and think mine are all around 10. I think I'm even running a little over 10lbs with the Cookes.
Click to expand...


I would highly recommend watching the Freefly tutorials on tuning the motors. Basically, you're increasing the stiffness settings on Pan/Roll/Tilt until the motors start to vibrate. Once they vibrate, you back down the stiffness settings until it the vibration stops. Once you figure out the perfect "stiffness' settings for the motors, the footage really is incredible.

For others that haven't worked with the Movi yet, anytime you're seeing wobbly footage that makes you skeptical of the technology, it's pretty certain that the tuning of the motors isn't correct.
 
FWIW, much of my first steadicam footage had some of the same wobble to it. Worse if you want to know the truth. Looks like the Movi can do a lot of the same stuff with a relatively flat learning curve. Good to know it's a tuning issue and something that should be easy to sort out.
 
But Jeff, you're not a Steadicam operator who practices several times a week - you do many other things. My wife (who is) runs circles around the shots I see in this Movi film, and can respond much faster to unforeseen changes in actors walking speed and so on, AND can do 6-8 hours of shooting a day without breaking a sweat - try holding a Movi for 8 hours.

People here focus too much on which tools to get to enable great shots, and not enough on which people to hire - they often cost less than gear, and contribute their own knowledge, energy and creativity to the process.
 
It's actually more of a shoulder workout than forearms. However, like any heavy camera rig, you just need to have an AC ready to take it away from you between takes and set it back on the stand. No one should ever have to hold ANY camera rig for 8 hours straight.

Robert, I agree that, like Steadicam, it's going to be a trade skill, but this mostly relates, in my opinion, to the setup, tuning, balancing, etc. The other really difficult skill that i still have yet to key in on is the remote head operation. It's just as difficult as operating a gear head. However, on the shoot I'm on now, the real value comes from being able to balance and tune the motors well enough that you can hand it off to an unskilled operator, set it to majestic mode, and the operator is able to execute steady shots with a few takes practice. I see my role as a Movi operator more in as a technician than an operator. But again, the remote head operating is definitely not something you can just pick up.
 
I'm with Rob R. My steadicam op can run circles around a Movi, literally, and he can also carefully frame, pan, tilt, crane up and down on the fly, 8-10 hours a day, without the complexity of a Movi. I have used one - its a very special tool to me, when i need to hand off the camera or in certain situations, it does things a steadicam can't do. But otherwise, I really don't understand why everyone is so excited. Its much slower in setup than a steadicam with a great operator, much more mechanically fallible and challenging, and the fact that the op does not have the full freedom to frame (without a 2nd op) is a serious limitation. I will have my crew rent a Movi when I need that special type of problem solved, but for everything else (95%), hire a pro steadicam op. They will blow your mind.
 
Travis,

Just got our pay balance notice mid last week with preorder number 96 if that really means anything.

It's not really fair (or sensible) to compare veteran steadicam footage to novice Movi footage. To make the playing field level regarding fatigue the Movi could be suspended from an Easyrig with no big deal.

Also this is just the first few steps in a different direction. Who knows what this will evolve/morph into.

The Movi is a huge leap forward if you want both ground and RC heli shots on the same dime.
 
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