Wes Shaye Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Hi, Im trying to film someone driving a go kart. What I need to do is mount a super 8 camera onto the front of a go kart. It needs to be mounted securely to avoid as much shaking as possible. I had an idea of a large c clamp that could go from left side to right with pads on each side to keep kart from damage. Then a small platform on top for the camera. Any ideas/ help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Jensen Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Hi, Im trying to film someone driving a go kart. What I need to do is mount a super 8 camera onto the front of a go kart. It needs to be mounted securely to avoid as much shaking as possible. I had an idea of a large c clamp that could go from left side to right with pads on each side to keep kart from damage. Then a small platform on top for the camera. Any ideas/ help would be appreciated. What kind of go kart? A racing go kart or a fun kart. It's pretty tricky since the on thing to old onto is the front bumper. It shakes a lot. Most people mount video cameras to their helmet. I had a video system where I mounted a bullet cam on my helmet and the hi 8 cam went inside my fanny back. But a super 8 camera is big and heavy in comparison. Were you going to use the tripod mount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Vogt Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Clamp a hihat to the roof and use this bad boy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Jensen Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Clamp a hihat to the roof and use this bad boy! That won't work on a racing kart. It might work on a fun kart driving on asphalt, not making any sharp turns. Here is a helmet cam on a racing kart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted June 2, 2010 Premium Member Share Posted June 2, 2010 Hi, Wes. Could you change your display name to your first and last name? It's a rule here that we all kind of keep up collectively. What kind of go cart? Do you have any photos of the particular type? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retoxproductions Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 I bought a great clamp on ebay and just used it with my Canon 1014xls tonight. works great and cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 What will the camera mounted to? Cheese plate, simple ball mount? Any mount should attach firmly at three point to the frame or body of the cart, forming a triangle with the camera at its apex. Use Mafers, Cardellini or C-clamps with grip arms and heads to span the distance between the clamps and the camera mount. Something like this: http://www.cinemagadgets.com/camera-mount-small-medium-cams-p-1243.html is flexible, just envision it with hard mounting points instead of suction cups. Helmet cam, as already suggested is probably the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Shaye Posted June 3, 2010 Author Share Posted June 3, 2010 (edited) Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it. Here's a pic of the karts. They're top speed is about 12-15 mph. http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx99/wilbada1280/Karts.jpg JD- that hood mount would be ideal but i dont have $500 to drop on it. I need to build something myself that would be almost as good. That would be Perfect though. retoxproductions- How big is the clamp? Do you think it would work on the go kart? Thanks for the help guys. Edited June 3, 2010 by Wes Shaye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 They can be rented, try your local camera house. If you want to make something similar, the basis for most of the suction cup rigs is one or more of these: http://www.powrgrip.com/cgi-bin/powrgrip/glass.html These have an indicator that tells you when suction is being lost, not so with the cheap ones sold by Harbor Freight or the other tool importers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hall Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 They can be rented, try your local camera house. If you want to make something similar, the basis for most of the suction cup rigs is one or more of these: http://www.powrgrip.com/cgi-bin/powrgrip/glass.html These have an indicator that tells you when suction is being lost, not so with the cheap ones sold by Harbor Freight or the other tool importers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hall Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I agree with the rental idea. Sometimes you get a situation where the proper equipment is just too expensive to make or buy, but for safety reasons (and to get the shot quickly) you need proper gear. First, be careful with suction cups on the fiberglass. Sometimes it's porous, and with the vibration the cups can come off. Use a little water under the suction cups (but don't use too much and get the felt wet underneath the cup). Use at least four cups for redundancy. Second, try and find a hard point on the car to go to. Not something that moves, like the front bumper, rather something to the frame. Also, remember that even at 15mph, the camera is going to experience G force pull in the opposite direction to the turn. A 10 pound camera will experience 30 pounds of pull in tight turns, so make sure the camera mount is strong side to side as well as front to back. If you still just want to make the rig yourself, in the old days we would use 2x6 wood studs to do this rig. Cut the studs so that they fit snug on the front of the cart. Leave a space for the camera plate to be screwed to the studs. Screw the plate onto the studs, then ratchet strap everything down. Make sure you put some fabric or a towel underneath the studs between the fiberglass to protect the cart. Don't use gaffers tape. Use paper tape or painting tape on the rig so you don't pull up the finish on the car. Fasten a couple of baby plates to the studs, and a pin to the camera, and use baby c stand arms to stop camera sway, like an A frame, one from each side. Hope this helps, M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Shaye Posted June 15, 2010 Author Share Posted June 15, 2010 Thanks Mike. That seems like a good way to go with the 2x6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Hartman Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Woods expressly states not to wet the cups. If you can't achieve a stable seal, then either the surface is porous, the cup's lip is damaged or the check valve is leaking. Three point define a plane. Stick with three main mounting points. Safety any rig with straps, rope etc., but don't defeat the primary mount by tightening up your secondary system too much. The camera should have its own safety tether, independent of anything else. If you have to pad or protect a vehicle finish or surface, pieces cut from a yoga mat work well as the material is slightly tacky and compressive as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james fotherington Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Clamp a hihat to the roof and use this bad boy! what is this device called ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ariel Velez Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 I also want to know what it is called that? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Fischer Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 the add in the back says mocos . check out http://www.cmocos.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warwick Hempleman Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 If you can pull the covers (body panels) off the kart, go directly on to the frame. Grip heads and short or sawed grip arms will let you rig a platform fairly easily and flexibly. JD's comments about 3 points and not overtightening your safeties to the point that they compromise the primary rig are very good, also the camera tether and for that matter tethers in general. Those karts have next to no ground clearance, so any rig you add will lower and twist the car frame, watch for clearance and drag on the pavement. Above all, leave yourself time to rig. If you can get a kart for a few hours before shooting, buld rigs and play around. It will save an enormous amount of frustration on set. I just noticed the original request was in June - doh! - So how'd it go, Wes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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