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Steadicam vs. Dolly and Jib


Dan Salzmann

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Hi,

 

> But if you want the work you need the Steadi name brand and you need to have

> done the course.

 

This is not so. I know of several operators who have not done the full course, and many more who own PRO or other alternative gear.

 

The only thing that makes me suspicious is that if you own PRO or MK-V or some other big-ticket item you're allowed to call yourself a steadicam operator, whereas if you use a glidecam (and a brand new glidecam gold could easily outperform an ancient model 3 steadicam) you have to come up with some mangled word to describe yourself. The field is riven with politics, even more so than camerawork.

 

Phil

 

I don't think that many people would be bothered anymore by someone that owns a Glidecam calling themself a steadicam operator. I think that occurred mainly in the early days of steadicam when glidecam was junk.

As far as needing the name "steadicam" to get work, it's absolutely false. I know of many operators who lose jobs because they don't own a Pro. Of course, it's just silly, but it is a sad fact that many producers don't know what they're talking about. But most big name operators fly the Pro system now, so that's all that many producers know. It's mainly just a personal choice at this point. There are so many good systems out there that it doesn't really matter which one you fly, as long as you can get the job done.

I'm interested to see what some of the first owners of the Alien are calling themselves once they start working with it.

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I did the Steadi cam short course in the UK and flew one for 2 years so I guess I can call myself a Steadi cam operator but still I get, at production assistant level,

?But its not a real Steadi Cam?? once a client has tried Action Cam they love it but I still have to get passed the first phone call.

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Hi,

 

Exactly, put much better than I did.

 

I could go off on a riff about how these guys who do walk-and-talks all day tend to strut about because they're doing it on high end shows; big deal, I can do walk-and-talks. Try doing a shot which is intrinsically hopelessly compromised by the location and will suck anyway, and try doing it on beat up old gear, without much rehearsal! They haven't lived...

 

Phil

 

I actually hate walk-and-talks with stedicam. It always screams formula TV at me. Especially when they feel the need for a ton of extras crossing the hall in the BG because hey, the script says its a BUSY office. You see the same lady go right-to-left then at the end of the shot she goes back left-to-right. It all looks so stagy.

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The only thing that makes me suspicious is that if you own PRO or MK-V or some other big-ticket item you're allowed to call yourself a steadicam operator, whereas if you use a glidecam (and a brand new glidecam gold could easily outperform an ancient model 3 steadicam) you have to come up with some mangled word to describe yourself. The field is riven with politics, even more so than camerawork.

 

I've seen some awesome rigs (with vest support!) that were home-built, and I'm sure they perform extremely well (especially when in the hands of the person who built it, as they literally know the ins and outs of the stabilizer). And of course, in the end, these things are really not much more than a counterbalance weighting system.

 

But obviously it doesn't sound so professional if you're asked what stabilization system you use, and you reply, "It's an... umm.... I built it." Steadicam operator? How about Fully Custom Counterbalance Stabilization System Operator? Not too bad...

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