Sean,

Go for it. When you make something for yourself you can always customize it to fit exactly the way you want.

Terry
Indicam

Argh! I received my Indicam!! Didnt have much time to play with it but I managed to set up the whole kit in a breeze with the great DVD provided.
1. Overall. Built quality is above average, but it could be a little better in some areas in terms of cosmetics.
2. Sled. The sled is SUPERB. The gimbal is super smooth and handles the FX1 well. The nice rubber grip is also very comfortable. Only found the handle a tad little short for hand operation.
3. Balancing. Was done pretty quickly (less than 10min) even though I did it without a balancing stand (Varizoom Flowpod exp helped here) and of course the DVD instructions were so well done. Very detailed.
4. Stabiliser Vest. I like the bag. Its compact and holds everything. The arms r well designed. Simple n they work. Was able to fly FX1 easily.. of cse I still need a lot of practise.

Now, one thing I have a prob with is the length of the metal plate in front of my chest. Its a little big for Asian me and had to tighten all the straps to the max. The bag came very close the back of my neck n if feels uncomfortable. But when, thats my initial feel. May be I had not adjusted the thing well enuf yet. Terry has somemore instructions for me but I've jumped the gun here to post this so dun be baised yet.

5. Delivery. Lighning Speed. It was shipped the day I paid. Now how much faster could that get?

Will give more feelback when I get to mess ard with it more.. hope to snap some photos too!

Sean,

I just sent you an email with vest/backpack set-up instructions. As stated there, the chest plate can be adjusted larger or smaller according to body type. You just need to make the change and try it out. The backpack/vest should fit like a backpack. (see picture) In other words it should sit lower on the back when the chest plate is connected and tightened up. This keeps it from rubbing on the back of the neck. I never had this problem so it's new to me.

We're working on the new vests. We have an order in to the seamstress to make a number of them. Just have to wait our turn.

Regarding the handle...It's actually a little longer than the Glidecam 2000 / 4000. I personally don't hold the handle when operating except when using it handheld. I take a hold of the end of the arm on the bar which hooks into the sled handle (see picture). This makes for easier control according to my operating style.

Terry
Indicam

I'm back.. after some advise by Terry, I'm able to have a better fit to the vest. I think it can still get better.. still need some time to figure out this thing! In the meantime, I got 30min of practise spread over 2 days and here is my first indicam video. Wat? its jerky? Yeah I know.. still need lots of practise but the indi does wat its supposed to do.. IT WORKS!! Cheers to Terry again..

its on Youtube now. Still loading. Chk back here again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDs-V15i1Ck

Sean,

You done me proud son.

Actually you video is darn good for only a shot time practicing. You already are working on one of the most important skills...that of keeping your control hand (usually the left one) out of the shot. Since the pan bearing (the big one for all the newbies) is so low friction, any control hand can show up in the video if it isn't done with a very light touch. This shows up as a side-to-side movement.

As Charles Papert has said many times...Your control hand uses a very light touch. Many times it isn't even touching the sled but the fingers are barely off the gimbal sleeve so when some correction is needed, it can be done easily.

Keep them videos coming and maybe we can give you tasks to do and show on YouTube.

Sean, I liked your choice of backing out of the window. Did you do that in the missionary or Don Juan position? (I'm guessing missionary.)

The music was nice too.

Terry
Indicam

Sean:
I like how you pulled out from the window in the very beginning of the shot. Not bad for 30 minutes of practice... you will get better with time. Keep working at it!


Terry:
Quick question: are the springs in the arms adjustable for different weights or are the springs' tension/position fixed?

Thanks!

Peter,

Adjustable

Hey, where's more video. I want more! (I sound like a spoiled child)

I checked out your website and saw the trailer of the current wedding. Very well done. You have a flair with the PILOT.

http://kairosweddingfilms.blogspot.com/2006/11/sharon-and-dan-yims-wedding-film.html

You have done very well with your creativity and quality. You should have people standing in line waiting for you to do their wedding videos.

Terry
Indicam

Hey thanks 4 the compliments guys! The window happened to be there so... anyway I enjoyed fondling with PILOT. I have no doubts that it does it's job darn well. Terry, I have no idea what are the part names..

actually I do not quite understand what is the gimbal sleeve. I think I have to look at the video again. Eh, I also dun know what missionary or Don Juan position looks like.. looks like i need that training video of yours..

I will be shooting more videos this weekend with a more open space with steps. Hope I can master this real quick..! Thks again to Terry for the superb support!

Hey Peter, the love story has some pretty neat stuff! I like the moving background of photos. I guess u must have done a fair bit of photoshop to make that happen. The moving fish was pretty cool too!

Thanks, Sean. That love story was actually shown at our reception when we got married this past June! It was amazing how all of our guests' eyes were literally "glued to the screen!"

I separated the different layers in Photoshop and then animated them in Final Cut Pro.

Ah I guessed so.. just wondering how did u fill up the background if it was from the same photo. Would have take a lot of work to cut the subject onto a new layer, and patch the background. Great job anyway!

Ah I guessed so.. just wondering how did u fill up the background if it was from the same photo. Would have take a lot of work to cut the subject onto a new layer, and patch the background. Great job anyway!

The stamp tool in Photoshop works wonders ;)

OK folks, I'm back with part II of my testing. I I had to do during the afternoon n its hot summer here (all year round!) so I was pretty tired from the whole exercise. I dun think I did as well with the steps. I have no idea how to keep the sled stable... Terry, I need some guidance with the steps man..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG6bhUPdcZc

Sean,

When you say steps do you mean walking or actual steps as in "stairs"?

The tricks to getting good walking shots are as follows;

1. Have the arm balanced low (below parallel) and hold it up to shooting height with your human arm. This takes some of the bounce out of the shot. It's easy to do as you know from using the PILOT.

2. A heavier sled (camera and weights) will be more stable than a lighter sled.

3. Practice the steadicam walk as much as possible (as seen on our website... http://www.indicam.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=9&id=28&Itemid=57). Your legs should be bent just a bit and you should make your body flow. This is easier said than done and can take many hours of practice. Sorry, no shortcuts.

4. Work on moves i.e. direction changes and starting and stopping. Spread your control hand fingers out on the gimbal sleeve (the foam below the gimbal) so you can feel the sled if it starts to move one way or the other. You can then make the necessary corrections before it gets noticeable.

5. Keep you control hand out of the shot as much as possible. The big guys can usually get smoother shots easier because their rigs are much heavier and therefore more stable due to inertia. You can still get amazingly smooth shots with the PILOT but you have to be more "delicate" in your rig control as Cody Deegan would put it.

Read the posts and you will see the steadicam slogan: "Practice, practice, practice". If everyone could do it easily it wouldn't be a desired skill. Good equipment is only part of the formula.

Terry
Indicam

oops.. I meant stairs. I had the system a little high up in this case. I'll make some adjustments to lower it a little. I'm worried the arms "bottom out" so I had the springs adjusted to be a little stronger.

Sean,

Adjust the arms so the closest one to you doesn't bottom out and the further one out takes up the rest of the downward motion. It's not hard to do but it does take a bit of adjustment. Once done it's done!

Our section on stairs in the training video starts out with "Do you really need the shot?" as stairs can be dangerous, even with an assistant. That being said here is what I do (if I really need the shot)...

1. Balance the rig with a long drop time (almost neutral) so titlting can be done easily and without very much control hand.

2. Tilt if leading or following the subject to frame correctly. No one wants to see the back side of the subject for 5 to 10 seconds (no jokes). If you have to shoot something from the back and you can't tilt correctly then shoot the feet going up the stairs.

3. With the Indicam "High Shot" you can get a more level shot when following the subject up the stairs as it puts the camera higher.

4. Going down the stairs is much easier for me that going up the stairs. See "Jogging down the stairs" from our video at CES. http://www.ipowerplex.com/indicam/

5. Keep your control hand out of the shot.

Special tip...try shooting practice shots on the level without touching the sled at all (no control hand) and see how smooth the shot really is. Then you will understand the importance of a delicate control hand.

Terry
Indicam

Just a comment - I noticed the link to the "steadicam walk." Careful what you point out as proper posture, especially in a demo video. Steadicam is NOT handheld, and the job of the spring arm is to absorb the movements of the operator. Obviously excessive hip sway or tilt will upset the socket block, that is absolutely true. But the operator's eye-line does not necessarily remain level as the socket block does, and bending the knees to "walk steady" essentially fights what the arm is trying to do.

The steadicam walk refers to a lot of specifics when it comes to posture. Weight should be on one leg when stopped, the body should be turned slightly towards the rig, the sled should, in "standard" position, hover just outside the left hip. There are a lot of things which steadicam-ops have figured out over the years to make the craft easier from a physical standpoint, so that the artistic side can be explored. Even on rigs as light as the indicam, it's a mistake to get into bad habits early. In that respect, I hope all indicam customers are aware that the video may not be the best example of operating posture.

Also for walking up or down stairs, the drop time is a lot less important than the balance. If you know that 90% of the shot is going to be going up stairs, trim the balance so that the camera is pointing right for 90% of the shot. When the shot is done, re trim the balance for the next. If you change the drop time to basically neutral, it will show every possible flaw in the "control hand." Whatever drop time (top-to-bottom balance) is comfortable for you, use and simply trim the sled to give the framing which you'll be holding longest during the shot.

Just a comment - I noticed the link to the "steadicam walk." Careful what you point out as proper posture, especially in a demo video. Steadicam is NOT handheld, and the job of the spring arm is to absorb the movements of the operator. Obviously excessive hip sway or tilt will upset the socket block, that is absolutely true. But the operator's eye-line does not necessarily remain level as the socket block does, and bending the knees to "walk steady" essentially fights what the arm is trying to do.


Jaron,

Can you please explain what proper posture and steadicam walking should look like?

My understanding was that you should try to walk as steady as you can and the arm is supposed to help smooth out or absorb the extraneous motions of your body. I don't understand how bending the knees to walk steady fights what the arm is trying to do... we shouldn't be walking "normally," should we?

Thanks for taking the time to explain and caution us less-experienced ;)

Thanks for sharing the tips about the stairs. That makes a lot of sense to trim for your levels...

You're not trying to walk "less steady" you're trying to walk like a dancer... which looks smooth and natural, essentially nothing like that video. Actually, you should get better results if you just walk "normal," because you won't fatigue the hell out of yourself before take 1. Getting dancer-like takes practice, but normal is better than the crouched handheld walk.

One thing to point out first, because it can affect everything else, is that when you're moving around, as long as you're not doing a switch or holding the camera at an extreme angle, panning, etc... basically if you're just moving with the camera, it should stay very close to your body. Indicam, as well as many other light rigs can fool people into thinking it's ok to normally operate away from the body. It is necessary at times, but the video shows the operator with the rig essentially out front of his body... painful and unnecessary. Whenever possible, keep the camera a couple inches off the left hip. Why make things harder on yourself? And, as the rig gets away from your body, you need to stand up more, to fight the torque it puts on you. In the linked video, the operator has the rig in front of himself, and fights it by squatting down. The natural motion when you bend your knees is to bring your shoulders forward of your c.g. This is EXTREMELY bad for your back, you'll feel it pretty quickly. Think of your body as a giant STRAIGHT lever. As the rig moves away, the whole lever leans back as one.

Now, when half-face the rig, both shoulders relaxed, violinist's grip with the left hand, gentle grip with the right, you are in "classic" steadicam position, i.e. default. You'll notice you have to walk in a bizarre angle to keep the lens of the camera facing its mark all the time. This is what line exercises are for, "walking the line." And yes, you should essentially walk as normal as possible while facing slightly towards the camera. If it feels awkward, you're facing forward too much. Turn slightly more to face the rig, and it should get exponentially easier. Now walk forwards and backwards on a line for a couple hours a day, and you'll get extremely good at the line dance, and consequently basic steadi posture.

The Indicam is a 3A-design arm. That means it tries to find center, and does a very good job of it at all times, even when you're trying to boom up or down. Sometimes, people adjust their posture to compensate for the fact that they've de-tuned the arm, and it carries less weight. Many fantastic shots have been done by de-tuning, and allowing the operator to carry more weight... but generally it's a better time than ever to practice perfect posture. If the arm isn't isolating the movement of your steps either a) you're carrying too much weight with your own arm, or b) the arm is doing a poor job.

If you want to see textbook operating, rent the Shining, and watch the behind the scenes footage. There's a reason why a lot of people who get into the low-cost (and low-training) systems complain about back problems or inability to carry even light cameras comfortably....and why guys like Garrett Brown have been carrying EXTREMELY heavy (70lb) rigs for more than 25 years!

So rule number 1 - steadicam is NOT handheld. If you shoot well handheld, chances are your compositional style will carry over. However your body posture should not. It's a different animal, and if you find yourself "padding" your steps to make the system work, the rig itself probably has too much friction to work.

Jaron, thanks for the reply!

I found another video on Terry's site that shows him operating an XL2. http://indicam.com/media/PILOTflyingXL2.wmv
Is this more of what you were talking about in terms of proper walking?

I will have to rent a copy of the Shining to see the textbook operating you are talking about. Thanks for the heads-up :)

One last thing, you've repeated twice to emphasize that Steadicam is NOT handheld. I'm not sure I am catching your point. Can you explain again, please? :) If anything, I would think that using an arm and vest system would be a lot easier (hence more expensive) than using a handheld stabilizer.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions, Jaron! You are very much appreciated! Thanks!

Jaron has a very good point about Cody's operating in that video.
I'll comment briefly as I pass through.

The Steadicam's job is to isolate the camera from the operator. Meaning that the operator can move freely - however s/he wants - and the camera won't pick-up this movement. That means that you can in fact walk, or even run, normally with a good system and it will keep the camera steady.
As it's isolated, you can of course also move the camera freely as you wish, without effecting you!

With handheld, your job is to support the camera and absorb all the motion so that it isn't transferred to the camera. With Steadicam it does that for you, so you shouldn't be expending any of your energy to absorb shock. - There's a nice, untiring, set of springs in the Steadicam arm to do that for you.

About the only adjustment to walking style (in addition to facing the camera at your side a little, like a tennis stance) is to walk with your feet a little closer together than normal - This helps keep your body from lurching side-to side, which can throw the rig around during delicate moments.


Here is some EXCELLENT reading on Steadicam Posture: http://www.steadivision.com/steadipos.htm

- Miko

Yes, that's a lot better. The walking is good.

You'll see too, he leans forward and lands on 2 feet when he stops, then drops a foot back to land again. You can see very clearly the shift in the hips that happens when you stop with weight on 2 feet. The cartoonish walking in the first demo video we were discussing is very much akin to what happens when you stop on 2 feet. To move, your body needs its weight on 1 foot, and so the transition is basically a big "bump" from 2 to 1 again. To get smooth starts and stops, practice coming to a rest in default position with your weight comfortably on 1 foot, generally the left (when operating normal).

One thing you have to learn too is the "kiss off." the more planning you can put into your dance-steps, the better your shots will be. If you know exactly where your stops and switches etc... will be, you can plan for them. When stopping, it is sometimes best to walk away from the rig a little LITTLE bit, so that when your body lands in a comfortable position, you can keep the camera moving slowly towards you until it stops right next to your hip, very comfortably. This is SUPER SUPER SUPER important, because you never know when a director will absolutely fall in love with the shot or the dialogue, and make you hold that spot for 3 minutes longer.If you're carrying the rig a foot from your body, you're totally hosed. Any stabilizer gets heavy when you're holding it way out...and nobody can hold it perfectly steady when they're fatigued.

Golden rule 2 - the camera moves first and last, your body moves in between. Start and stop your moves with the camera.


The point I was making about handheld is this - the rig creates a different effect than handheld, and behaves differently. It is specifically designed to isolate the camera from your body's movement. When shooting handheld, you have to do the bent-knee walk to smooth things out. The demo video was a pretty good example of handheld technique actually, the shooter's eyeline remained basically straight throughout, as would a camera on his shoulder. To go low handheld, you crouch down or go to your knees. NEVER crouch with a steadicam - any loss of balance will literally pull you over. Also, why would you? The boom allows you to boom down and up far more efficiently (and smoothly) than you could handheld. If you need to get the camera lower than you could standing (and it doesn't hit the floor), sit on a stool. The arm and your right arm should be able to compensate for the sit-down and up. Different look, different technique.

Ah, Mikko, thank you! I was seriously trying to find that link for like an hour. Enough brains working together can form a complete thought. Thanks man.

Hello,
I'm not quite sure how the spring adjustment works on the indicam. Could someone post some closer pictures of the sliding spring adjustment? Does the adjustment bolt have to be pretty tight so the spring doesn't move while you are using the rig?

Thanks,
Luke

Thanks to all for the steadicam tips.

We have put in our video the things that we have learned from other operators, web research, and years of operation. We still have more to learn and will continue to do so.

When working with a light set-up we have found that we get better results with our arm balanced below horizontal. Like has been said before, the energy needed to lift the rig to a higher operating position is very low. Also we try to have our legs bent slightly as we walk but we do keep the sled close to our left side. This is more important the heavier the rig. When we were flying lighter cameras we could hold the sled more out in front if we wanted to as it was so light. Now that we have a larger camera (Z1U-small for some of you guys) we try to follow a more proper operating posture.

Cody's final "Groucho Marks" walk was an exaggeration but we were trying to get the point across to move the body as smoothly as possible. Hey, it's worked for us.

We shot straight a three and a quarter hour stage show for one of our latest projects and other than a 15 minute intermission there were no breaks. Yes, we were tired by the end but not overly tired. Unfortunatly we couldn't go into a rest position between scenes as one scene moved right into the next.

Terry
Indicam

Absolutely Terry, it's all a learning process. And though it's been around for closer to 30 years, Steadicam is still very new (in comparison to many other technologies). Always moving forward.

I know Cody's video was mostly a parody, but I found it difficult to glean any useful information about technique from that clip, so I spoke up. The clip of you walking with the XL is a far better representation of how to walk, and I think your customers would certainly benefit more looking at that than the "instructional" clip about the steadi walk.

Like you said, posture becomes a lot more important as the sled weight goes up. You can do a lot of things with light cameras that you cannot with heavier ones, and that applies across the board of camera movement. However, the one in a thousand of your customers that may choose to step to a larger rig eventually will definitely benefit from learning good technique up front. And I don't exaggerate when I say that the majority of people that I've met who have tried steadicam-style rigs complain of the back ache or excessive fatigue. Not one of them had ever tried a rig with larger than a 6 lb camera! So yes, it's more of an issue with large rigs, but still very important on the little guys - especially because, like you said, less weight = more sensitive. A seasoned operator who flies loaded 435's all day could probably still push him/herself into fatigue pretty quickly on a light rig by holding the camera out or "padding" steps.

Wow, this thread is getting more interesting n beneficial. Thanks a lot for the pointers folks. So I'll do some experiment on walking naturally. I had this tendancy to pull the camera closer to my left hip as mentioned. The big problem is the FX1 has the LCD on the left and I could really see the screen so I had to pull the sled a little closer to the middle.. now I know what that 2nd LCD is for...

Jaron (cool name),

The XL2 video was with a much heavier system and hence more correct operating position.

That is one of the things we mention concerning the differences between the lighter and heavier weight rigs. I agree that one should know and practice where to hold the sled but in some of the cases I need to hold it toward left-middle (kind of like south south-west) to get a little better view. I haven't noticed any greater strain that way. If I did, I would absolutely change my style. The one thing that did make a big difference in strain was when we experimented with the socket block-moving it closer toward the middle and not over the right hip. I noticed a much larger differrence in the strain I felt.

Because our system is intended for cameras with side mounted monitors we suggest the left-middle for some shots. They have worked out very well. As a side note: The way we decide where the system is balanced for our rig is by having the chest plate top clips loose and moving the sled left and right in front of our body. The top part of the chest plate will move left or right depending on the sled position and when it's in the middle-bingo. This is where we try to keep the sled for the most part. We, of course, move it to different positions during a shoot but it's good to know the sweet spot.

Our training tape is for operators with lighter rigs even though much (not all) of the information applies to most rigs.

Anyway Jaron, thanks for the input. The best thing about this whole blog thing is that you can learn a great deal from others. Once learned it's time for the practice, practice, practice thing.

Terry
Indicam

Out of curiosity, does your system allow goofy-side operating? If so, it may be interesting to push goofy operating as "standard," in order to see the screen while staying in good form. What we know as standard-side operating "dumb-side" basically happened because of the dexterity of Garrett Brown. Many operators learn or feel more comfortable on the other side, and many operators also actively practice both sides. For your particular system, without a sled-mounted monitor, it just seems natural to operate in standard posture, goofy. ???

Jaron,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Our system has been built to operate "goofy" if needed but we choose to operate in the conventional manner.

We were just working on the system, trying out a new low-mode adapter (prototype) and noted our system likes the mid-left side spot. With the sled on full left our rig is unbalanced to the left. Lucky for us because we can see the monitor just fine in almost all cases. For a ninety degree right side tracking shot we pull the camera in a bit closer and look over the top to see the monitor or we go reverse missionary.

We will try flipping the cross bar for "goofy" and let you know how it works. We have had a few requests for the goofy set-up so this will give us a chance to try it out for ourselves. It will feel strange though.

Terry
Indicam

Yikes! Tried the PILOT in "goofy" position and it was like trying to write left-handed (I'm right handed). It felt like I was learning the whole process all over again. It was hard to figure out which hand went where.

Something else I noticed...different muscles were talking to me. What a strange experience that was. I can now remember what it was like trying to learn for the first time. This will be helpful when explaining to others.

One thing I didn't count on was the back strain I felt. It wasn't bad, just different. I now realize I have been building up certain muscles over the years so operating my rig has been fairly easy. A new person would probably feel the way I did as I went goofy so I can understand their concerns better now.

Thanks for the suggestion Jaron.

A word of encouragement to those new to stabilizers...everything will feel better and more natural the more you practice.

Terry
Indicam

I hear that! Once used to one side, it's very difficult to move to the other. How was the sight-line on the monitor?

Jaron,

We hopefully did the final shoot on the training tape. What a chore! 10am to 2:30pm. We did do some clips on the "center" where the weight of the system should be. It's different for the PILOT and my friends Steadicam. His is more over the left hip whereas mine is middle left as previously mentioned.

Yes, the sight-line was excellent. I suppose we should buck the system and go for goofy more. I would hate to relearn skills and strengthen "that other muscle" myself but for newbies, hey why not. I was a good suggestion. Thanks again.

Terry
Indicam

... (cough)

Hello,
I'm not quite sure how the spring adjustment works on the indicam. Could someone post some closer pictures of the sliding spring adjustment? Does the adjustment bolt have to be pretty tight so the spring doesn't move while you are using the rig?

Thanks,
Luke

Out of curiosity, does your system allow goofy-side operating? If so, it may be interesting to push goofy operating as "standard," in order to see the screen while staying in good form. What we know as standard-side operating "dumb-side" basically happened because of the dexterity of Garrett Brown. Many operators learn or feel more comfortable on the other side, and many operators also actively practice both sides. For your particular system, without a sled-mounted monitor, it just seems natural to operate in standard posture, goofy. ???

Over the years at the workshops I've seen people try it both ways and their body seems to "tell" them which is preferred. It's interesting if you look at the early images (http://www.totalrocky.com/photos/fastfacts_steadicam.jpg) of Garrett where he operated with one hand and the rig attached on the right and flying on the right (i.e. the arm positioned under his arm); this made sense because it positions the mechanical elements in and around the body sort of like the robo-outfit that Sigourney Weaver uses to fight the mother alien in "Aliens 3", but in practice this is tough on the body because all the weight falls on one side. It took a few years for Garrett to "discover" two handed operating and swing the rig over the left, which not only offered more control but better weight distribution. Most of us who learned via Garrett never considered goofy-foot operating, and to this day probably 80% of the working operators wear it on the left side. It has been noted than many folks from the video world who are used to carrying a Betacam on their shoulders only feel comfortable with goofy foot.

I myself have converted the rig over to goofy when absolutely forced to perhaps twice in the past 10 years (can't remember after that), but it wasn't a great experience and I will do just about anything to get the shot another way. I know very few guys that can and do operate on both sides. Useful if you can get around to learning it, but relatively obscure in the big scheme of things.

I agree that for someone who has learned on the left, it's probably best to just work on those skills. Especially if your rig has a monitor...and I'd guess by your work Charles, you could probably see what you were doing!

However, this particular stabilizer (without a monitor) seems to be aimed at those people who haven't had much or any experience. For those people with a blank slate, and with flip-out monitors where they are, it just seems like it could work out well to learn goofy first. Those of us who learn Steadicam, Pro, Xcs, etc..., like you said Charles, learn a certain way because that's how Garrett taught, and his proteges. An operator who learns on this system, or a glidecam (no monitor) could start off the bat goofy (and in good form). Then later, one could step to a larger rig, while remaining in good form. That's opposed to learning on the left but out front of the body (in order to see the flip-out monitor) - which, to me, seems like it could create some pretty bad habits.

I see your point, Jaron, about the monitor. Hadn't occurred to me before, and it makes perfect sense.

From what I've seen though, the temptation for pretty much every new operator to hold these little rigs out in front rather than to the side is irresistible--it's a natural tendency to keep it from hitting one's body, I think.

It's awesome to get feedback from you guys who are out in the field with so much more experience!

Charles, your past posts on proper operating and tips have been a tremendous help to me in getting pretty good pretty fast once I got my PILOT sled :) I'm so thankful that you are so willing to share your expertise!

Anyways, I was reading the Glidecam Smooth Shooter manual (http://glidecam.com/pdf/man/glidecam_smooth_shooter_manual.pdf) and it says, "The GLIDECAM SMOOTH SHOOTER is designed to work best when the
system is operated with the SLED positioned directly in front of you, as in
figures 17 and 18. This position allows you a clear view of either the LCD
MONITOR on your camcorder or the LCD MONITOR on the BASE PLATFORM
of your SLED."

I've attached a screenshot of the figure showing "middle operation."

I guess Glidecam is advocating bad Steadicam posture and a formula for sore backs... What do you guys make of Glidecam's suggested posture?

Thanks!

P.S. Jaron, I think your suggestion for operating in goofy mode is a great idea for systems without an external monitor. Makes more logical sense and would promote better posture overall.

Peter:

Glad to hear you are enjoying your stabilizer.

To me setups like the Smooth Shooter/GC are light enough that the difference in stress on the body when the rig is in front of you vs to one side is negligible. However, that's after years of carrying rigs that weigh four times as much, where you can immediately feel the difference. I know there are many people who do experience back pain from using DV stabilizers. It's my contention that much of this has to do with poor posture, form and adjustment of the vest more than where they hold the rig, however. Most newer operators will tend to hunch forward which requires them to muscle the rig back towards their bodies, which adds to the fatigue. You should be able to let go of the rig at any time and have it float in front of you without pulling away, if you are standing properly and the rig is correctly adjusted (arm/vest combos that allow for 2-axis adjustment will make this a LOT easier to achieve).

That said, I don't believe that centered is the best place to hold a rig for other reasons. Certainly if you have a center-post mounted monitor, it's a no-brainer that holding it in the middle of your body will result in the post blocking the monitor to some degree!

The arm on the Smooth Shooter may not be long enough to comfortably accomodate the rig flying all the way to the opposite side, I don't recall if this is the case or not. The one time I used it, I had to use the flip out screen on the camera and thus was forced into flying it in a centered mode, unless panned to the left.

You should be able to let go of the rig at any time and have it float in front of you without pulling away, if you are standing properly and the rig is correctly adjusted (arm/vest combos that allow for 2-axis adjustment will make this a LOT easier to achieve).

What kind of axis adjustments do you make on a rig? I thought the only adjustments were in the spring tensions...



That said, I don't believe that centered is the best place to hold a rig for other reasons. Certainly if you have a center-post mounted monitor, it's a no-brainer that holding it in the middle of your body will result in the post blocking the monitor to some degree!
I thought the same thing that the post would block the monitor ;)



The arm on the Smooth Shooter may not be long enough to comfortably accomodate the rig flying all the way to the opposite side, I don't recall if this is the case or not. The one time I used it, I had to use the flip out screen on the camera and thus was forced into flying it in a centered mode, unless panned to the left.

I recently borrowed a friend's Glidecam V8 and tried operating on the left side but it always ended up middle-left subconsciously so I can keep the LCD in view. I don't know what the problem was but when reviewing the footage, occasionally I would get a knocking sound like the steps I was taking was causing the arm to hit something? Any idea why that might have been? Perhaps the arm isn't long enough to properly fly on the left side like you suggest?

Depends on the rig. The Smooth Shooter doesn't have any adjustment but the larger Glidecams do, as does the Tiffen Flyer. The adjustments set the attitude of the arm relative to the operator; fore-aft and left-right. This allows the arm to always fly level (i.e. not pull away to one side or away from the operator) when the operator is standing comfortably. Obviously a skinny guy and a big-bellied gent will have a different pitch to the part of their body where the arm attaches to the vest, so you can imagine why this is a necessary adjustment to be able to make, otherwise you have to compensate by leaning your body to counter the rig, or as I said most will use force to reign in the arm.

The knocking noise I wouldn't have an answer for you on, other than if it shows up in the footage, it may well be what you are thinking, otherwise it could be the spring shifting around in its mount.

Thanks, Charles.

How do the adjustments work? The only thing I can think of is that the fore-aft and left-right adjustments change the angle that the arm comes out of the vest... at the socket block?

fore-aft <-> tilt angle of arm up or down
left-right <-> bend angle of arm left or right

Is this correct? I've never seen a professional "big rig" up close in person or in pictures so I have no idea.

Yikes! Tried the PILOT in "goofy" position and it was like trying to write left-handed (I'm right handed). It felt like I was learning the whole process all over again. It was hard to figure out which hand went where.


Hea All,

First, Terry's gizmo is an extrordanary piece of machinery. Hands-down the best bang for one's buck. I tried a Glidecam4000, not even close.
Second, who in his (or her) right mind would build the reverse of many years of development? Unless customer service was important. I've been to Terry's shop, and seen his protype bin! (Yikes!)
Finally, Terry's quality control is pretty phenominal. the gimbal is a work of art.

I did buy the "Goofy" rig Terry was grappling with, why??? Because I use DVX100 cameras and the monitor is not as high as the new Sony and now the camera flies off-center to the right! Perfect monitor placement. I also have little experience with stabilizers, so there's no re-inventing any wheels.

I found the reversed setup a pleasure. 10 minuites out of the bag to flying. Being right-handed is not a handicap, I find I have a lighter touch and actually rememer to let the sled fly hands-free. (Which it does easily)

I have a feeling everyone (newbies like me) will want their rig "Goofy"!

Rusty