Steadicam Work in Shining
P.J. Cornucopia
Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong. How does
Steadicam work?
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Glenworthy@xteleport.com Henry Glenworthy
<19990913194835...@ng-fg1.aol.com>...
>Am I correct to believe that "The Shining" was the first film to utilize
>Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong. How
does
>Steadicam work?
>>>>
Gyros...
--------------------------------
Eric Basta
by using a support arm that incorporates springs that absorb shock,
much like a shock absorber in a car. Gyros are only used as an
attachment when extra stability is required. The steadicam is, in
concept, an elegant and very simple design.
Eric
Peter Tonguette
>Am I correct to believe that "The Shining" was the first film to utilize
>Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong. How
>does
>Steadicam work?
>
"The Shining" is generally regarded as the first major film to extensively
utilize the steadicam, and the way in which Kubrick and John Alcott used it
was, in a way, revolutionary. But the device itself originated on Hal Ashby's
"Bound for Glory," shot by Haskell Wexler.
As for how it works, I have a pedestrian understanding, but that's all; perhaps
a more informed member of the NG could explain further...
Peter
greg...@home.com
Henry Glenworthy wrote:
> P.J. Cornucopia wrote in message
> <19990913194835...@ng-fg1.aol.com>...
>
> >Am I correct to believe that "The Shining" was the first film to utilize
> >Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong. How
> does
> >Steadicam work?
>
> >>>>
>
> Gyros...
>
> There are no gyros on the Steadicam.
felix25
> Henry Glenworthy wrote:
>
> > P.J. Cornucopia wrote in message
utilize
> > >Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong.
How
> > does
> > >Steadicam work?
> >
> > >>>>
> >
> > Gyros...
>
> >
> > There are no gyros on the Steadicam.
This link has pictures of a Glidecam, which is similar to the Stedicam Jr.
(a smaller version of the Steadicam)
http://www.glidecam.com/v16.html
The Stedicam works basically the same way, with an adjustable springs loaded
arm (to absorb shock ) connected to a counterbalanced pod held steady by a
pivoting axis.
Christer Emanuelsson
Peter Tonguette wrote:
> P.J. Cornucopia wrote:
>
> >Am I correct to believe that "The Shining" was the first film to utilize
> >Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong. How
> >does
> >Steadicam work?
> >
>
> "The Shining" is generally regarded as the first major film to extensively
> utilize the steadicam, and the way in which Kubrick and John Alcott used it
> was, in a way, revolutionary. But the device itself originated on Hal Ashby's
> "Bound for Glory," shot by Haskell Wexler.
>
> As for how it works, I have a pedestrian understanding, but that's all; perhaps
> a more informed member of the NG could explain further...
>
> Peter
Actually in The Shining the steadicam was operated by Garret Brown, who also
happened to invent it.
Chris
Christer Emanuelsson
>
> "The Shining" is generally regarded as the first major film to extensively
> utilize the steadicam, and the way in which Kubrick and John Alcott used it
> was, in a way, revolutionary. But the device itself originated on Hal Ashby's
> "Bound for Glory," shot by Haskell Wexler.
Actually the steadicam was operated by Garret Brown on The shining. Not a bad
choice since he invented the device.
Chris(Who has to wait 3 more days until EWS opens in Sweden)
luca c
has never used it) like kubrick in shining
P.J. Cornucopia ha scritto nel messaggio
<19990913194835...@ng-fg1.aol.com>...
>Am I correct to believe that "The Shining" was the first film to utilize
>Steadicam? I thought that I read this somewhere, but I may be wrong. How
does
>Steadicam work?
>
Tim Walsh
> How does
> Steadicam work?
On various articles I have read and on seeing one being used in New York
this is my understanding on how it works..
There are three main parts ( i can't remember the actual names of the parts)
1) The vest: This is 'worn' by the operator as the weight of pulling a large 35 mm
camera around you needs to be distributed over as much as your body as possible.
2.) The arm. This is the spring loaded counter-balanced mechanism. It is used to
absorb the shocks as the operator walks, runs, sits in a moving truck,
whatever..... (i've even seen the horse steadicam, seriously!)
3). The pole. This is the 'pole' which the camera is attached to. This is the
clever part. Basically all object have a centre of gravity (CG).
This is the point at which all it's weight appears to be concentrated.
This is usually, but not always, contained with the object. Lets take the example
of a sweeping brush. If you grip the end of the stick and try to rotate (spin it
in an arc/circle) it it is quite difficult. Similarly if you hold it the brush
end and do the same thing, its still pretty hard. If, however, you grab the stick
at about two thirds of the way up the pole (nearer the brush end) and try to
rotate it, it is quite easy. This is because you have you hand on the CG. You have
hold of the part of it which is perfectly balanced. If you move away from this
point there is going to be more weight concentrated on the opposite side.
Well (physics lesson over) This is the point of the pole. A camera's CG is
somewhere in the middle if it (say at the shutter). When you attach the pole to
the camera you essentially have a new, differently shaped object. The camera and
pole (and monitor) are now one different object. If we look for the CG for this
new object, we will find that it is actually along the pole. What we have done is
'pulled' the
CG of the camera from within the camera to outside it. It is now somewhere where
we can physically 'grab' it. This is what the steadicam operator grabs hold of
when operating.
This is how the operator can twist and spin and tilt the camera so easily. However
remember the camera still weighs about 60 pounds (i think) so stopping this
movement is still needs some muscle power .(try spinning the brush at its CG
again...easy..now try to stop it quickly.. you could sprain up your wrist). This
is why operators often have back trouble or train their muscles a lot.
So, the big picture..
The pole allows the operator to manoever the camera quickly and easily.
The arm removes the bumps from operators movement
The vest attaches the rig to the operators body.
But remember, it still isn't as easy as strapping into one of these and shooting
really cool shots. I had a shot at one of the steadicam juniors (for camcorders,
which use totally different principles) and it takes a fair bit of practice
It takes months training and years of practice before you get anything like the
shining shots. The operator has to control the thing of else it will pull him/her
over. They need to be able to train their own arm to hold the camera pole while
the mechanical arm removes the bumps.
Hope this was of use.
Starry
used in was Bound For Glory, operated by Brown. A still-in-progress
protoype was used for that film. For The Shining, Brown utilized the first
production Steadicam - Model 1.
Brown is an ace. Notice the pristine lock-off shots he does in The Shining
- any operator will tell you that getting a lock-off from motion and
holding it there with absolute zero movement is extremely difficult and
requires an ultra-amount of practice. I did a workshop recently and 10
minutes of use almost killed us all...I have no idea how Brown or Liz
Ziegler could handle shooting Steadicam on a Kubrick shoot...they must
have staminas like thoroughbread horses!
anyhow, have a look at www.steadicam.com for pics and fin stuff...
--
Roman Sokal sta...@dreaming.org
Keith Griffin Gordon
Hello Roman,
Interesting side note, most of the very best stedicam operators I've seen or
worked with have not been large, physically imposing men or women. Hard to
believe, since the thing weighs a ton, but somehow it seems like a strong but
wiry body frame works best. No idea why. But the guy who did stedicam on
'Wild Palms' (which was shot largely on the device) looked like he weighed
less than the rig itself, and yet was able to do multiple take of long scenes
with very little rest. Beyond that, he had great ability to make subtle and
smooth work of very difficult shots.
That's the other thing. Stedicam demands a tremendous combination of
strength and delicate artistry. Because the balance is so critical, it's
easy for the camera to drift in distracting ways, or end up with ugly
framing, or cause jerks in the movement as you make subtle corrections. You
need someone with the strength of a marathoner, but the artistic eye of a
great camera operator.
Keith
Darryl Wiggers
> That's the other thing. Stedicam demands a tremendous combination of
> strength and delicate artistry. Because the balance is so critical, it's
> easy for the camera to drift in distracting ways, or end up with ugly
> framing, or cause jerks in the movement as you make subtle corrections. You
> need someone with the strength of a marathoner, but the artistic eye of a
> great camera operator.
Garrett Brown wrote a wonderful article for the August 1980 edition of
American Cinematographer about working with Stanley on TS. Here's an
excerpt called "The Two-Handed Technique"
"Throughout the production I worked on what we now call the "two-handed
technique." I found that if one hand strongly holds the Stedicam arm
and is used to control its position and its HEIGHT, the other hand is
able to pan and tilt the handle with almost no unintentioanl motion in
the shot. Whereas before the act of booming up and down would always
seem to degrade slightly the steadiness of the image, now one can
maintain the camera at any boom height and yet not influence the pan or
tilt axis at all. This understanding has been key to hold the beginning
or end position of a shot so still that one must examine the frame line
carefully in order to find any "float" at all. Kubrick was only able to
use the head or tail of a Steadicam shot as his master for at least a
good portion of a dialogue scene. Even if I got caught in an awkward
position because of an unexpectedly quick stop in the action Kubrick
would count the beads of sweat, cast a practised eye on the twitching
of a calf muscle and wait until he judged that discs werev about to fly
like frisbess before he would quietly call "cut."
Brown has a good sense of humour throughout the article (I especially
liked his impression of Monty Python women -- "Oooooh, poor Mr.
Brown.... that take seemed perfectly good to me!")
He also said something interesting which might shed some light on some
of the technical "errors" people note in his films: "To be fair,
Kubrick later admitted that in selecting takes he went for performance
every time..."
Did everyone hear that?
darryl
Keith Griffin Gordon
Darryl,
Thanks for printing this. Not only is it interesting, but I intend to give a
copy to every stedicam operator I work with from now on!
Keith
Starry
: worked with have not been large, physically imposing men or women. Hard to
: believe, since the thing weighs a ton, but somehow it seems like a strong but
: wiry body frame works best. No idea why. But the guy who did stedicam on
: 'Wild Palms' (which was shot largely on the device) looked like he weighed
: less than the rig itself, and yet was able to do multiple take of long scenes
: with very little rest. Beyond that, he had great ability to make subtle and
: smooth work of very difficult shots.
: strength and delicate artistry. Because the balance is so critical, it's
: easy for the camera to drift in distracting ways, or end up with ugly
: framing, or cause jerks in the movement as you make subtle corrections. You
: need someone with the strength of a marathoner, but the artistic eye of a
: great camera operator.
True - the weight of the operator isn't much of a variable at all when it
comes to wearing the rig. I myself am about 5' 9" and 130 pounds
- borderline emaciated - and had no problems with the weight. Steadicam
relies on proper balance of the rig,
and coordination with one's hips. The slightest millimeter movement of
one's hips can send the rig quickly in another direction, which is where
things could get dangerous for one's lower back. Its all based on the
lower back and lower portions of our bodies - working out on the biceps
doesn't improve anything when it comes to using a steadicam. The only
muscles that should be optimized are the legs and abs. So yes - its all
stamina and coordination.
So that's the first thing an operator must do, is find the 'sweet spot'
where one's hands aren't touching the handle or gimbal at all and the
camera is completely
stationary. That's the starting key element, and it might take a day or
two at the earliest to comprehend and be able to do.
and of course the next one is knowing composition and such. steadicam
requires the manipulation of the action, whereas handheld photography is
about compensation. in steadicam, corrections cannot be made during a
shot, or it'll look terrible. This is where the operator must work with
the actors, and they must be careful to not step too far into the
director's territory!
after become aware of steadicam, i looked at some famous shots - some fo
the best operating lies within Goodfellas - the scene where Liotta takes
his girlfriend to the restaurant. The shot starts with a close-up of keys
in his hand and follows them down into the kitchen eventually to their
table...that is an INSANE shot...full of almost every steadicam move
possible. that shot is a great lesson in visual storytelling, all
manipulated for the steadicam. Things must be exagerrated at times in
order to clearly see know what's going on - the over-emphasis of liotta
handing over a cash tip to the doorman behind his girlfriend's back, and
how liotta (if you watch closely) nudges the door in order to get the
doorstop to keep the door open for the following operator. some genius
stuff going on there.
another worthwhile shot to mention is the opening of Bonfire of the
Vanities. I believe its the same operator as Good fellas - Larry McConkey
I think.
A good example of a steadicam-aware actor is Denzel Washington in Mighty
Quinn...there is one scene where the camera goes downhill following a
running Washington who gets too far away form the camera at one point.
Aware of this, Denzel runs back and imporvises with the extras in order
for the camera to catch up. once again, INSANE and excellent operating.
and check out jimmy muros' operating in Titanic. He was such an integral
part of designing scenes with Cameron that he gets the first credit at the
end of the film. He deserves to make $3k a day! anyhow, there is too much
to mention..all I can say is this:
steadicam is a religion - and also a political
body... but that's another can of worms!
--
Roman Sokal sta...@dreaming.org
Starry
: Thanks for printing this. Not only is it interesting, but I intend to give a
: copy to every stedicam operator I work with from now on!
you should read the Steadicam opertaor's manual - with many articles
penned by Brown and the late great Ted Churchill - its hilariously
written...
they touch on stuff like how to conduct yourself when strapping on the
vest to maintain confidence from the producers who are constantly watching
and scrutinizing the operator...
David Frazer
> and check out jimmy muros' operating in Titanic. He was such an integral
> part of designing scenes with Cameron that he gets the first credit at the
> end of the film. He deserves to make $3k a day! anyhow, there is too much
> to mention..all I can say is this:
> steadicam is a religion - and also a political
> body... but that's another can of worms!
>
> --
>
> Roman Sokal sta...@dreaming.org
According to the IMDb, James Muro was also the steadicam operator for
Wild Palms (see Keith Gordon's postings above).
David Frazer.
Keith Griffin Gordon
He was, and he was amazing!
He doesn't really want to do stedicam for other people anymore, I think he
wants to move into being a full-fledged DP (though I can't imagine he wouldn't
do stedicam on his own shows). Too bad, the guy is an incredible artist. I'd
use him every film, if I could.
K
Ido Angel
bicycle thief".