Tips, Questions & Learning experices for upcoming Steadicam operators

[Charles King]

Here are tips by famous ops and/or individuals that have become part of the realization of Steadicam operation during the many many years of it's existence. One apparent knowledge is that it takes time and patience and should never be thought as a one-day event to achieve outstanding results. So, here are some tips( more will be added on a regular basis) to keep you tune to what's the norm in the stabilizing field.

1. One thing is true of all stabilizers; when fatigue sets in, it becomes very hard to focus on the subtleties of operating.

2. The arm does more than just support the weight--it is integral to isolating the camera assembly from the operator's up-and-down movements and partially for side to side, front to back etc.

3. The best advice anyone can give regarding changing directions or getting perfect shots is practice practice practice! Mastering the subtleties of keeping a dead-on horizon takes months if not years for most operators; keeping the rig from swinging out when coming to a fast stop or reversing direction is a tough one. The main thing to understand is that it's all about a light touch; keeping a death-grip on the post will ensure "floatiness". Stopping or reversing direction requires one to clamp down or squeeze the fingers on the post for just the right amount of time (fraction of a second), absorbing the inertial forces, then releasing back to a feather-light touch before you over-influence the rig. Famous words by Charles Papert.

4. The heavier the system(the sled that is) the more resistant it is to bouncing, adverse roll, yaw and pitch. Unfortunately it's also harder on the back or arms.

5. Drop time depends only by operators choice. Every body likes deferent drop time. Mine is usuly 3.5 sec, but drop time also depends on a kind of shot you do. When I do runing I usully put a shorter drop time, but then again, you have a pendullum effect when you stop, so you can't use if you need a stoping in a shot! Then you use a longer drop time. When I do cornering I put a longer drop time (cca. 4 sec.),, then again if after the cornering I have a runing part, I can't put so long drop time, becuse my sled will start to lean, and it's very deficult to keep it straight while runing! So mainly you have to combine!
I'm telling you this, becuse when you run (or sometimes just walk) you don't have time to corect the leaned sled, and uslluly you don't even think about it, you are doing the corection, instinctly. Because if you think, usully is to late because the sled is already leaned! But for this you need a lot (but a lot) of practise!

6.  Weight further from the CG makes the system more stable. The further a weight is from the CG, the lighter it can be for the same effect. Limits for size are clearances such as going through doorways and the operator's body. It is possible to make a device that is so large that it is so stable that the operator cannot easily control it.

7.  Film moving in a magazine can be compensated for by a movable weight that can be adjusted between shots. This weight should move in line with the spindles of the magazine to compensate for the weight of film moving.

8.   Static balance is the act of balancing the sled so that it remains vertically still and does not tip over in any directions. This is done by making the sled slightly bottom heavy by adjusting the gimbal to its center of gravity or it’s CG. The sled should be at level with its horizon as it seems to hang were you leave it due to the adjustments of the lower weights against the weight of the camera.

9.  Dynamic balance is the process of balancing the sled so that the camera remains vertical and doesn’t show any signs of wanting to precess when the sled is spun. This is usually called ‘spin balancing’. Dynamic balancing is done by distributing the weights/accessories of the rig to help the rig find its equilibrium again, with respect to the CG.

10.  Arm adjustments. One of the most important adjustments is adjusting the arm properly to the appropriate weight of the rig. For the arm to respond smoothly and fly at its sweet spot, it as to be adjusted to the correct spring tension that will accommodate the sled, camera and it’s other peripherals. The arm is roughly adjusted before attaching it to the vest’s socket block assembly. Fine tuning the balance can be done after the sled is attached to the arm by adjustable screws or /and knobs.

11.  Vest adjustments. In order to the get the best out of the rig system one must have the vest properly fitted to the body. The way the operator feels in the vest is crucial to the way the he will operate it. The vest has to be sturdy and comfortable on the operator in order to get the best out of the rig. In short there should not be any shifts in the vest as this can effect the operation of the arm and sled.

12. Trim - is the term given to fine tuning the fore and aft and side-to-side adjustments of the dovetail mounted camera.

13.  Don Jaun - metaphorically named; Is the rear shooting position while still in frontal position. Simply put. Operator walking forward while the camera is aimed backwards.

14.  C.G. - Center of Gravity. The point on an object where an object can be manupilated. Simply put. The balance point of a mass.

15.  Headroom - Space in frame just above a subject's head.

16.  Pan - Pivoting the camera horizontally.

[Charles King]

Eliminating that "bobbing " effect. different experiences:

1. "I losen the springs, make small steps and bend my knees a little. The less movement on your body the less it shows in your picture. At least thats the way i do it.
Try it with a spoon, put an egg on it or water and walk around as smooth as you can without dropping that egg, or water. Whatever you prefer. " by Job Scholtze

2. "loosen the springs so that your Gimbal arm, (as opposed to your post arm), is carrying more of the weight- thus lessening the effectiveness of the Steadicam arm. It will add a glide to your stride, and a dip from your hip will not disturb the mothership." by Christopher T. Paul

3. "Actually, it would help to analyze what makes it feel like "walking" shot rather than, say, a dolly shot in specific terms. What is happen to the frame? My guess is that what you are seeing is the result of slight variations in pan, tilt or roll that create an edginess to the shot. Almost always this is caused by over-controlling the rig, i.e. too much input from the gimbal hand. by Charles Papert

4. "In my experience, slower pacing seems to cause more of a resonant movement in the sled. Your gimbal handle arm/hand acts as a damper against this movement, so I guess that is why loosening the mechanical arm may help.

There are also other factors such as slower movements making errors more evident, but I was wondering how more seasoned ops dealt with resonance in their rigs. Is it less pronounced on more advanced arms like the pro and G70?" by Mike Marriage

5. "Your arm controls the arm in space, and you are the only thing that will ultimately dampen the spring action of the mechanical arm.

Better, more iso-elastic arms will require less effort to dampen, but ultimately, it's your insistence on a given height and path that will keep the rig there.

Shots without actors bobbing about are tough to keep perfectly on line (no distractions), but then buildings don't miss their marks, jump out of frame, or forget lines... Practice, practice, practice. If it were easy..." by Jerry Holway

6. "I’ve found if I’m moving slowly forward or back instead of facing the camera straight ahead in the 12 o’clock position if I face the camera slightly to one side, the 1 o’clock or 11 o’clock it helps smooth it out." by Stephen Press

[Charles King]

"The issue of the monitor/operating side needs a little clarification...

1. ... however. The monitor on rigs that have one is mounted where it is to help distribute the weight of the system. Also, by placing it in the center relative to the post, it is not obstructed by anything - making it viewable regardless of which side the operator is on. Any operator, whether regular or goofy, frequently switches sides of the camera depending on the shot. The side the arm is mounted to the vest does not change, but the side the operator is on can change many times during the same shot (see attached pictures). With a monitor on only one side of the camera, the operator is more restricted with regards to how they may move themselves and the rig." by Afton Grant

2. "Given that just standing still, a good Steadicam operator can still deliver a substantially different shot than a mediocre one, I'd say yes indeed, much of it comes through the hands rather than the feet. And the footwork is more to do with placement and timing of the steps rather than smoothness (other than the fact that rough steps may cause your upper body to shift or jar which will translate through to your hands also). A good Steadicam operator makes it look easy, which is to say that his/her body seems totally relaxed and in rhythm with itself (much like a basketball player, once again)." by Charles Papert

[Charles King]

Balancing a sled that is not built for dynamic balancing:

With no ability to move the battery or monitor, you have to devise a way to add weights, and at least one of them must move independently of everything else.

The original ProVid with the original batteries was, I think, okay for dynamic balance, but in your case, one or both have changed, so you must do some work.

Read the dynamic balance primer, then use the dynamic balance spreadsheet to figure out what weight or weights to add where to get your sled into dynamic balance, then give yourself some leeway with one of the moving weights.

This technique works for any Steadicam sled that wasn't designed for dynamic balance, or has new monitors or batteries that have different weights than the originals.

If you don't want to do the math.... you can just play around with some 1 to 3 pound weights, some out with the monitor, some with the battery... but it's a lot easier (I think) to spend a little time with the spreadsheet.
Remember, camera and lens weight does not matter (one rebalances... oh just go read the Primer). By Jerry Holway

[Charles King]

Post Length

The advantage of a short sled is that the three axes of pan, tilt and roll are made more similar in feel. In general, the shorter the sled, the better (to a point). A long sled will be much slower in the tilt axis , requiring more leverage to start and and stop tilts. However, you can get the lens higher and also lower in low mode. It also allows you to balance heavier cameras without adding more weight to the lower part of the sled.

...14"-16" post length for cameras under say 10 lbs should be OK but if you plan to use heavier cameras, you will probably want a bit longer (also depends on the diameter of your post).
by Charles Papert

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The difference in post lengths also has a quite a bit to do with how the sleds are made; sometimes the post is shorter (17-28") but the sled base may add 10 inches more than that to the overall sled length... so you are not comparing apples to apples when one copmpares the "post length" between rigs.

The Ultra and Ultra 2 sleds' posts go right to the bottom of the sled, so the minimum sled length may appear to be longer than others. In the shortest modes, the Ultra sled is the same length as the Master Series sled was (which had a much shorter and quite limiting post). If one just compared post lengths, you would think the Master Series was 13 inches or so shorter than the Ultra.

The 28-72" post length does indicate an integral superpost, but the longer length has almost nothing to do with a heavier top stage. It's less than a pound up there; lens changes often shift the weight more than that, let alone different cameras.

An integral superpost gives the operator flexibility in placing the lens relative to the gimbal, especially if the camera is lighter. Heavier cameras restrict this feature, but one can at least balance anything easily, without adding weights to the bottom (anything they've thrown at me, anyway!).  By Jerry Holliway

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Because of weight distribution.
The heavier the top stage and upper junction box is the longer post you are going to need to counter balance.
As well as, the lighter the lower part of the sled is the longer the post is going to be needed.
Steadicam brand has electronics in the upper stage and motors for their tilting and such.
That adds weight and therefore requires longer posts to balance.
Many of the Steadicam brand also uses the single battery system as well as lighter LCD monitors on the lower section of the sled.

Combine those two aspects together (heavier top section AND lighter lower section) and you have the need for a long post to balance the cameras you put on the sled.

This is at least part (and maybe most) of the reason.
Oh, and in some cases you can request the length post you want too.
The 28-71 inch post you are referring too sounds like "super posts" to me and extend out far for ultra low and ultra high
mod operating. By Michael Stumpf

[Charles King]

Conformity of wearing a Steadicam vest

...a front-mounted vest will ask things of particular back muscles that normally sit quietly and mind their own business. It can be alarming to feel a strain anywhere in the back as one immediately thinks the worst. However these are muscles just like any other. With the rig flying on your left side, you will likely feel the strain in the lower right side (and obviously the reverse if you fly on the right). As long as it is not felt in the center of the back, i.e. spine, you are not doing any damage. Take your time and work up to it. As I'm sure you know Steadicam requires plenty of practice and body conditioning is part of it, particularly once you start to load up the weight.

Make sure the vest is linear, that the straps are equal length on both sides and it does not sit crooked on your body, especially when under load (look at yourself in a mirror or have someone inspect you. You should be able to lift your leg so that the thigh is horizontal, with the bottom of the vest just above. Your hips should not be able to move freely inside the vest, and the whole thing should be snug, not so tight that you can't breath of course but tight enough that you can't move inside it.

When the rig is on your body, you should be able to stand upright without it flying away from you. Unfortunately the V8 doesn't have the ability to adjust the pitch of the arm but in the event that this is happening, you might be able to level the arm with towels under the vest etc. Having to lean back or to the side substantially while operating to keep the rig in check, or just as bad having to muscle it to hold it in place will both result in greater fatigue.

Be persistent and you will be amazed at how quickly you can build up your stamina.

The back-mounted concept is good but we used front-mounted vests for 30 years (many still do) and they are perfectly capable of supporting the weight without hurting your back... by Charles Papert

[Charles King]

Dynamic Balancing

...worth mentioning here that while it is useful to have your rig in DB, if you are a beginning operator it will likely not make a tremendous difference unless it is noticeably out of whack, i.e. this is not the likely reason that your shots might be wobbly. I will also mention that I know a few great pro operators who have NEVER spin balanced in their lengthy careers and produce amazing worki.

Someone between this and Jerry Holway's comprehensive primer on the subject lies a large area that I encourage all of you to wade through without worrying unduly. If you happen to own a rig that has linearity issues in the gimbal, you will probably never achieve a flat spin no matter how you redistribute the weights.

The Pilot is a nifty rig in that it gives you more control over dynamic balance than the Flyer. I used the Flyer just once in a high-profile situation and was unhappy to learn that I simply could not adjust the lower components enough to achieve dynamic balance with the camera in use. The thought at the time was that the users of a rig like this would not be inclined to "get under the hood" and mess around with their DB, but with the introduction of the Pilot, things have changed for the better.

Doing a spin balance without camera does not prove anything unless the base of your sled is perfectly symmetrical, for instance a dual set of washers a la Glidecam/Indicam etc. Jerry's primer shows a simplified version of such a sled, where two equal masses form a "dumbbell" shape. Once you have a raised monitor at one end of the sled, the masses have begun to shift and the equation is only complete with the camera onboard. As the monitor's center of gravity raises above the battery, this drives the CG of the camera backwards and the battery forwards. While it "seems" like the logical thing to do is find the fore-aft CG of the sled, line it up with the center post and then put the camera on, this again will only work with a dumbbell shaped rig with equal masses front and back on the lower sled.

But again, if you can get it close, don't worry. Chances are that until you get proficient at the spin, you are imparting as many "false" forces as the effects of slight dynamic imbalance...  by Charles Papert