Pink Edition
Poor Man's SteadyCam
As you might have noticed, I haven't published anything new since Christmas, but that is because I am taking some time off to rid myself of all the stress that I had been building up in December (an extremely busy month).
One thing I do when I want to relax is to take my camera and start wasting memory cards - and I just got a new toy. I bought the "Poor Man's SteadyCam" from Johnny Lee (see also some of his other projects here). It is a simple version of a real steadycam, which is a device that helps you keep your camera steady as you move around. All professional camera people have one of these, but the professional version costs a zillion dollars.
The Poor Man's SteadyCam is simply 3 pipes, a weight to mimic the effect of a gyroscope, and some bits and pieces to keep it all together (as seen in the pictures above). You can build one yourself, or buy one readymade for $39 (I was lazy, so I bought one - they are very cheap).
The effect is simply staggering. Here is a small video of me running up some stairs with and without the steadycam. As you can see the first part of the video is extremely shaky, while the second part is very smooth:
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This was only my second test, and I do expect to get even better at handling it over time.
My "Deer" Friends
Here is another video of me taking a walk with my "deer" friends...
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Note: The weather wasn't very good, and it was getting dark - hence my cheap camera had a very hard time adjusting correctly. I will have to go back and do this again when the sun is out. Also, walking around in a forest isn't easy even with a steadycam...
Comments
Jonas - Jan. 6, 2008
What kind of sucky movie player do you use on this web site? It pauses every second, even after it has preloaded the full clip. :) Anyway, inspiring post. As usual. Good you have taken it easy and are back on track.
Thomas Baekdal - Jan. 6, 2008
Jesper, Yes - I was impressed to when I tried it out (and now I am hooked).
Jonas, I use JW FLV player, which is actually one of the 3 top FLV players on the net.
But, the FLV file itself is encoded in a very high bitrate - above 512. That does require a lot from both your internet connection and your computer.
I will see if I can create another video with a lower bitrate.
Jason - Jan. 14, 2008
HERE is a newer much versitile version of the above homemade Steadycam.
Visit their site for complete tutorial & sample video clips.
......
Lance - Feb. 1, 2008
The footage of the Deer is amazing. How did you manage to get so close to them and even walk beside them like that?
Thomas Baekdal - Feb. 2, 2008
Thanks Lance,
I would like to answer your question by saying that "it is because I am such a cute guy"... but, the truth is that it is from a park (in my city), and the deers are used to seeing people.
Jamie Kehoe - Mar. 23, 2008
I shoot professionally for anything from weddings to video clips and corporate productions, I was just wondering what music you used in the deer video? It is still hard to get perfect gliding vision, that really takes a proper body mounted system, however on even ground this would be a versatile, quick and cheap method of producing shots that would be unnoticeable from professional steady cam equipment.
Thomas Baekdal - Mar. 25, 2008
Jamie, The music is from AudioLicense.com - I cannot remember its name though
Tory Dzuricsko - Aug. 26, 2008
Terrific before and after video of the stair climb. What a difference from such an inexpensive piece of equipment!!
Published: Jan. 6, 2008
in personal notes
Thomas Baekdal is a Writer, Interaction Designer, Change Advocate and Project Manager.
Jesper Rønn-Jensen - Jan. 6, 2008
Happy New Year!
Fascinating how much that cheap steadicam version can improve image quality.