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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 :)

Steadicam or Glidecam

sbcooler said:
Is it possible to where the vest and arm and ride my bicycle at the same time. I've seen people run with these and they look great. I've seen someone on a segway with one and it looks great. Now I want to know if I can get on my bike and take some great super smooth footage..is that possible?
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If you want to make a nasty crash, then go ahead!
Running is one thing.
Segway is something special (i own one).
Bike (and horse for that matter) is a no go.
You will jeopardise not only Yourself, but also some very expensive equipment, not to mention other people.
I recommend it not.
 
I've seen a horse-mounted Steadicam rig where the arm was mounted directly to the horn of the saddle. I can see this as a viable option, but I wouldn't get on a horse wearing a vest-mounted rig. I would certainly pick a horse with a good attitude though! I would rather not ride my Handsfree Segway vest-mounted as well; that's why I built a hard mount for it, basically like mounting it to a saddle on a horse: www.redzephyrcam.com.

If you're just getting into Steadicam, by all means take a certification course. I developed some bad habits by not taking a course until several years after I started....
 
Abel sells both Glidecam and Steadicam products as well as Easy Rigs and other manufacturers' systems. You are welcome to come by our offices and take them for a spin. I hve a personal preference for the Steadicam systems, and I would bump up to the Flyer rig for a Scarlett in case you wanted to add a bunch of modules, remote focus, etc.
 
I've been a steadicam owner/operator for about 10 years. I suggest renting or demoing different models in-store. You'll quickly find out why the more expensive ones are priced higher. Buy the best you can afford.
 
arrinick said:
Depends on your definition of mastery. If you have low standards, hell you can figure it out in weeks.

No offense to those who fly the lower end rigs, but they don't know what they are missing, or even what the differences are between the real systems and the less so ones.

Actioncam makes good stuff, as does MK-V, GPI Pro, Greg Bub, and Baer Bell. I wouldn't waste my money on any of the low end systems, as you will end up replacing it, they don't hold their value, and you will learn bad habits. Why own one at all if you are not an operator? You are going to spend $80k on a good system, and you can rent a world class op and a great rig for at least 40 days for $80k.

Cheers,

Nick
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Nick has a very good point here. Yes, you can 'Master' it in months but that's just the beginning. Walking straight, Don Juan (That's when the op is facing front but the camera is shooting back) simple going up and down the stairs...

But it will take long time to really master it. Operating steadicam 12~16 hrs a day for 4 weeks, with fully loaded Arri 435, accessories, going up the stairs, down the stairs, at the same time Keeping the frame Trust me when it comes to things like that, a few months of trainning won't do it.

Work shop environment and actual on set environment is way different. 1AD breathing down on your neck asking 'so, how long do you it will take to get ready'.......

My suggestion is to go with high end Steadicam. GPI, MK-V, Greg Bubb, Tiffen, to name a few and since you are in the States, those are the guys, GPI and Greg Bubb they don't make small systems, so I'd say go with Tiffen. Tiffen has world wide support so it makes sense.

Best,

Yuri
 
Hmmm. Lots of different thoughts, suggestions and deviations in a thread that was started 24 hours ago. Not sure what to address.

On the original question of which rig to fly the Scarlet--well, that's a really tough question considering the camera is still an unknown quantity (but that never seems to stop anyone when it comes to all things RED). What will the weight be? What lens accessories will be needed? Power requirements? Will the onboard monitor suffice if used as the monitor for the rig? Too early to know. So going with a smaller rig like a Pilot or Flyer now is a crap shoot as you can easily run out of capacity when all is said and done (and loaded onboard). I'm liking the Archer2 from Tiffen, and you can use it with the R1 and probably the proposed Epic. Great rig.

Brian's Actioncam products are very smart and I look forward to seeing his new rig. I'm not a fan of the build and design of the Glidecam line although the latest models are definitely improved over their predecessors.

Regarding the Easyrig, I've used it on a couple of heavy-duty handheld series (F35, Genesis etc) and it's great when you have to stand in place for endless takes. However I cannot recommend it for any kind of walking shots, it has quite a pendulum effect.

And finally--ditto on the advice to take a workshop. As an instructor myself I have seen that some of the weakest students have been those who have been already operating for quite some time without having previously taken a workshop. Once you get into bad habits, it's tough to unlearn.
 
Yeah I spoke with Abel Cine in NYC and will go out there and try on some rigs with my camera and see what I can learn and feel. For my Sony Z1u someone was helping me and saying that will be fine for my 2 smaller cameras (Z1u and HV30). Especially since I will be the vest and arm...I am a serious enthusiast trying to make my video shots look much more professional, but I do not have an unlimited budget...unfortunately.

And I do think I'll do have my shots with the just the post and the other half with both vest and arm attached..so I need something that can do both. Not sure how I'll fully use it, but I have some ideas...outdoor hiking is one of them, family functions and the such with my little nieces and nephews is another. Possibly use for a concert/band setting....again I do this for the fun of it...never take money.

So one guy at Abel Cine thinks I can get away with the Merlin for this....now if I get the Fixed Scarlet I wonder if I can keep it under 7.5 lbs to use with this Merlin...thing is I could always sell it if I get real into steadicams and upgrade. I know that will cost me some but its an option.

Also I live right near Tiffen I believe....10 minutes away..I wonder if going there I could demo different systems. Easier than heading into NYC.
 
If you got the big dollars... go for the tiffen... they are very slick...

BUT I gotta plug actionproducts, truly an amazing piece of equipment for the price. From what I've dealt with glidecam are pretty sub-par by comparison... I much prefer actionproducts rear mounted vest as well...

ditto pretty much everything charles said actually, especially with the easyrig...

Standing/one step - yes,
Walking/running - not advisable...

My 2c...
 
Ok, I ruled out glidecam and others....I think.

Trying to decide between Merlin with vest and arm and Pilot...50% of my shots will be hand held 50% will be using vest and arm....Pilot weighs more (total setup is about 24lbs vs 20lbs I believe (arm, post, vest) so I think hand held with just the sled will be harder on Pilot due to the extra weight (4 lbs more for that post) than the Merlin....but Pilot is better for vest and arm due to LCD and better post than Merlin?

Am I missing anything? Any comments on this proposition?

Just remember my setup today is the Z1u and Canon HV20...maybe next year I will add Scarlet into the mix. Probably Fixed Scarlet.
 
BRIAN,
I visited your site and your rigs look great. Is there anywhere in the states I could go and try one out? Looking forward to hearing more about "RHETT!"

Cheers!
r
 
Any thoughts on Sachtler's Artemis line?
 
Want to add one comment about GlideCam V25 . Remember when you will get Glide Cam V25 you will need to change many things in it .
First you will need to make power cable from Glide Cam top breakout to Red One .
Second you will need to make cables to power your FF , Then you will need to downconvert signal for Pro7 monitor .
Sow you will need to have downconverter moulted on top and powering from break out box. Also Glide Cam V25 have some problems with cabling .
But after all this configurations you will get nice Steadycam system
 
I own and operate a Steadicam Flyer, and whilst it wont take a massive red rig, it will take this red rig:

4523_88548207201_592457201_2232818_1163263_n.jpg


I would say if all you are going to fly is the RED, then go for the steadicam Archer, as it is a bit fiddly to use the RED on the Flyer.
 
Hi Vigen,

The monitor at the top was to judge colour and assist focus, as the steadicam monitor is not really accurate. I had the sleds normal monitor plugged in via a redbyte for my usual steadicam framing.

The only batteries on the camera is the sony NP battery ontop of the focus receiver (Flyer only has one power plug) and there is a 4aa battery pack ontop of the redbyte.

Pete.
 
This post has a lot of very funny stuff in it!
have done this work a bit.

Here are some principles:

1. the lighter the rig the less it will move elegantly. Tiffen put weights at the outside of the pilot trying to amelorate this but generally a small camera needs added weight to fly on a rig of a size that will make nice moves. Lighter is much more subject to every kind of disturbance including gentle breezes.

2. the gymbal of the steadicam device needs to be absolutely smooth and able to support the device facing both ways without tilting in one direction (which is a sure indication of an inaccurate gymbal) Gymbals on the cheaper rigs seldom are this good.

3. The arm The less expensive rigs arms do not move completely freely and smoothly thus the stabilization is compromised.

4. Steadicam operating (as Garrett says "The noble Art" takes a lot of practice if you have low standards just about any stabilizer will improve on hand held, if you fly only wide lenses and bad horizons innacurate framing, and less than perfectly smooth movements are ok then buy cheap. There is not much point buying a good rig if you won't invest the time to try to get good at this, there is not much point in a cheap rig if you desire to become good.
 
unicycle glidecam guy checking in

unicycle glidecam guy checking in

SteelTech6 said:
There was a great article in Event DV about Brian MacKenzie - a Unicycle Glidecam Operator based in Canada. Truly impressive talent to do both the Glidecam and the Unicycle at the same time:

EVENTDV Article

-Michael Rivera
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Thanks Michael, I found this forum while googling for 'unicycle glidecam', I'm sorry I don't have a Red camera, hope I don't get banned! :)
I'm Brian the unicycling glidecam guy, glad you dug the article!

By the way, the 10 hours or so it takes you to learn how to film with a glidecam, you could learn to unicycle in the same amount of time!

There are dis/advantages to the unicycle vs the segway, for example, the segway would be much less tiring, but the unicycle is incredibly more manueverable (especially on non closed sets...like that scene I filmed in Manhattan zigzagging through the traffic (cars and pedestrians)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck8bM97Hh3I

there is no way you could get any sort of quality footage from a bike...it was discovering this that made me realize how cool doing it from a unicycle would be!

thanks guys, enjoy your fancy cameras!
Brian - www.balanceproductions.ca
 
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