Steadicam ... walking up steps. at DVinfo.net
DV Info Net

Go Back   DV Info Net > The Tools of DV and HD Production > Support Your Local Camera > Stabilizers (Steadicam etc.)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 5th, 2010, 06:58 PM   #1
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Rochester, NY usa
Posts: 75
Steadicam ... walking up steps.

I'm self teaching myself to run a Pilot w/ 7 lbs on it. Going down the stairs isn't too bad. Going up the stairs is real bad. The camera stays pretty steady, but you can see the surge in movement on each step up.


Any tips on walking up stairs?
Jim Froom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 5th, 2010, 07:06 PM   #2
Major Player
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: East Bay Cali
Posts: 563
flat board across them :-)
__________________
----------------sig-----------------
Re-learning everything all over again, one more time.
Marty Welk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 5th, 2010, 10:11 PM   #3
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,609
I think Charles P has a post in here somewhere about going up and down stairs. You might search a bit just to see or maybe put a shout out to him to get the answer.

Hmmm, maybe it was Dave Gish.
Well regardless one of them posted something here about stairs.
__________________
What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer.
Don
Don Bloom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 5th, 2010, 11:42 PM   #4
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 6,810
You rang!?!

OK, stairs. The trick with this is that your arms need to separate themselves from your lower torso (fetch a saw)! Focus on having your grip hand (the one on the gimbal handle) drive the rig forward at a constant speed and direction. Imagine that you are pushing a cart up a ramp--the position of your hand relative to the ramp never changes.

Let your legs do what they need to do underneath you. If you make it all about your legs, you are essentially just carrying the rig up the stairs, which will result in the surging. Make it all about your arms, particularly that grip hand.

Once you have that going for you, here's a subtle trick that we use to soften the transition going onto stairs. Just before you take the first step, boom up (with the grip hand) gently. This will start the rig in its ascension and ensure that the transition is smoother than if you waited until you take the first step. And when you get to the top, keep booming up just a half second after you arrive, which will again soften the transition. Do the opposite when descending stairs; start booming down just before you step down etc.

As you continue to practice and get good at this, it's subtleties like these that make good Steadicam look so smooth. It's kind of like working with bezier curves, if that is a reference that you can relate to--you can take a sharp transition and soften it by rounding it out.

Congrats on buying the Pilot, by the way. You are already way ahead of the game because of the performance of the arm--many of the competitor's arms will exhibit a certain bounciness that will exacerbate the phenomenon you are experiencing.
__________________
Charles Papert
www.charlespapert.com
Charles Papert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 6th, 2010, 01:54 AM   #5
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Sonoma, CA
Posts: 336
Ah, so glad Chaz popped in to help - definitely no need to put a board on the stairs! I definitely need to get out (or in, rather?) to practice stair shots again... haven't practiced them since our workshop in December.

There's also some good info regarding stair shots (and all other aspects of steadicam operation) in the Steadicam Operators Handbook, which you can get here:


- definitely recommend it!!

Enjoy :)
Trevor Meeks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 6th, 2010, 03:57 AM   #6
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Belfast, UK
Posts: 6,143
With stairs the impression created is that you're just gently pushing the sled and you're just following behind it.
Brian Drysdale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 6th, 2010, 03:10 PM   #7
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 6,810
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Meeks View Post
definitely no need to put a board on the stairs!
Not normally, but it's not to say that it's not a good trick to have up your sleeve. Watch this amazing shot:

Steadishots.org : Steadicam Shot by Greg Bubb from Wedding Planner, The

Just as J Lo is about to round the landing on the stairs you can see all the way down and note the boards that were laid out in the path. You'd never know to look there normally but there they are.
__________________
Charles Papert
www.charlespapert.com
Charles Papert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 7th, 2010, 01:21 AM   #8
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Sonoma, CA
Posts: 336
Niiiiice!

The first time I saw a ramp of some sort being used for steadicam work was that shot at the danish concert where the guy comes down the aisle on a segway, hits the edge of the stage at full speed, hops off and runs up the ramp, does two circles around the singer then runs off stage... but I digress...

Thanks for pointing out the wedding planner shot, Charles!
Trevor Meeks is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 7th, 2010, 10:16 AM   #9
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 6,810
There's a shot of me in the Steadicam book somewhere perched on the end of a makeshift ramp. I found a construction parallel on site and foolishly offered to invent a crane shot by running up 1x12 plank we wedged under the top. It wasn't at all safe but I was young and eager (eh, T. Meeks)!
__________________
Charles Papert
www.charlespapert.com
Charles Papert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 7th, 2010, 05:31 PM   #10
New Boot
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 21
Hello Trevor and Charles.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Papert View Post
There's a shot of me in the Steadicam book somewhere perched on the end of a makeshift ramp. I found a construction parallel on site and foolishly offered to invent a crane shot by running up 1x12 plank we wedged under the top. It wasn't at all safe but I was young and eager (eh, T. Meeks)!
Its on page 236. Regards -Hunter
Hunter Sandison is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 7th, 2010, 06:10 PM   #11
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 8,441
If you can get a copy of the EFP training DVD from Tiffen there is a very detailed bit of footage about how to walk up and down stairs with a running commentary on the booming-up and booming down procedure.

The DVD is well worth getting whatever rig you own actually!!

Chris
Chris Harding is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 7th, 2010, 08:15 PM   #12
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Rochester, NY usa
Posts: 75
It sort of was messing with my mind that going down the stairs looked so much better than going up. Maybe trying to hard or maybe even being to tight and deliberate.

I'm going to try some of Charles suggestions. Putting boards down is not something I'd do in most situations.

I did notice one time I tried using a little more uplifting pressure as I went of the stairs and it helped a touch.

I'll try the pushing and lifting techniques. So far your description of my legs doing all the work is pretty accurate.

I got to practice in the sun this week. How does one see the lcd in the bright sun?


Thanks for the suggestions. Very much appreciated.
Jim Froom is offline   Reply
Reply

DV Info Net refers all where-to-buy and where-to-rent questions exclusively to these trusted full line dealers and rental houses...

B&H Photo Video
(866) 521-7381
New York, NY USA

Scan Computers Int. Ltd.
+44 0871-472-4747
Bolton, Lancashire UK


DV Info Net also encourages you to support local businesses and buy from an authorized dealer in your neighborhood.
  You are here: DV Info Net > The Tools of DV and HD Production > Support Your Local Camera > Stabilizers (Steadicam etc.)

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:59 PM.


DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network