constantine Tirintzis
Well-known member
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- Feb 12, 2009
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- Age
- 60
- Location
- Athens , Syros,Greece
- Website
- www.the-running-rig.com
I remember Garett Brown, the inventor of Steadicam speaking at NAB '14 and he said that earlier one had to learn an entire new way of walking and moving. Now with the Movi type of gimbals one needs to unlearn that. For exact words one need to check the NAB videos.
When a new technology comes, the practitioners of the old tech can get tensed. It is human nature. Doubts creep up whether one tech is going to replace the other. The steadicam operators who are at the top of their game and are self assured won't have a problem. For others, the juvenile game of whose is bigger or better starts.
Steadicam and 3 axis gimbals are going to stay side by side and things will further evolve. They both have a place in the current scheme of things. Having said that we also see many poor examples from 3 axis gimbals from people. The reason is not the 3 axis gimbal technology but poor choice of composition. When we see good steadicam moves from top movies, we see that the framing is top notch. That is missing when first time guys start using Movi or any other three axis gimbal. It is another matter that some people just think of running with the Movi/Ronin etc.
There are many equipment salesmen here. Rather than giving in to hype, it is better to try the equipment and see if it works. As a customer you are right as you know your requirement. No equipment salesman can visualise your typical needs. Some will say easy rig will always pass through doors. We all know that in some locations it is not possible. I was shooting in an old fort, and the doors were too narrow and low for this. Same thing can also happen with the exoskeleton and the width may hamper. We don't know yet. Lets wait and watch.
well said.
Just to clear out , when making a statement about size you are making it, in consideration of an average person height and a normal path way door in both height and width. Of cource you can be 6,2 - 6,5 and try and go through a door that is 6,7 so wearing an easyrig with max extension arm will crash on the top of the door for sure.
Iam refering to doorways that are normal, 6,7f height x 2,6 ft wide, and an average person that from 5.6 to 6 ft tall. bending your knees for a couple of steps and you are through , thats all it takes.
there were many occasions specially with the WK vest that I could not get through a normal doorway like this if I wasnt very extra careful and hit the back mount arm and arm many times. It was much easier with Tiffen vests , they were narrower, and no problem.
The point is that sometimes you have to pull a few tricks depending on the occasion.
if you have limitations like stated above, like knee injuries or back spine problems you shouldn't be wearing a body mounted system in the first place, specially with out being trained, as the effort that your body puts in trying to adjust and train the correct muscles , is quite a big one, and that you dont discover it in 5 minutes trials. Also body to body is different and some will feel comfortable in vests and mounts that others dont.
I have demoed with the WK, serene and Maxima 30 and Amira carrying about 16-17kg . The WK vest was solid rock , but at the same time it hearted my lower spine after 10 minutes, and no matter how well I adjusted it did that all the time. Mind you that is not the exact steadicam vest they are producing. Now I have the new Easyrig Gimbal vest.
As this was a new thing for Johan we gave our input and its solid rock, and at the same time its very comfortable.That doesnt mean that because I had a problem with the WK that is the case with everyone else. Nor that because I like the new Easyrig gimbal vest that means its better than the WK. Its my preference for my body.
Iam the one that keeps saying, there are pros and cons in all system, and getting trained is the factor that you get to over pass the cons, and take advantage of the pros.
I am considering my self being objective both in my posts and my privet answers to customers or just people that ask for advise. I never said to anyone , forget about steadicam, this is the way to go.
what we did is we created something different for the +5000 easy riggers that exist on this planet. And it works pretty well. We keep evolving this with the new products.
One can choose according to his taste. Test and then find out the case.
Regards