DIY Equipment

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This video is pretty sick! Using 52 Canon Cameras to create the Bullet Time effect similar to the movie The Matrix. I'm actually drawing up my own Bullet time rig and I figured out how to fire off as many cameras as needed with a single remote and no software. I just need to find enough cameras, which i'm currently looking at the G series Powershots. Hopefully i'll have more to show about that rig soon, because i'd love to try this out.

Details from YouTube:
In collaboration with Timeslice Films, Rip Curl took on an ambitious bullet-time campaign shoot in Malaysia's Sunway Lagoon Wavepool with lead surfers Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, Owen Wright and Matt Wilkinson.

The revolutionary campaign captures surfing in a way never seen before, with the final visuals baring more resemblance to a fight scene from the famous Matrix movies than a promotional surfing video.

The two-day rental of Sunway Lagoon Wavepool allowed Rip Curl and Timeslice to operate in a more stable environment than the open ocean offers. The Rip Curl surfers were repeatedly towed into the machine-controlled waves by Jetski and their operational space was determined by the 52-camera rig set up in the pool. Original Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZPmABrLu8&feature=player_embedded

Behind the Scenes:

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nate-diy-dslr-stabilizer

Nate Horowitz writes in with a kick ass DIY DSLR stabilizer rig. A bike mechanic and film maker, Nate used parts from a Titanium bike frame, aluminum seat posts, and aluminum bar stock. I'm hoping Nate will fill us all in with more information about the exact parts used and how much modification was needed, as this looks like one sweet DIY project. You can find more detailed photos over at his Flickr gallery here https://www.flickr.com/photos/54515193@N05/5049491205/in/photostream/, and feel free to leave some comments on this article. [Thanks Nate]

[Update from Nate] Here's the breakdown of parts in this rig.
The BIKE PARTS:
I hacked off the seat stays and a chain stay off a crashed $1000+
Titanium road bike frame. FREE
I used a bolt on axle on the rear to connect the chain-stay to the two
rails. FREE
The grips are two seat posts with BMX Oury grips slid over them. $10

The HOME DEPOT PARTS:
Aluminum bar stock. $!5
Nuts and bolts. $4
PVC cap and toilet O-ring. (used as a compression ring) $5
Plumbing clamps? (for the rear shoulder). $5

The AMAZON PARTS:
Manfrotto Quick Release Plate $45
USPS Shoulder Strap $7

The PAINT:
Grey Primer $5
Matte Black Spraypaint $5

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John Lo over at John-Lo.com decided to try the Cheesycam DSLR Cage / Fig Rig as first DIY project. He's submitted some behind the scenes footage of how it can be used to provide some extra stability to your video shots, while still adding a mounting point for accessories such as the Z96 LED video light. Looks pretty good, and definitely a huge improvement over traditional hand held shots. He's also posted his own writeup on the DIY over at his website John-Lo.com, or you can find the original DIY article I posted here if you're interested in building your own: http://cheesycam.com/cheesycam-exclusive-diy-dslr-cage-stabilizer/

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After posting up my BTS footage of the Glidecam HD4000 with the Steadicam Merlin vest found here: http://cheesycam.com/glidecam-hd4000-bts-with-canon-60d-steadicam-vest/, I've been getting quite a bit of emails on how these two different products 'mate'. I'm sure this blog is quite cluttered with random articles, so here's the DIY video dug up from the archives posted 8 months ago. The reason I have this setup is because I used to fly a Merlin, so I had the vest already. I found the Glidecam design to be more flexible and the HD4000 can also carry a heavier load. The Glidecam was very heavy and I didn't want to invest into another Vest. It turned out to be a great cost saving idea since you have a 'dual arm' (two spring things) vest for about $1499 + Glidecam HD4000 for about $600. If you were shopping for a Glidecam Vest, the Dual arm for Glidecam runs more than the Dual Arm of the Steadicam Merlin. Some also argue that the Steadicam Merlin vest is a better design, much more slim profile, and of course cheaper cost. That's all opinion, and I just want to make it clear that I was just trying to make products I already owned work together. So even though it wasn't pre-meditated, there's a bit of cash savings using this method and as you can tell i've been very very happy with my whole system for a very very long time. You'll catch my reference to 'mating' the Steadicam Merlin arm with the Glidecam HD4000 Handle in this video..... Enjoy.

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find-price-button Tiffen Steadicam Arm and Vest

Steadicam Merlin-Vest Glidecam Hybrid DIY adapter
find-price-button Glidecam HD-4000 Hand-Held Stabilizer

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Mike over at https://FortyTwobmx.blogspot.com wasn't looking to pay the high prices for a handle mount rig for the Canon 550D to shoot BMX and Skate films, so he whipped up his own DIY called the '550D Extreme Sports Handle'. With some extra square tubing, old BMX handlebar, a couple of Grips, old bar ends, and a quick release adapter from a cheap tripod here's the end result. Another goal was to make the handle rig as small as possible. Some future upgrades will be a start / stop record button on the top handle, small monitor, and possible LED lighting. You can find more about his project over at his blog here.

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I posted a short sample of some BTS footage with a Glidecam HD4000 Stabilizer about a week ago. The reference to this project can be found here: http://cheesycam.com/3-canon-60ds-music-video/. There were some weird movements and I even flipped the Glidecam upside down. (I don't recommend doing this, but I do it all the time). Some people were asking if the footage was actually usable. I'll leave that up to the editors to decide if a few seconds of this footage would be used, but here's some side by side samples.

On the left is the movement of the Glidecam HD4000 Stabilizer on a Steadicam Merlin Stabilizer Arm and Vest with a Canon EOS 60D flying. On the right is an uncut look at what this RAW footage will look like. Again, we'll just be looking at quick cuts and a few seconds here and there. We'll be mixing it up with other hand held, Crane shots, dolly / slider shots, as well as very static Tripod shots. From what I understand, this music video will be cut in with actual footage from a new movie being released soon. So the movie will be more of the narration and we'll just be highlighting the band periodically. BTW, this is not my usual flying setup and I just rented this lens. So without practicing on this setup, these are the results I got.

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find-price-button Glidecam HD4000 Video Camera Stabilizer

merlin-vest
find-price-button Steadicam Merlin Arm and Vest

canon-60D
find-price-button Canon 60D Digital SLR Body

Related Articles:
http://cheesycam.com/canon-60d-video-stabilizer-first-flight-glidecam-hd4000/
http://cheesycam.com/3-canon-60ds-music-video/

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timelapse-dynamic-perceptions-slider

Dynamic Perceptions generated quite some excitement after showcasing their 'Stage Zero' motion controlled Timelapse camera slider. You can find that video here: http://cheesycam.com/dynamic-perceptions-motion-controlled-timelapse-rig/. Unfortunately at the time the video was released, the Stage Zero Timelapse rig was unavailable for order, and no prices had been released. Well, wait no more. Just yesterday there was an announcement opening up the flood gates for pre-orders on a 4ft and 6ft rig. You can find more information and prices over at the Dynamic Perceptions website https://www.dynamicperception.com/.

dynamic-perceptions-motion-controlled-slider6-foot-stage-zero

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Ok, you professionals can skip right over this article. This may even fall under 'tacky' for the seasoned Pro's. There's surprisingly a lot of young readers at this blog, possibly still in high school and unemployed. Aspiring to make fun YouTube videos with a standard handheld camcorder, they need an extra hand in some low budget DIY advice. These are probably the easiest & cheapest DIY stabilizers I could think of. So here you go kids, I hope you enjoy it, as I looked quite silly modeling these brackets on various parts of my body in the aisles of Home Depot like i'm creating the next Lady GaGa costume. It's ok though, I can rock a $2000 dollar Steadicam setup and still rock a $2 dollar Shelf Bracket, it's all good....i'm all about inspiring the creativity.

All of these 'Heavy Duty Shelf Hangers' can be found in the same place. These curved brackets are typically used for hanging heavy objects in your garage such as bikes and ladders. Unlike flat steel angled brackets, these are round (tubular) which are more comfortable to grip. There's plenty of different shapes and sizes to use these for adding extra support for your video camera.

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First up is a one sided angled bracket. By just adding a quick release plate on the bottom, you'll have yourself a very sturdy (very very sturdy) handle to your camera. Flat black paint and wrap up the handle with some Tennis racket grip tape, and you'll be in business. Notice the little angle at the top? Could be a nice place to add a cold shoe to mount another accessory. The rest of the bracket can be drilled to further hold more accessories like LED lights and portable recorders. By the way, just click any of the images to get a better look.Single bracket stabilizer for just $2.36.

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Second on the list is a double sided bracket. This is actually larger than what appears in the photo, and the double sides can act like handles on a Fig Rig. Hey this is way easier than trying to build the Cheesycam DSLR Cage Fig Rig. Just place a Quick Release adapter dead center, a little grip tape along the sides, and you'll have yourself a fig rig style camera stabilizer. Yup, there's another angle up top for that cold shoe accessory too for just $5.98.

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Third on the list, another simple bracket. Used in the position shown in the photo (above) the short angled end (left) actually feels comfortable as a small handle. The (right side) flat side has enough area to act as a chest plate. Throw a quick release adapter on top and you'll have yourself a steady little camera shooter for $5.24. Sure it's not offset, but should work pretty wicked for an HV20 or HV30 with flip out LCD, hey maybe even a Canon 60D with it's flip out LCD.

Yeah I know what you guys are thinking, pretty crazy right? For a group of young students looking to have a bit of fun making videos, so long as the bully doesn't steal your lunch money, you could gain some steady shots with these ideas. Oh and i'm guessing a few of you DIY'ers will be heading down to Home Depot later today to secretly play 'Heavy Duty Shelf Hanger Dress Up'. LOL...Try it, you'll be surprised.....

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Vimeo member Fred Norquist used a bit of Angled Aluminum and old skateboard trucks to get this DIY dolly result. Looks like a pretty low budget DIY for those who want to add some movement to your camera shots and not spend a ton of cash. Although pretty effective, just by looking at it, there's a lot of variables with how the rails are positioned that can cause some irregular movements. So if you attempt this, make sure you got things lined up well. The old measure 10 times and drill once routine (I have to measure more than twice). Simple and effective for a DIY project i'm sure most people can tackle.

[Thanks Fred]