A really good Poor Mans Steadicam system

[DjfunkmasterG]

Living in an Apartment doesn't allow me to have the tool based playground for building nifty toys. I have some friends who love to build new stuff, but I hate asking them to build something like a Steadicam when they are already loaning me their homes and cars for my film. So I bought a poor mans steadicam system off eBay.

Now this is not a suggestion to buy the unit, but If you have considered building your own, this design works the best. My DP has used numerous poor man SCU's and he has said this design was by far the single best.

Here is the link to my eBay auction for the unit I purchased.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7590367366&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

[Cereval]

That actually looks really cool. I bought a nice pro dolly unit recently but as of yet haven't upgraded my steady cam rig. It was built for CTD a few years ago and used only a few times. It's about 10lbs by itself and when you add an XL1 to it, your forearm is ready to snap off after a few takes ... :eek:


http://www.preciousnightmare.com/ctd/pre-production/2003%2006%20(June%2015)/061503_10.jpg

I'm gonna bookmark these guys ... I may want to invest in this at some point - thanks for the link!

[axlish]

I built one of these about a month ago.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/

It works great. I reshot a few things for SEASON OF THE DEAD after testing it. It cost me just under $15.

[DjfunkmasterG]

That $14.00 unit is ok, but it gets heavy when you throw an XL1 or XL2 on it, especially if you need an external Monitor.

The one I have holds the DVX100 very well. Some of the camera guys I work with on DEADLANDS said it was the best poor mans unit they have seen. It takes a lot of the weight off of your forearms and because it is held like a steering wheel it makes it easy to Manuver.

After March 10th I will post some footage shot with the Steadicam as that is when we will resume shooting.


On another note...

Cereval,
I am going to be renting out the local theater here in Maryland to premiere my film in October 2006. I don't think I am gonna quite break the 60 min mark so I was curious if you were interested in having your flick DEADSCAPES shown in conjunction with DEADLANDS.

I am covering the rental fee of the auditorium, and it seats 300 I believe. The last zombie film to premiere there sold out so I see no reason why a double zombie flick project wouldn't do the same.

To all you other filmmakers...

If you have trailers for your zombie/horror films and want them shown to a decent sized audience please send me a PM. I will have them shown before my flick.

The trailer will need to be in the 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 aspect ratio (Preferably 2.35:1 as my film is set to that aspect ratio). Sorry guys no 1.33:1. It must be on DVD+R media/ or MiniDv cassette and a minimum of PCM audio. The theater is equipped with Dolby Digital Surround so if you have a faux AC-3 5.1 mix thats even better. Trailers shouldn't be longer than 2 and one half minutes.

Send me a PM if interested.

[axlish]

Yeah I wouldn't suggest using the $14 steadicam for any camera over 5 pounds.

Very generous of you to offer to show trailers. I might forward something your way.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Well I get the theater for 3 hours

1 hour for open discussion
100 minutes to show the film
20 mins for previews.


So I figure I will have a brief discussion about the film and then show the trailers and my film.

Then have an about 45 mins for Q & A

Since I will probably only make the 60 min mark I need to fill the other 40 mins so i figured I would offer Cereval a chance to show his flick which i think runs 23 mins.

If you have a short that runs 17 mins and want it shown it could be a living Dead triple show.

I am trying to work out the details.

But I wanted to get trailers out there for some of you guys.

[Pistolero Films]

I built mine for $22 Cnd. from Home Depot. The top is a peice of wood big enough to rotate my Xl1 onto it. The original design called for the camera to just swivle on and I was not comfortable with this. With the extra wood on top there is room for attachments such a small lcd monitor.

I've opted for the 5 pound weight at the bottom also...it's heavy, but I've manageed to run with it for 20 minutes straight before I gave in to a rest.

I've used a steadycam Jr before, and this poor man's outfit works 95% the same.