Steadicam Inventor Honored
April 26, 2013 7:28 AM Subscribe
American cinematographer Garrett Brown to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for the invention of the Steadicam (previously).
Well deserved. It's hard to imagine modern movies without the steadicam. It truly changed the look of film.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:17 AM on April 26, 2013
posted by Thorzdad at 8:17 AM on April 26, 2013
If you're old enough to have been watching movies in the '70s, Steadicam looked like magic in the first few movies you saw it used in.
posted by octothorpe at 8:37 AM on April 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 8:37 AM on April 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
The new MōVI gyro rig is ridiculous, and shows how far tech has come since the original steadicam.
posted by smackfu at 9:59 AM on April 26, 2013
posted by smackfu at 9:59 AM on April 26, 2013
The poor-man's steadicam (one plan for which was also linked in the 'previously' thread) combined with a good optical image stabilizing lens is good enough for most purposes, and practical for non-bodybuilders now that you can make feature-qualify films with any of several models of DSLR and mirrorless pro and prosumer cameras. The idea is that the inertial mass makes it much easier for you to absorb bumps and jiggles without transmitting them to the camera, and it also eases the start and end of camera movements, with practice.
But never, ever use in-camera digital image stabilization. Leave that shit turned off. If you discover you need it in post production that's the time to apply it -- it's doing exactly the same thing but you can fine-tune it and only apply it where you need it most.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:16 AM on April 26, 2013
But never, ever use in-camera digital image stabilization. Leave that shit turned off. If you discover you need it in post production that's the time to apply it -- it's doing exactly the same thing but you can fine-tune it and only apply it where you need it most.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:16 AM on April 26, 2013
He will accept the honour with one long, uninterupted speech that begins in a small office and winds through a maze of hallways and streets, eventually following him up several flights of marble steps and triumphantly circling around him at the top.
posted by chococat at 1:03 PM on April 26, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by chococat at 1:03 PM on April 26, 2013 [4 favorites]
It's fascinating that this has essentially become such a basic standard of cinematography that directors composing comparatively still shots will add jitter in post. And it's such a simple idea at heart.
posted by dhartung at 2:52 PM on April 26, 2013
posted by dhartung at 2:52 PM on April 26, 2013
If you're old enough to have been watching movies in the '70s, Steadicam looked like magic in the first few movies you saw it used in.
posted by octothorpe at 10:37 AM on April 26 [1 favorite +] [!]
Cf Kubrick's 'The Shining' (1980), especially the scenes of the child wheeling about the hotel hallways.
posted by mr. digits at 3:48 PM on April 26, 2013
posted by octothorpe at 10:37 AM on April 26 [1 favorite +] [!]
Cf Kubrick's 'The Shining' (1980), especially the scenes of the child wheeling about the hotel hallways.
posted by mr. digits at 3:48 PM on April 26, 2013
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posted by ReeMonster at 8:12 AM on April 26, 2013