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Which rig/stabilizer for imparting 'energy' into shots?
  • Sephiroth7of7Sephiroth7of7

    All-

    Going to be filming a corporate video here shortly; one of the effects that I would like to achieve is the slight 'motion' in the side/angle shots of an interview. See this interview with Shane Hurlbut to see what I mean:

    Essentially, primary camera is on a tripod; then secondary camera for footage of interviewee from the side is either shoulder-mounted, handheld, or on some sort of Glidecam-esque device. The problem is, I don't know what type of device is being used.

    I had been looking to obtain a shoulder mounted rig to achieve the same end- am I looking on the right path? Or should I be considering something else entirely? Basically, I want an option that allows me to get non-shaky footage, but that DOES have some motion to the shot so that not all of my shots are straight up stationary or on a slider.

    I appreciate it!

  • 3 Replies sorted by
  • oscillianoscillian

    That's a circular dolly move with a telephoto lens. You could achieve it with a slider/panning fluid head combo if you slide and pan at the same time. or with a tripod on this:

    or this:
    As used to great effect by Andrew Garcia with the GH2:

  • Sephiroth7of7Sephiroth7of7

    Excellent, thanks Oscillian!! I appreciate the keen eye and experienced insight.

    For argument's sake, let's say that I did something less 'stately' than the Garcia piece (which is beautiful), and instead wanted to get a bit of a 'guerilla' look to the footage. Would having a person with a shoulder mount just stand stationary, with only body-induced sway to the footage, look totally ridiculous? (Basically, I am thinking that I would rather spend $700 or so for a good shoulder mount with top handle for versatility rather than $1300 for an Orbit Dolly that I could only use for that one type of shot.)

  • oscillianoscillian

    I guess the Hurlbut shot is with a long slider+panning fluid head. That would make it more jerky than the Orbit way. I don't think a shoulder mount would cut it, since your using a 50-100mm lens at a large aperture and the shake/focus drifting would be too much (unless you're a tai chi master or a human gimbal)

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