A big part of my project has to be dedicated to acquiring equipment essential to give my film the more “professional” look I’ve always wanted. This includes camera tracks, dollies and a decent tripod. My past films have been made primarily with a $30 tripod from Target that wasn’t mine… while I am pleased with most of the results I got, there is no doubt in my mind that a nice tripod or even access to other equipment would help make my visions easier to execute and give me a little more freedom.
I thought for a long while about the types of shots I wanted to be in this film — zooming vs. physically moving, tracking vs. panning, closeups vs. full-frame landscape shots, dolly movements vs. stationary placement… everything really came down to my desire for shots with smooth movements over anything else. I love zoom shots but it often doesn’t come across on video effectively as well as trying to get a smooth zoom with a DSLR is nearly impossible. I really can’t choose between closeups and full frame — both can be equally as beautiful and well-composed, and I really didn’t want to have to invest in a rig that only allowed for one type of movement. I found some cool dollies online (mainly on Amazon, big surprise) that would allow me to do rotations and cool timelapses and turn a little while tracking.. too bad most of the devices in my price range were really small and could only be used for a handful of shots close to the ground shots.
I then thought about some of my favorite movies, some of my favorite shots. Goodfellas, Children of Men, Atonement, The Shining, The Untouchables… all of these films make excellent use of the steadicam. Long shots with smooth movement and no significant stumbles — pure gold in cinema for me.
Here are some clips from the movies I mentioned… The clips are well worth watching if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
The Shining -
Goodfellas -
Thank Jesus the least expensive “Steadicam” system is the Merlin — only around $700 without shipping and tax! Not only does the price tag scare me away, but it has balancing issues that should not be present with a close to $1k piece of equipment. Since that’s really not going to happen anytime soon… I’m deciding to make it myself! I’m trying to create the best rig for the price, which surprisingly doesn’t seem too hard thus far. With the finished stabilizer I will be able to accomplish most everything handheld… panning, tracking, even stationary shots… it also opens up a new realm for vehicles in my movies to be used for follow shots effectively — something that has not been possible for me in the past. I have some materials from old tripods but still need to make the trek to Home Depot for the other supplies. This stabilizer even makes acquiring a good tripod a much lower priority as it replaces most of its function. It will definitely be a nice investment, especially with the new camera I’m planning to order soon (Details coming in the next post).
These are some examples of what I could create and what I’ve been looking at for the past week or so.
http://nofilmschool.com/2012/07/build-diy-dslr-camera-stabilizer-shelf-parts-10/
Due to time restrictions and price constraints, as well as the fact that I didn’t want to wait for parts to come in, I am thinking very seriously of using this guide alternatively.
