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Skateboard Dolly Design from Chuck Skinner
This design is for a very effective self-levelling Dolly made for under $100.00. It uses standard skateboard wheels and runs on Plastic PVC piping which is connected like tentpoles. The drawings are by Cinematographer/Lighting Director Chuck Skinner who has an excellent Webspace with lots of useful information. Click on the pictures to see them full size. The width should be 28" to allow for it to fit through doorways.
It is worth mentioning there is something called a "BOARD CAM" where the camera seems to float over objects. It was seen in films like "BLOOD SIMPLE" and "EVIL DEAD". This is done using a 2 x4, or 2 x 6 Piece of Wood about 12 feet long with the camera bolted to the center of it. Two grips carry the camera at either end and this lessens their movement. This is not as effective as a Steadicam, but can provide a similar effect, and in some uses be more appropriate. There are as many methods of mounting a camera as there is imagination, if you have any special methods, please let me know.
Some plans to build an elaborate "chinese lantern" by Charles Odell may be of interest for film lighting. A CHINESE LANTERN is a nice, cheap lighting system where a store-bought Chinese Rice Paper lantern is used to create a soft light usually with a Professional Photoflood lamp. The danger with them is they can get very hot and so must be watched carefully. However, the light from them is quite beautiful.
TRUE STORY: I was working on a Documentary series of interviews with THE ROLLING STONES. The director was Albert Maysles, one of the Maysles brothers who had directed the famous Rolling Stones documentary "Gimme Shelter". Obviously it was quite a high-profile job and there were two lighting guys, two grips, and a 10 ton lighting truck, with generator operator. We ran heavy duty cabling from our generator in preparation for a huge lighting set-up. The D.O.P. (whose name I unfortunately forget) ended up using only ONE CHINESE LANTERN connected to a dimmer. By the end of the day we just plugged that into the wall so we could wrap out our cabling. He also used a 100 watt pepper as a Backlight because there were people filming video as well as the two 16mm cameras.
Useful Tip The Straight and Curved Dolly tracks on The Director's Template can help you plan your dolly shots.
The New & Improved Voice Over 'Porta-Booth' Quality recordings on the go and on the cheap By Harlan Hogan
Today's voice over pro has had to adapt to a changing industry. Therefore, I'm a big proponent of setting up and using a home recording studio ' even when you're far from home ' to handle my auditions and work. A decent laptop, an audio interface, and a microphone allow you to record and deliver voice tracks from almost anywhere. And with high-speed Internet readily available there's no reason to miss sessions and auditions because you are on location or vacation, unless you choose to.
I heartily understand, respect, and secretly admire actors who can tell their clients and agents, 'Don't bother me, I'm on holiday and the only performing I'll be doing this week is down at the pool.'
I understand, respect, and admire those actors -- but I just can't do it. I love this work and when I spend an hour or so a day working during my vacation, I enjoy the remaining 23 hours all that much more.
Unfortunately, when you are on the road you'll often find yourself in less than perfect recording environments, even with pro-quality recording gear. Most guest rooms, cabanas, ship cabins, and hotel rooms are OK as long as you avoid the ones adjacent to the elevators and the ice machine.
However, even a very quiet room and this applies to homes and apartments, too -- can sound like a 'big, boomy box' to your microphone, instead of the tight sound booth quality we are used to in purpose-built studios. That's because in addition to picking up the sound of your voice directly, the microphone also 'hears'' the ambient sound of the entire space.
Until last year, I'd build myself a tiny little fort out of every pillow and comforter I could scrounge from housekeeping when on the road, even though my wife found my constructions less than pleasing esthetically. Then I remembered the brilliant idea of audio and video guru, Douglas Spotted Eagle, that Jeffrey P. Fisher and I described in our book, A Voice Actors Guide to Home Recording.
Douglas realized that for a microphone to sound good and tight you didn't need to be inside a sound box ' only the microphone did. So, he built a simple two foot by two foot five-sided box out of foam core, lined it with acoustic foam (often available 24' X 24' tiles), stuck his microphone inside, and spoke and sang into it. Dubbed the VO Box, the results were amazing. The sound of the recorded voice was warm, full, and resonant no matter what room it was in.
So I decided to construct a road warrior's version a.k.a. The Harlan Hogan 'Porta-Booth'
MXL 909 mic with shockmount, K&M low profile desk stand, and the new and improved Porta-Booth.
Building the booth
After a few false starts trying wood, plastic, and a flimsy 'pop up' mesh cube that sounded like, uh, a flimsy mesh cube, I finally hit upon the The Folding Home Box manufactured by Reisenthel. This solution had a very good sound but soon after writing about it the manufacturer stopped making it. Luckily, I discovered an even better box.In several blind A/B comparisons this new Porta-Booth sounds even better. Better yet it is lighter, one inch larger, folds flatter and ' amazingly ' is half the price of my original choice! The improvement in sound is primarily because this new box has solid sides instead of the cloth sides of the home box.
The Whitmor Cube folded and un-folded
The improved Porta-Booth uses a 14' x 14' Whitmor Collapsible Cube readily available at around ten dollars from many sources including, Target and Amazon.
The box alone is just part of the story. To get the best sound, use two-inch thick 'Pyramid' style acoustic foam. For best results, cut the foam so there are three pieces: one for the back wall and top and two for the sides. Cutting soft foam is harder than it might seem. If you use scissors or a mat knife, the foam compresses as you cut and you'll get ragged edges. That won't affect the sound or practicality of the Porta-Booth but it sure looks ugly.
Instead, cut the foam with a serrated knife. Take your time and be patient as you saw ' not slice ' through the foam. Of course, a professional foam cutter ' a hybrid jig saw ' is best for this task but financial overkill unless you already own one. Consider scrounging around garage sales and flea markets until you find an electric knife. Mine is a lovely shade of 'Harvest Gold' and dates back to the 1950's. Best of all, it cuts through foam like butter, all for a two dollar investment.
Pyramid style acoustic foam panels cut to fit
Some popular brands of foam from Sonex and Auralex are easily purchased from suppliers such as Markertek, B&H Photo, American Musical Supply, and Musician's Friend. Ask your favorite friendly recording studio if they happen to have some scrap pieces lying around, because the foam can be your biggest expense.
For example, Auralex Studiofoam 2' Pyramids are sold in two foot by four foot panels which is perfect to make one box. It yields two 12' x 12' panels for the sides and one 23' by 14' for the top and back. The only problem is that most sources sell that particular foam in boxes of twelve for around $400! Similar-sized Sonex foam is sold in eight packs for roughly $300. You can make a lot of Porta-Booths with that much foam and it's one of the reasons I recently started assembling ready-made booths for friends and clients.
If you use a shotgun microphone, such as the popular Sennheiser 416, you'll want to cut a slit or a small hole in the back of the box and in the foam. This way the mic can be placed back far enough. Fortunately, the fabric on the Whitmor cube can be easily cut with a mat knife and it doesn't fray. No sewing necessary!
The Porta-Booth shotgun mic modification
Traveling with and using the booth
The foam pieces nest together for travel. To save even more space in the suitcase, compress them with a Space Bag storage bag available at Bed Bath and Beyond, Travel Stores, or online. You roll the bag (or sit on it!) to remove the air. The foam regains its size and shape in about five minutes
Acoustic foam pieces nested together and compressed in a Space Bag
The box will accommodate most microphones. Place the mic about 30% back from the outer edge for the best sound. Talk into the box; you don't need to stick your head in the box. Hold your copy just slightly to one side of the Porta-Booth or inside it. If you need better visibility, use a battery-powered LED light inside. Personally, I read scripts directly off my IPhone. Unlike a laptop, it's both silent and small enough to hold right up to the microphone inside the box. It also saves me the chore of having to find a printer at the hotel.
That's it! The Porta-Booth is a simple, practical and inexpensive way to sound good anywhere, at home or on the road.
PS: If you do find yourself in the room from Hell, here's a tip I learned from a movie soundman. One of the best designed acoustic spaces on earth is the modern automobile. So, if all else fails, get in that rental car and find a nice scenic rural roadside. Pull over, shush the cows ' and hit record.
Harlan Hogan is one of the most sought-after voice-over actors in the country. Based near Chicago, Illinois, Harlan Telecommutes via his digital home studio, U-47 and ISDN Telos Zephyr. He is the author of "VO: Tales and Techniques of a Voice-Over Actor" and "The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording" with Jeffrey Fisher. For more information about the Porta-Booth, visit www.harlanhogan.com or www.audiosmartactors.com.
Here is another cool and very portable sound idea. The Voice Over “Porta-Booth”
It's not as good as the pro stuff but mattress pad foam will help deaden sound in your studio, and it's cheep.
You can get all types. In my experience, the type sold in medical stores for long term care patients is best.
Want a pro model you can buy' Try the Mic Isolator at zZounds
Or this one from Real Traps
They both cost around $500 to $600
Coles 4104 Commentator's Ribbon Microphone is an expensive way to get good audio in a noisy environment. At almost $1000, if you can find one they are called the best kept secret in broadcasting. Find out More
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Why build a cheap steadycam' Steadycams (or camera stabilizers) are attachments used to capture smooth looking video even when the camera and camera operator are in motion. The camera operator may walk (or even jog), move through tight hallways and doorways, and even climb up and down stairs without shaking the camera. Unfortunately, professional steadycams cost around $1500. Even the cheap 3rd party ones cost $600+. Not exactly a bargain considering many of us use cameras in that price range. So, I decided to make my own version. It turns out, it only costs $14. Not too bad. And I'll show you how to build your own right here (or you can buy a ready-to-use steadycam from me through this website [littlegreatideas.com]). Whether you are an aspiring filmmaker, a videographer, the family documentarian, or just want more utility out of your video camera, you'll appreciate a steadycam. |
Tools
The main tools you'll need to get your hands on are a drill and a stationary vise. It's possible to do it without the vise, but it's far more difficult and potentially dangerous. You can buy a vise for about $15 from Home Depot or Lowes and it's well worth the money if you are going to do any future projects. It's meant to be table mounted, but I just bolted it to a big board that I can stand on while I use it. Mounting it is important. I tried doing this once without mounting it (didn't have spare board at the time) . It was a p-a-i-n.
You'll need drill and a 1/4" drill bit that can go into galvanized steel. So, cheap wood bits will probably not survive this project. This happens to be a very nice drill in this picture, but any power drill will do.
You also need a wrench, screwdriver (type depends on the bolts you get), and a hammer. I had a little combo thingy I got from the dollar store. It actually works pretty well because the wrench part is a little bit clawed, so it grips pipes really nicely.
Parts
Pipes
First you'll need three pipes. I like to use 1/2" galvanized steel or black iron. It's strong, threaded at the ends, and a comfortable thickness. You can use any length pipes you like, but this project uses three 10" pipes (about $1.50 each).
End Caps
You'll also need three end caps. You can get away with just two, but the last one is used to cover up those nasty sharp threads on the end of the pipes. I've gotten cuts while building these things by accidentally grabbing the threads too hard . These are about 80 cents a piece. Make sure they fit the pipes, 1/2" diameter.
Tee
Basic T-joint. Again, make sure it fits the pipes. If your standard hardware store doesn't have this, you can try a plumbing store. About $1.30.
Weight
This is just a simple barbell weight from a sports store. The one shown in the picture is 2.5 pounds, but you can buy any weight you want. But, anything heavier than 5 pounds starts getting too heavy to carry around. Get a weight that has a 1" diameter hole. These are about $3.
Other small parts
Here's a break down of what you'll need:
A - two 1-1/2" 1/4" machine bolts
B - one 1/4" wing nut
C - three 1-1/2" diameter flange washers for 1/4" bolts
D - three lock washers for 1/4" bolts.
E - two 1/4" machine nuts.
All these together costs about two dollars. You sometimes can find these for really cheap at a specialty hardware store. General hardware stores tend to charge a lot for the specialty washers and nuts.
Total Cost: 3 x $1.50 + 3 x $0.80 + $1.50 + $2.00 + $3.00 = $13.40 (yours will vary)
There you go. Can't get much cheaper than that!
Assembling the Handle This first step is pretty easy. Just attach the tee and end cap to one of the pipes to form a basic handle. Feel free to tighten these parts together as much as you like. I recommend using the vise and a wrench. Don't use your hands, you'll just hurt yourself and not get it tight enough.
Drilling the End Caps
Put one of the end caps in the vise as shown. Then drill a 1/4" hole in the center of the cap. It's doesn't have to be perfectly in the center, but the closer the better. You really want to use the vise because you're drilling through a quarter inch of galvanized steel. It's enough to bring weak drills to a dead stop and will definitely do a number on your hand if you just try to hold it. Not mention it can get hot. Protective eyeware such as safety goggles should AWLAYS be used when using any powertool! Also little bit of machine oil (or even vegetable oil) can make this easier as well as preserve your drill bit.
I like using a slow speed because when the bit comes out the other side it'll jerk from grabbing onto the metal. It's far more pleasant to have a slow jerk than to have the drill suddenly fly out of your hand. Do this in a place that's easy to clean up. You'll make lots of metal shards. Outside is where I did it. And don't use you fingers to wipe away the shreds!!! They'll get in your skin. Use a brush, or blow the shards away.Do this for two end caps.
The Camera Mount The mounting requires the parts in the picture on the left. Bolt, two lock washers, flange washer, nut, wing nut, and a drilled end cap. Put a lock washer on the bolt and the put it through the end cap with the bottom of the bolt coming out of the top of the outside of the end cap like in the middle picture. Put another lock washer on and then the nut. Put the end cap in the vise and tighten with a wrench. The lock washer will keep the bolt from turning.
You'll want to make this really tight because this is where your camera attaches. You want it tight not because it'll fall off or anything, but because putting the camera on and taking it off requires lots of turning action. If it loosens, the bolt will pivot around as will your camera making hard it to keep still. If this happens while you're filming, you'll have to stop and find a wrench.
This schematic view may be a little clearer than the pictures.
Use a hammer to dent the center of the flange washer. You can do this by putting the washer across the hole of the weight, putting the head of the bolt on the hole, and hammer the bolt. You want to have the center area of the washer higher than the rim. So when you attached the mount to the camera, as shown in the right picture, the rim of the washer pushes up against the area around the bolt. This washer will distribute the force away from the single point of contact. So, the wider the washer the better. If you don't use the washer, the camera will shake a lot right at this connection as well as putting a great deal of stress on this one tiny spot that could damage your camera. So if you lose this washer, I don't recommend using this steady cam without it.
Use your fingers to tighten the wing nut on the mounting. DO NOT use a wrench. You may risk stripping the threads on your camera or breaking the tripod mount. Both are equally bad.
The Counter Weight
You'll need the barbell weight and the parts shown in the pictures below. They'll go together in the pattern shown in the next picture. The bolt goes through two washers that sandwich the weight. Then stick on the end cap, put on the lock washer, and then finally the nut. Hand tighten the parts until they are snug. This schematic view may be a little clearer than the pictures.
The lock washer deep inside the end cap will keep a grip on the nut. So, you don't have to stick pliers down there to turn it. Just turn the cap. Stick the cap in the vise shown on the bottom left. Then you can use the screwdriver to tighten the bolt, or just grab the weight and turn it. The weight should turn the bolt, and the vise will keep the cap from turning.
I like to tighten it until the outer washer starts to bend inwards. This reduces the amount the bolt sticks out - good for when you want to put it down on the base. If you do use the base as stand (not highly recommended because it's easy to knock over), you can buy rounded bolts and little rubber feet. These will make a much nicer base that won't wobble. You can tell I like to do this and I say it easy to knock over from experience. My camera still seems to work okay, though.
All Together Now...
Lastly, take the remaining two pipes, screw them into the T joint of the handle, and attached the base and the mounting. And your done! You can tighten these parts as much as you'd like. Either give them a good hand tightening or the full fledged vise and wrench tightening. The only reason not to do the vise-wrench tighten is if you want to be able to collapse this or swap components. You can vary the pipe lengths and barbell weight however you like.
I would probably refer to this combination as the sport model. Mostly because it's balance point (with camera) is near the T-joint and can be spun around by the handle pretty well. It's really agile. Longer bars and heavier weights change the handling.
When you store it without the camera, the mounting washer is left hanging on the end. I recommend taking off the wing nut, putting on the washer, and then screwing the wing nut back on. That will help keep it from getting lost.
Using Your Steadycam
The side handle is used to stabilize side-to-side rocking. The vertical shaking is pretty much dampened by the weight. You may hold it however you'd like. The way I like holding it is shown in the picture. How you use it is 80% of the smoothness. This even is true for the professional stuff with all the fancy shocks and hydraulics. Don't expect this thing to perform miracles, you have to practice using your arms and body to create a smooth motion. Watch your hands while you walk, and see how level you can keep them relative to the ground. Watching the shadow of your hands on a sunny say is an easy way to isolate thier movement. Keep your legs bent and learn how to "glide". I talked with someone who has used professional steady-cams and they said this was, "really, just as good." Getting good results is not so much about the equipment, but how you use it. That's really true about everything.
WARNING: Improper or irresponsible use of a steadycam can quickly result in the destruction of your equipment and/or injury to yourself and others. Be careful, watch where you are going, pay attention to where you are swinging your camera, and just try not to do anything stupid for your own sake.
Useful Add-Ons and Modifications These are some additional things you might want to consider making because they make the steady cam more versatile. Click on the images to enlarge.
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Inverting bracket One of the disadvantages of this steadycam is that it makes it difficult to get low angle shots such as those hovering just above the floor or looking up at a person. To fix this, you can build a U-shaped inverting bracket that wraps around the camera allowing it to be attached on the top rather than the bottom. Click on the picture to the left to enlarge. This makes the steadycam many times more useful and versatile. You can buy the aluminum bar at most hardware stores, cut it to length with a hacksaw, drill the holes, and bend it using a table mounted vise. Try to make the sure the holes are aligned to keep it balanced. Heavier cameras will require steel rather than aluminum. Because this attachment is so useful, I include a steel inverting bracket in the steadycams packages I sell designed to accomodate nearly all consumer grade cameras. |
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Alternative weight and bar length Here I used a 24" tube at the bottom and a 5 pound weight. This reduces vertical vibration producing smoother walking shots. But the overall rig gets heavier and tilting the camera becomes much harder because the center of gravity is now well below the handle. If you want more agility, use the sport version with all 10" bars and the 2-1/2 pound weight. Having a variety of lengths and weights is a reason you may not want to tighten everything with a wrench. Hand tightening is usually good enough to keep everything together. You can see this version is pretty tall. Using the inverting bracket, you can get nice near ground video like the sample videos above. |
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Large Sled for Bigger Cameras Here's a simple way to add a big platform to the top of the steadycam for use with larger cameras (or simply so you can turn the mounting bolt rather than turning the camera). Cut a rectangular piece of wood at least as large as the base of your camera. Buy a 1/2" flange to replace the mounting cap on top. Put screws through 3 of the 4 holes of the flange into the wood platform. Drill a 1/4" hole all the way through the platform where the 4th hole in the flange is and use that for your mounting bolt. You can see a close up of this on the left (click to enlarge). This is a quick and easy way to really beef up the camera support for bigger cameras (ex: 16mm film, Canon XL1, Sony VX2000, etc.). Unfortunately, you can't the use inverting bracket in combination with this |
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Rebalancing for Bigger Cameras If you have a heavier camera, like the Sony FX1 or Canon XL1, you can rebalance your steadycam rather than use a bigger counter weight. The benefit of rebalancing is that it doesn't increase the overall weight of the rig but retains the same level of control over shaking and movement. Make the counter-weight arm longer and the camera arm shorter such that the center of gravity is in the handle. Click on the image to get a visual explaination of this using a 2.5 lb wieght and an FX1. When properly balanced, the handle should hang down perpendicular to the floor with the other section of the steadycam parallel to the floor. The exact pipe lengths to accomplish this will vary depending on your camera. |
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Use a Professional Tripod Head The mounting bolt can also fit many professional tripod heads shown on the left (click to enlarge). This allows you to quicky and easily add the benefits of a true tripod mount such as greater mounting security, tilt control, and a quick-release platform. This may be useful for attaching bigger cameras. |
Making a Camcorder Stabilizer
by John Beale 3/13/00
There are several commercial camcorder stabilizer options, which range from approximately $200 on up. You can also make one yourself for about $30 plus a weekend of work with some hand tools. It won't look as professional as the commercial products, but it works pretty well.Other steady-cam pages: my design was inspired by Chris Santucci's XL1 stabilizer, although I did the pivot/gimble a bit differently. Steven-Marc Couchouron has another design at dvforever.com (in French, but the photos tell the story). You don't actually need a pivot: Gaby Kafka contributed a simpler design, see below, and the UVA Film Club has a simple, rugged design. To quote their page, "getting good results is not so much about the equipment but how you use it. That's really true about everything."
I describe my design on this page, although it should be evident you could make different choices for materials and methods and have a stabilizer that works just as well. First, the parts needed (all from a hardware store):
Stabilizer Parts:
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1 ball-bearing, 1/2" I.D., 1 3/8" O.D. (sold by California Caster as a bearing for a wheel)
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1 diameter reducer insert, 1/2" to 3/8" (also from California Caster)
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1 3/8" diam. all-thread rod. (need only a 3" length)
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1 1" male pipe adapter, PVC
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1 wooden handle. (I used one intended for a cement trowel)
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2 small brass hinges (similar to, but smaller than the one shown)
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1/4" thick poplar
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3/4" or 1" thick pine (not shown)
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a small hardwood block (not shown)
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1/2" aluminum tubing (not shown)
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1/8" solid brass rod (not shown)
Also, you'll need:
hard solder (tin/silver), flux, propane torch (to join hinges)
drill, hacksaw, misc. handtools
wood glue, epoxy (joining wood, reinforcing Al tubing/wood joint)
I made a lightweight, but sturdy enough, camera platform out of two layers of 1/4" poplar glued together with Elmer's "carpenter's wood glue". I built up a section on the front end with two more smaller poplar sections to take up the stress of the Al tubing, and used a 1/2" boring bit to make a hole for the tube. I fixed it in place with 1-hour epoxy. (5-minute epoxy is considerably weaker). You can make even slow epoxy harden quickly, by putting it in the oven set at "warm" (eg. about 150 F). Don't overdo the temperature or you'll get bubbles.The heart of this type of stabilizer is the pivot or gimble. I made a gimble (pivots on two axes at once) using two hinges soldered together at right angles. I hard-soldered the tab sections using silver-bearing solder and a propane torch (careful not to get solder into the hinge joint itself). You might be able to just bolt the hinges together, but the bolt clearance may limit motion. The hinge body and center pin are just solid brass, but I oiled the hinge joints and they move nicely. The top hinge is screwed to a small hardwood block, in turn screwed to the underside of the camera platform, and the bottom hinge is held in the PVC pipe fitting as you see below.
The hinges allow the camera to pitch forward and back, and roll left and right. The ball-bearing allows rotation around a vertical axis. I cut about 3" of 3/8" all-thread rod and bored a hole in the top of the wood handle to receive this rod. The top of the rod has two nuts which capture the bearing, with the 3/8" reducer insert. I didn't need to use the washers shown in the parts photo. The wood handle is shortened and sanded down from the original shape.
Saw off the threaded part of the PVC fitting and put it in the oven at about 200 F to soften it. When it is slightly soft, press it over the bearing- it should fit tightly. (My fitting is deformed due to overheating- I practically melted it.)
When cool, use a hacksaw to cut a slot to receive the lower tab of the hinge, and also make diagonal slices off the top edge to allow the hinge assembly more freedom to tilt over left and right. Then, mount the bearing on the threaded rod and epoxy the PVC fitting on top of the bearing. I drilled two 1/8" holes in the fitting and used two bent lengths of 1/8" brass as retainer pins to hold the hinge assembly in place. This is just for ease of reconfiguration and disassembly; you could also use bolts, or epoxy. The 1/2" aluminum tube sections running forward and down from the camera platform terminate in wood blocks which were bored lengthwise with the 1/2" drill. The tube is held in the blocks with transverse 1/8" brass pins.
After assembling the stabilizer, you have to balance it by selective addition of weights. Fix the handle in a vise, place the camera on top, and start adding counterweights to the front and bottom blocks. You can see bolts and an iron washer taped to these blocks in my top photo. You can also move the camera back and forward for fine adjustment. Note that the LCD screen position, wide-angle lens attachment, and battery are all factors which affect balance point. Having achieved a good balance, mark the correct point and drill a 1/4" hole for the 1/4-20 bolt which matches the camera's tripod mounting socket. If you're going to use different batteries, lens adaptors, or cameras (!) you'll probably need to drill different holes, as well as adjust the counterbalance weights.
The bearing has more turning resistance than the hinges, but the final assembly has enough inertia that I get very smooth motion on all three axes. My two-hinge gimble design puts the forward-back pitch axis (upper hinge pin) about 3 mm above the side-to-side roll axis. You can actually feel this difference when balancing: when you add weight so that the overall center of mass coincides with the lower pivot, the stabilizer is neutral for side-to-side roll motion (you can tilt it to any angle and it stays there), but it still has a restoring force in the pitch direction (release it from off-vertical and it swings like a pendulum). If you make the pitch direction neutral, the roll axis is overbalanced and the camera will tend to roll over. In any case, I find the design is useful, and I was impressed by my test video walking around indoors- on playback, the camera really seems to be floating through the air.
By the way, you can use any materials you want. I just happened to use what I did because that's what the hardware store had. I did intentionally choose aluminum tubing because I wanted the whole thing to be as lightweight as possible, so I used a lightweight frame, and just added the minimum counterbalance weight necessary, exactly where needed.
There is something of an art to balancing this (or any other) stabilizer. You add weights to the front elbow and the bottom of the arm until the center of mass of the entire camera+platform+arm+weights is just a millimeter or so below the hinge pivot point, and centered on it so that the camera does not tend to rotate forward, back, or to the side. At that point, it will be just barely stable, almost wanting to tip over, but any hand motion will not much affect the aiming of the camera. You can "steer" the camera into a turn by swinging the bottom of the handle part left or right. If your camera rocks back and forth when you come to a stop, you probably have too much weight on the bottom; try removing some until the camera starts to tip over, then add a tiny bit back.
This stabilizer (and any other one) is best used with wide-angle shots only. I have used an external wide-angle adaptor. You will need to balance the assembly with the adaptor mounted, of course.
A Very Simple Stabilizer
by Gaby Kafka Dec. 2000I wanted to share some info with you and the people who visit your site concerning camera stabilizers. I've been looking for very inexpensive ways to steady my camera shot while walking, running or riding in a car. I do this strictly for fun so I'm not about to spend a chunk of change on fancy equipement. I've seen countless types of stabilizers and steady cams on the market and I'm amazed at what people are asking for such equipement.
I'm an engineer and it's in my nature to analyze things to death so I looked at the mechanics of what a stabilizing system does and by no surprise all the manufacturers use the same principles (give or take a few do-dads here and there). Without getting into too much detail I'll just say that you can get awesome results with a simple monopod attached to your camera. Attach your video camera to a monopod the same way as you would a still camera. Hold the monopod in your hand and don't grip it too tightly in the shaft but let the flange at the top of the shaft (where it interfaces with your camera) rest on your fingers. Start recording and start walking.
Like all other similar systems (Steady Tracker, Flight Stick, etc) on the market your arm is what isolates vibration and the weight attached to the camera is what tends to keep it stable (laws of gravity). Obviously this is very simple and it's not 100% perfect due to center of gravity variances in different cameras and the fact that the system itself isn't perfectly balanced, but I'll bet I can get just as good results using a $20 monopod (maybe with a little extra weight duct taped to the end!!) as opposed to a $500 Steady Tracker or Flight Stick. In fact I have! I've a attached a stupid little video demonstrating the result using a monopod I picked up for $20. I used nothing else. Just a monopod attached to my video camera. If you take a look at Steady Tracker it's basically a fancy monopod with weight at the bottom that you can adjust for center of gravity (hence there so called new "CGX" balance technology - CGX stands for "center of gravity..something...yeah,yeah.. whatever!!!!). Anyway I thought I would send you this info and it might help your readers shoot better videos for less $$$$.
Gaby Kafka
Do-It-Yourself Stabilizer for the XL-1
© 1999 Chris Santucci ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Chris Santucci
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The camera base is 7" X 3 5/8" X 1" Poplar. It has to have the front corners shaved down to allow for the angle of the 1X2's that get screwed into it (I used drywall screws, 2 on each side). Also a hole is drilled into the base to allow for mounting the camera with a thumbscrew. The hole is just large enough to move the camera around for balancing.
The lower section gets screwed into the 2 upper arms (1" X 2" pine) with a total of 4 screws (2 on each side), and I pilot drilled each screw hole (it's only pine).
The joints were all reinforced with Fiberglass cloth and resin that can be purchased at an auto parts store.
I glued a spirit level on the base to enable balancing, which you'll have to do by mounting the unit at the handle to something that's not moving. Leave the camera mounting thumbscrew a little loose with the camera on the unit, then swing the unit fore and aft. Watch the level and determine whether or not to shift the camera either way to achieve level from that axis. Then swing the unit from side to side and watch where the bubble ends up. Shift the camera either way to achieve level from that axis. Then all you have to do is tighten the thumbscrew, and your ready to go.
The camera mounting hole starts at 3/4" from the long side of the base, and 1 5/8" from the back of the base. The hole itself is 3/4" wide and 2 1/4" long.
The handle is the most crucial part, and all I used was a hinge. It's one of those hybrid hinges that has a strap coming off of it (for lack of a better description). I used a piece of railing post (hardwood), and cut a groove into the top (1 1/2" deep). The strap end of the hinge was cut down to 1 1/2" also, and rounded off. I also filed this half of the hing on both sides to make it flat and smooth. The hole in the handle that goes through a hole (you'll have to drill in the hinge) is exactly 1 1/2" from the top, and I used a brass woodscrew (#12 X 2 1/2") cut down to fit the handle. The pilot hole for this screw will have to allow for the larger end of the screw to fit snugly, not tight, maybe even a little loose. The groove in the handle allows the hinge to fit in loosely, when the woodscrew is screwed in snugly.
Here's the crucial part. Friction at the 2 axis of the hinge need to be minimized as much as possible. I used some furniture polish for the inside of the groove in the handle, and that hole where the woodscrew goes through the hings needs to be a little loose. I am planning on putting a dab of teflon grease in that hole, which should give me less friction. The other part of the hinge has some kind of nylon insert which seems to provide low friction. Look for that kind of hinge.
I got most of my materials at Home Depot.
The counterweight is a scuba, weight-belt weight. I think it weighs about 2 1/2 pounds. I think. It's slid onto a piece of aluminum extrusion that is screwed onto the lower section. It's snug, and it can be swung to either side to allow for another balancing option.
The monitor is just what it looks like. A low cost Citizen LCD monitor. If anyone can find out where an Active Matrix screen can be found, please let me know. This one is not that bright.
I am currently updating this unit by putting a rechargeable battery pack down where the counterweight is. I will then plug the monitor and the camera into that box. As it is, the camera still has it's battery, and the monitor also keeps it's battery. I also have used this unit with the viewfinder and the microphone attached.
As far as using the unit goes, you'll have to practice. It's very stable, but there are some things to work out when you practice. I have found the need to use my free hand to damp the movements of the unit on occasion. You'll see.
If anyone fools around with this design and arrives at some ways to improve it, please let me know.
Good Luck. Chris (CSan2C@aol.com).
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