The Famous $14 Steadycam
The Steadicam produces smooth motion video by isolating the camera from the herky-jerk of the operator, giving an impression that the camera is flying, or floating. One of its first and more famous uses was in the film Rocky, to follow Rocky up the museum steps and circle him at the top. The video below illustrates its use in a number of commercial productions.
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Professional versions of this device run into the thousands of dollars, and it has become a challenge for amateurs to find a way to do this at a lower cost. If you Google "homemade steadicam," you'll be amazed at the number of different designs that have resulted. The most famous of these, illustrated at the left, is constructed mainly of parts available at your local hardware store or Home Depot. It's suitable for a typical consumer camcorder, but is a bit too heavy for use with a pocket camcorder. For instructions on how to build it, click the link below: |
