CHICKEN POWERED STEADICAM

December 7, 2010 10:33 PM

Chicken Powered Steadicam. Backdriving a chicken's head stability reflex. Chicken head tracking.
posted by Sticherbeast (20 comments total)

I felt a little sorry for the chicken, but he gets his revenge at 3:25.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:40 PM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

I liked the last one the best. This guy is a hoot!
posted by aniola at 10:47 PM on December 7, 2010

"Hey! Hey! Hey buddy! Fuck you! Yeah! Fuck you! For this thing! on my comb! Fuck you! Hey! It's a fukken binder clip! Fuck you!"
posted by boo_radley at 10:51 PM on December 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

also in handy gif form.
posted by boo_radley at 10:58 PM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's only a matter of time before this gets used in cockfights.

COCKFIGHTCAM! Live on Pay Per View!
posted by bwg at 11:39 PM on December 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

Now I know that.
posted by randomyahoo at 12:01 AM on December 8, 2010

I'm so sick of all the chicken-cam fight scenes in modern movies.
posted by Grimgrin at 1:19 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Is there any scientific explanation for this particular ability? And how the birds manage to do that? It's inverse kinematics but without a visible target (the target being the location of the camera/head itself).
posted by elgilito at 1:33 AM on December 8, 2010

The first comment in the third video says:

... birds have a huge cerebellum relative to total volume of brain. cerebellum is the part of the brain in charge of maintaning body balance. This circumstance allows these animals to maintain their balance in almost every situation; think in birds standing on a wire or sleeping while standing only on one leg. So i think such a huge part of the brain is responsible of having a bird contionuosly "georeferenced" to this environment as the behaviour the video shows.
posted by StickyCarpet at 2:18 AM on December 8, 2010

Bring Me the Head of Chicken, Alfredo.
posted by Wolfdog at 2:49 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Honey, when I said I had a headache and you should go play with your cock...
posted by MuffinMan at 3:25 AM on December 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

that was way more entertaining that it had any right to be. Also, chickens!!!!!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:50 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

StickyCarpet's mention of the insightful Youtube comment (not a complete oxymoron apparently) about cerebellum led me to the home page of the retired German bird physiologist Reinhold Necker. While he did not study the steadycam effect he has a paper on the head-bobbing behaviour, which includes a "hold" phase similar to the one shown in the videos.
posted by elgilito at 3:51 AM on December 8, 2010

StickyCarpet's mention of the insightful Youtube comment (not a complete oxymoron apparently) about cerebellum led me to the home page of the retired German bird physiologist Reinhold Necker. While he did not study the steadycam effect he has a paper on the head-bobbing behaviour, which includes a "hold" phase similar to the one shown in the videos.

My recent AskMeFi question on the subject.

I "best answered" a reply that cited Reinhold Necker's work.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 8:15 AM on December 8, 2010

This guy is cool.

Goldfish catches a bullet.
posted by cmoj at 10:42 AM on December 8, 2010

Oh man, there are a couple chickens in my backyard who really, really hope that mom is too lazy to go to Radio Shack during her upcoming two-week vacation.
posted by mudpuppie at 11:24 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

And another thing, from the YouTube comments:

Can we get a video of what it looks like from the chicken's perspective when it walks? Simply attach a camera to its head and let it roam freely. Thanks!
davidrigel 16 hours ago

@davidrigel: Yeah, I have one of those.... I don't have high speed internet so it might take a day or two to upload.

This buy is able to devise videographic headgear for a rooster, but he doesn't have high-speed internet? Seriously?
posted by mudpuppie at 11:26 AM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

mudpuppie: "This buy is able to devise videographic headgear for a rooster, but he doesn't have high-speed internet"

His rig was binderclips and hairbands! Come on!
posted by boo_radley at 12:17 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I first read this as 'chicken powered sarcasm' and clicked on the link immediately.
posted by jimmythefish at 12:32 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

I really was amazed at how calmly those roosters took these insults to their dignity. Rubber banda, binder clips and hair tied holdig what to a chicken must be a headache producing weight on the head.... No don't think I'd feel good about doing that. Niz tje chockens look well cared for they have their claws and spurs, they have their combs and look to me Like blue ribbon quality birds. So maybe the roosters look at it as not so bad.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:36 PM on December 8, 2010 [1 favorite]