Steadicam EFP Training video - What's your take?

[Charles King]

I think most of you by now are familiar with the EFP Training video that Ted Churchill and Jerry Holiway did almost 20 years ago. Lately it has been touched up and offered again by Tiffen for around $20. I and many others have raved about it. So, here is your chance to show if it was well worth the $20 bucks you've spent on it. If you've already owned it before, then good for you. I've made a poll to see your take on this great video(My personal view of course).

If you need to express yourself further please post in this thread.

[Patrick Moore]

It really is fantastic, but it is also 20 years old and it would be nice to see an operator like CP or someone similar, to show not only the basics, but also new discoveries (like dropping in from a crane with a steadicam on and continuing a shot once on the ground. Not new, I know, but cool to watch). I know it's really hard for these guys to do because they're so busy, but even if they just hired someone to follow them around on their job one day and video them just doing their thing would be well worth the money.

[Charles King]

Good point. Something worthy of part 2, maybe

[Peter Chung]

It is still a good training video and relevant. I have been waiting for years for Charles Papert to make his Steadicam training video. I am still hoping

I think Terry Thompson from indicam got tired of waiting and created his own Stabilizer Basics DVD. I believe Charles King wrote a review on it as well.

[Charles King]

Thanks peter but you did not vote on the poll

[Martin Amada]

I finally got a copy of the Jerry Holway / Ted Churchill video which is available from Tiffen as a DVD. The safety tips alone were worth the price, but there is so much more that made it a worthwhile purchase for me,  a beginning operator in the final stages (I hope) of getting my custom built rig to perform well.

I won't go into too much detail, suffice to say the video covers everything from explaining how a steadicam does what it does, to showing how to operate it to get all kinds of shots, including low mode ones. I found it really useful to be able to compare views of the operator doing the move, with the side by side views of the camera's POV.

Finally, seeing what the pros go through to reconfigure and balance the sled for a given shot, check the safety issues etc., provided a kind of relief. I thought "Whew! Even the guys with years of experience still have to go through the process from A to Z every time. That was a comfort of sorts.

For anyone even in the early stages of planning to build a rig, whether buying Cody's plans or making your own, I suggest considering getting this video at the same time.

Martin

[Charles King]

EFP, never seizes to amaze... Thanks for your personal assessment.

[Martin Amada]

One thing I wondered about though, was why they go to so much trouble to put the camera in a cage and make the other adjustments necessary to shoot in low mode, when it seems so much easier to simply turn the rig upside down, flip the monitor (or its image), and flip the footage in post. Do you suppose it's simply because when they made the video it was much harder to do the last, than it is today?

Martin

[Charles King]

It could be like you said. It was probably a hassle and unnecessary waste of time to do it in post as time is money. They could have also used a clamp that they used today to simply attached the handle to the dove tail an operate the camera in it's upright position. Oh well, you can always ask Jerry Holiway...

[Martin Amada]

One other thing I noticed on second viewing, is that after they adjusted the gimbal position for drop time and the X and Y axis of the top stage, they didn't once mention dynamic balance or spin the sled to check for that. They seemed satisfied that the rig wasn't tilting one way or another in its static position.

So I concluded either they didn't consider dynamic balance critical, or it was an oversight.

Martin

[Peter Chung]

I think back then, they didn't have much of an understanding of dynamic balance... the art of Steadicam has come a long way!

[Martin Amada]

Perhaps, but if you've seen the video then you know they sure got good shots anyway!

[Charles King]

The reason they did not include dynamic balance was because the efp was not capable of achieving it.

[Peter Chung]

The shots are beautiful and there is still a lot to learn from the video. As Charles said, back then, dynamic balance was still a mystery and not fully understood so the sleds weren't capable of it.

[Charles King]

Another thing I liked this video is that Ted is such an eloquent speaker...