XH-A1 and Steadycam Merlin shots?

[Shiv Kumar]

Charles,

Yeah, it's funny how, years later you remember the good times and experiences, while the stress of what you went through gets turned into a "learning experience". We're all the better for it eventually. Even if it doesn't work out for the best the first time around.

Jack,

Thank you for your suggestions. We'll if being good at sports will help then I feel more encouraged. I guess it's the hand eye coordination thing?

[Jack Walker]

Originally Posted by Shiv Kumar

Thank you for your suggestions. We'll if being good at sports will help then I feel more encouraged. I guess it's the hand eye coordination thing?

The secret is to make the Merlin an extension of your arm. You have to feel it, the weight of it, feel handle melt into your grip, with the Merlin an extension of you.

It has to become one with you, You don't move the Merlin, you move your arm and the Merlin is just part of that arm. The Merlin is an organic extension to your built-in arm and it has to melt together with it.

The balanced camera floats in its own space, and you basically move around it on the one hand and then move the space itself on the other.

The tricky part of handling the gimble, and gently using your fingers takes some practice, but if you are coordinated and you let the gimble tell you what its doing and work with it, you'll get the hang of it very quickly.

As you'll see in video, Garrett Brown and the operators whip the Merlin all over the place and the camera just kind of floats there. They feel the Merlin handle and the weight of the unit as just an extension of themselves.

To operate a Steadicam for long complicated takes, then repeating the moves and adjusting for actors and watching the distance for focus, etc. takes a lot of practice.

But to operate the Merlin in some very nice moves and have reasonable control is easy... if, you feel it and don't try to drive it. Let it be part of you.

So much for the spiritual speech.

And the more accustomed you are to using your body in motion, such as in sports or dance, the easier it will be to get the "oneness" you need, and also to just plain move in a graceful way that will give the camera those graceful sweeps.

I think one of the problems some people have is that they just can't move well, and when they are learning to use the Merlin they are also learning a bit of gracefullness, which is actually more difficult than using the Merlin.

[Oliver Horn]

"I liked the start in this one too. So what did you do, just walk up to a stranger? OR did you know the guys. The video was a bit jerky but I'm not sure it was a steadicam usage issue. Could be a YouTube issue. YouTube just screws up the videos as well."


Thanks! I know the first guy, he works in the shop next door! He just happened to come around the corner at the right time. The other chap is a work colleague. (If you hadn't spotted, I work in a camera store!) BTW, yup, pootube compressed the living hell out of the original signal!
Regards, Oliver.