Tag Archives: $24 shoulder

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Luke writes in and shares this video with a Behind the Scenes look to the recent 'Monsters' movie. Ok so there's mixed reviews on the movie's entire story, but you have to admire what has been made from an almost nothing budget. Take a good look at the gear (or lack of) and you'll find what's looks to be a simple Sony EX-3 working hard on a $24.00 shoulder support and a basic set of rails. This looks pretty much like the two handle setup I'm using with my Gini Rig. Still worried about that cheap shoulder support not holding up? I'm guessing these guys really put it through the paces and seemed happy with the results. A Letus Adapter gives it a bit more depth of field on the Sony prosumer camcorder for that traditional Cinema look. There's also a nice comment towards the end about the importance of audio. All in all it's a pretty cool BTS video that definitely shows even cheap gear can be used for big things. Thanks for sharing and pointing that out Luke.

Here's the official trailer that was released for this movie

Here's that shoulder support again:
shoulder-support
find-price-button Shoulder Support Pad for Video Camcorder Camera DV / DC

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The all too basic shoulder pad on most rigs are not as comfortable as they might appear. The firm silicone pads give wide placement of the rig to the shoulder, but does nothing for comfort. To add extra stability, relieve weight from the hands, and added comfort here are some alternative budget shoulder mounts. First up is a quite surprisingly well made shoulder pad which I believe is from India using the ProAim name. (BTW, this is sometimes bundled with handle grips, but if you contact the seller they can sell you the shoulder mount alone.) It's an all metal shoulder pad with rod adapter and a front chest brace. The contoured shoulder pad with a thick layer of flexible dense foam is definitely more comfortable, and the chest brace helps stabilize the unit futher by 'pulling' the rig back into your body. There is no rear 'hook' so it's not a total hands-free type rig that will remain on the shoulder if you release your hands. I did of course add my DIY counter weight to the rear, and at that time I was able to release my hands while the rig stayed fairly balanced.

shoulder-pad-rig
find-price-button Shoulder Rig Pad with Rod adapter Body Plate

Last on the list is a very simple setup using the cheap $24 dollar mount. I've had this mount way back since January and have been using it with many different projects. It works surprisingly well, but don't use the crappy offset piece that it comes with. You'll know what i'm talking about when you get one. Of course I didn't get to use it with any Rail system, until the Gini arrived recently.

dslr-rig
find-price-button Gini DSLR Rig

The setup there can be placed onto the shoulder and be completely hands-free, which means less weight on the arms. This little shooter that i've assembled is a very solid support to mount your camera, offset, and handles. You only really need one handle, but I have two there mainly acting as a kickstand when I need to set it down. If you've got those firm silicone pads on your rig now, take the cheap $24 dollar shoulder mount out for a test drive, you might be surprised.

shoulder-support
find-price-button Shoulder Support Pad for Video Camcorder Camera DV / DC

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