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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 :)

Smooth moves in confined spaces

H

Hywel Phillips

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Hi All,

I have a dumb question.

How does one get smooth moves in confined spaces?

We generally shoot on location. Many of those locations are houses and old buildings whose rooms, corridors and especially doorways can be quite restrictive.

We have a very cheap and cheerful dolly and track system using plastic pipe and a dolly with one of our Libec tripods on top. That's sufficiently cumbersome that we often can't cope with the set-up time or risk the antique furniture rearrangement we would need to make using it practical on our shoots.

We also have a 1 meter slider but this is actually more cumbersome because to support our rigged Scarlet we really need the slider to be mounted at either end, which makes for a large footprint (two tripods, or I guess two sawhorses or something).

Then there's jibs, which make lovely moves but which again may struggle in our confined spaces.

Is the professional answer Steadicam?

Or is there something akin to an old school pedestal system that might work OK on carpeted floors with some damped rise and fall control? And that doesn't way a ton (so it won't do through the floor!). We only need to support our Scarlet + 5" LCD + Battery + 16-35 mm lens. I wonder if some sort of fluid damped counterweighted system, with large cushioned rubber wheels, exists at reasonable price?

If not, anyone have experience of building one?

Or anyone got any better suggestions? A beefier tripod with a really good head to mount the slider on is obviously one way to go, but I'd really love to get vertical movement in as well. Right now we're getting best results with a Fig-Rig!

Cheers, Hywel
 
Not a dumb question at all. A sorta simple if a bit costly and noisy rig would be to use one or two Kenyon K8 gyros on the Epic or Scarlet either hand held or on a shoulder rig. Compact and can be very smooth. But not if you need to shoot sound.
 
Ah, we do need to shoot sound as well, sadly!

That tripod technique is TOTALLY worth a go. I'm going to go practice it!

I've been thinking about a variant on that tripod technique, Bob. I was thinking of having some sort of frame with a stout bungee cord, from which to hang the Fig-Rig, allowing for limited but smooth movements. I think I saw something like that in use on The Raid: Redemption.

Maybe even just a well sandbagged C-stand with a bungee hanging from its arm (counterweighted) would give us enough movement to be useful, effectively adding a bit of damping and a bit of extra support to the fig-rig.


Cheers, Hywel.
 
I manufacture a slider that is center-mounted (only needs one tripod). it was designed just for that purpose. if you are interested please write to me at jason@CinemaOxide.com
 
or.. cheap skateboard on 8" by 2" board with two strips of wood as side rails to keep the skate from falling off..
use a camera riser with at least 2 holes.. bolt it to the board... use apple boxes under the plank.. and bolt a pusher stick to the skateboard...
or a sanding pole from home improvement store... bolt the pivoting snadpaper holder part to your skateboard to get a variable joint..

Not as cheap as using your existing tripod.. but will maintain constant height.... can also be clamped to 2 step ladders... set on a table, etc..

I use a Dana Dolly with baby combo stands and 1.25" diameter metal tubing... never leave this set up without a hand on the camera... or it can fall off... spring clamps fore and aft can be used as temporary hands..
 
Hi,

Reading around, glidecam systems seem marginal at best for Scarlet- most people seem to be reporting that a vest and arm system is necessary to support the weight for longer than a shot or two.

We've got a skateboard cam- it is a pretty good option. The moment we have to start adding boards and rails and side boards and sawhorses and boxes and the rest, we run into the same issue of footprint and set-up time we have with the other dolly/slider solutions. we've tried, I think They just won't fit comfortably enough into the narrow shooting spaces in these old houses. So it is great for the shots it does well, good tool for the armoury, but I don't think it is a panacea for smooth moves in confined spaces.

I might try booking a pro steadicam operator for a day's shoot and see how well that seems to work...

And I'm still tempted by the thought of a frame and bungee add on to the fig-rig...

Cheers, Hywel.
 
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