Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Motion & Video => Topic started by: Chris Barrett on September 21, 2013, 10:27:08 pm
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I've recently taken delivery of the MōVi stabilizer (http://www.freeflysystems.com). It's pretty badass. Here is some footage from my first go with it...
https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75121386/75a5f8b45a (https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75121386/75a5f8b45a)
The rig wasn't quite balanced so the footage isn't perfect, but it's pretty damn good. This is going to open up all kinds of imagemaking for me, not just for narrative pieces but also for architectural walk-throughs.
CB
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Chris,
I was going to order this early on, but backed off . . . have a bunch of stabilizers that set collecting dust.
This one looks good, but how do you tilt without a second operator?
Thanks,
BC
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there is an interface to the rig via bluetooth where you can set and adjust many parameters. You can set tilt as locked off at level or have it follow the op's input in the same way as the pan. I haven't tried it yet, but am exploring all week before we start a new short on Friday.
More test footage, walking down the street to the carnival with the fam..
https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75143047/069235201f (https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75143047/069235201f)
CB
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Hi Chris,
Might have known you'd be early in line for a Movi :)
Be very interested in knowing your thoughts once you've got used to it. What are you flying on it? A RED? I'm definitely in the market for one of these for my Scarlet, be interested to know how you find single-operator control of pan and tilt, as Coot says that was my main concern with how user-friendly these things are going to be for one man bands. If I have to have a separate op with pan, tilt and maybe focus, it might be out of my range...
Cheers, Hywel
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This is how you test a (homemade..) 'movi' :) https://vimeo.com/75217115
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More seriously - why do you want this? Why not use a Steadicam?
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Can't speak for anyone else, but if I shot interiors and my style was straight lines, the movi looks like the deal, because a stedicam is never ever ever 100% parallel with anything.
I great operator can get close, but not 100% parallel.
Also 15k is a lot but to hire an operator, a focus puller and a f2. zoom is about 2 grand a day, so uh, where's my calculator . . well you get the idea.
IMO
BC
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The op needs to walk in a straight line with either and not dip up and down which a steadicam arm reduces.
For interiors I use a $200 dolly
For my job in Portugal I bought pipe when I got there to run it on
:)
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More seriously - why do you want this? Why not use a Steadicam?
Because it can do things a steadicam cannot or because it gives a different feel to a steadicam.
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The politically correct will say that Steadicam and MoVi both have their places. If you want a really good steadicam you're gonna pay more for it and it'll take you at least two years to get good with it. Then, there are tons of shots you can do with the MoVi you just can't do with steadicam, like a floor to eye level rise, or passing through a window with a hand-off to a second operator.
Truly, though, I expect to use it more for my narrative work and will still use a lot of dolly on the architecture. Here is an assemblage of footage from a house I just shot. We ran 80' of dolly track, which allowed us big moves that were perfectly architectural... what you can't do with dolly track is walk down a corridor, take a left, head into the kitchen and then drop down for a dramatic floor level shot. Tools, tools, tools
http://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75239061/ac8d0e3b7f (http://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75239061/ac8d0e3b7f)
Password: bnl
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Well IMO that vid was incredibly boring. If you got paid well that is great of course, but personally I find my 2.5m dolly track quite enough for most property vids -becuase Im generally cutting the shot every two or three seconds. Some shots with a 2.5m track; http://www.sammorganmoore.com/latest/bcu-new-building
As for your film making, and I mean this in the best possible manner, I feel you use the camera as a cold eye, this the steadicam excels at, whereas Coots and I want the camera to be at the party with all the gang, I think the Movi would be perfect for Casual Coots, but I cant really see it matching your work, even your test video the pan was late and did not offer the fomality for frame I have seen from you, not to mention the foot bounce/judder showing even at a high FPS
The Movi seems only to buy you those (valid twice a film) trick shots (fly-through-window and head to toe boom) at the expense of the accurate precise framing offered by a Steadicam which seems to fit your work perfectly.
BTW - I am hugely interested in the Movi, not as a steadicam replacement but maybe on a jib or other places..
S
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As C.B said, it takes at least a year or 2 to be
Professionaly just ok with a steadycam.
So...
Now, why not a small copter with a tiny cam
Like the gh ? ;D
Before it crashes on a secretary you train
A year and you're good to go.
http://www.thebigrd.com/tag/octocopter/
Much more exciting device don't you think?
(and compare the prices...)
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Well IMO that vid was incredibly boring. If you got paid well that is great of course, but personally I find my 2.5m dolly track quite enough for most property vids -becuase Im generally cutting the shot every two or three seconds. Some shots with a 2.5m track; http://www.sammorganmoore.com/latest/bcu-new-building
I'd imagine your film would be incredibly boring without any sound too and I'd be amazed if Chris's film wasn't going to have sound added.
Though in the BNL shoot, the move to right and dissolve into walking woman edit is a bit odd as camera is static in second shot and then moves sideways as subject turns. It'd work better if edit came after camera move had started. But probably not as a left dolly into a right dolly cut, you'd probably need something inbetween the two opposing camera moves.
Sam - not entirely sure whether jiggy hand held camera shots intercut with the buttery smooth dolly shots works for me.
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I'd imagine your film would be incredibly boring without any sound too and I'd be amazed if Chris's film wasn't going to have sound added.
Though in the BNL shoot, the move to right and dissolve into walking woman edit is a bit odd as camera is static in second shot and then moves sideways as subject turns. It'd work better if edit came after camera move had started. But probably not as a left dolly into a right dolly cut, you'd probably need something inbetween the two opposing camera moves.
Sam - not entirely sure whether jiggy hand held camera shots intercut with the buttery smooth dolly shots works for me.
Im sure Chris's still will have more edit - I was just trying to show the value of short track for creating shots that are long enough to edit.
As for the HH interviews - I entirely agree not right for the project - the interviews were going to be done inside on sticks but the speeches over-ran eating in to my/their time budget - I realised that I would need to grab the subjects outside before the subjects melted away - ultimately collecting coherent audio held the project together - the dolly work did not need the 'talent' so I did that after they had gone. As a stills guy I'm still learning to make those on the spot choices - and leaving my sticks in the building was a duff choice - handheld interviews are sometimes 'vibrant/dynamic' but in this case totally wrong. I beleive shooting the voice handheld worked in this case - it depends on the nature of the Broll it is to be intercut with .. http://www.sammorganmoore.com/latest/marida-mountain-bike-teaser
S
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Sticks can slow you down when you need to grab a shot, but a monopod with feet can be great for this sort of thing as it dampens jitter and allows you to reposition shots quickly and even do little move-ins by rocking monopod forward on two of the feet.
For example.....
(http://fstoppers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/A38FBS2_Straight.jpg)
or these which I have. These hide inside bottom of Manfrotto monopod until you need them. Came across them when the Behind the Scenes videographer on a film I was working on was using this setup.
(http://www.better-digital-photo-tips.com/images/Manfrotto-folding-monopod-feet-photo.jpg)
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Yep - for sure, I have a monopod and a light miller solo too - I could have taken either of them outside - it was not a kit failure but a failure to read minds/the situation
S
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Fair enough. Won't happen again though I guess. :)
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Perhaps I should have been more clear. When I called the architectural bits an assemblage of footage, what I meant is that tihs is not in any way a final edited video but merely a proof sheet for the client.
CB
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For sure. I just think that short dolly is the key to fast arch stuff, as in the main - (sure there are some special shots) a short run is enough for an edit.
I don't think you will get as straight or level with a Movi and track on INTs is easy to lay (unlike EXTs where it can be a PITA)
Still interested in your thoughts on the Movi and look forward to further tests from you.
Do you have the gear for a second op?
How is the interface for changing 'modes'?
S
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An observation from 30 years "in the vest":
In the old days, everyone wanted the Steadicam to look like a dolly. It was employed only when dolly was impossible.
Over the years, Steadicam changed from "special" shots to "special" days to always available.
And so Steadicam look and feel has become part of the language of filmmaking. I hear very few comments now about camera level as long as the shot works well.
The big advantage of the steadicm over remote operated devices is responsiveness. In the narrative filmmaking that I do, there's nothing more effective for story telling than having an operator who can respond instantly to the actors performance. There is a delay in all remote control operating (technological or reflexive) that limits it's effectiveness.
So, if you're shooting architecture or moving the camera through a window, use whatever works. For adding "life" to performances, I still prefer Steadicam.
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An observation from 30 years "in the vest":.................
there's nothing more effective for story telling than having an operator who can respond instantly
That nails it.
I've seen now about 200 demos of floating cams and most of them seem like a trick, kind of like "how'd de do dat" and the other ones just kind of creep me out.
I expect the soundtrack to slowly build to doom, doom, doom, then whack, because so many look like a 2nd person pov shot where someone is slinking around.
The steadicam guy we use, is like a sports photographer. He knows what's coming next and he's already moving to it, exactly as it happens. I guess some is the responsiveness of his use of
equipment, but most of it just comes from doing it a long time. He knows where the action and story are going.
IMO
BC
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I'm just having a blast playing, just going out and playing and learning and seeing what the hell I can get...
:)
https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75365837/a9cc95c2f1 (https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75365837/a9cc95c2f1)
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I'm just having a blast playing, just going out and playing and learning and seeing what the hell I can get...
:)
https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75365837/a9cc95c2f1 (https://vimeo.com/christopherbarrett/review/75365837/a9cc95c2f1)
Chris,
This last clip is very pretty, especially the opening.
BC
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Chris, that last clip looks fantastic!
Nice job.
Tim