Stabilizer or Jib?

[Mel Williams]

but, what do you guys think is the most important,

- Stabilizer, or
- Jib

Maybe I shoud rephrase it to:

What would you use most?
What's the"money shot from? Stabilizer or Jib

[Charles King]

Mel, I don't think either has anything to do with getting the money shot. You has a filmmaker will determine that, jugding that your script and directorial capabilities are well tuned in producing something of quality. There have been many films done without the use of a steadicam or crane/jib.

It all depends on the type of shot you want to get and what is the easiest to achieve. My 2 cents :)

[Chris Hurd]

This thread split from "Cody Designs Group Buy."

[John Plunkett]

I think both have practical purposes. I wouldn't invest money in either unless I was sure I would need it on a regular basis.

[Mel Williams]

Chris,
thanks for splitting this thread. Had a brain fart when I was in the Cody Group Buy thread.

...............

Thanks for the insight everyone. Guess that wallet in my back pocket was just itching to buy another gadget. Should just scratch my arse and call it a day.

[Dan Selakovich]

While I'm sure most buy my book for the stabilizer plans, the rigs used most in the end are the dolly combined with the "Killer's Kiss Crane" (it's a short jib designed to go on the dolly). It mimics the shots Hollywood gets with a fisher dolly with a short boom arm attached. But as mentioned in the posts, only you can know the best rig for your style. I say get both!

Dan
www.DVcameraRigs.com

[Ed Liew]

it all depend on what you do and you how you do it. stabilizer system would be great for short film, mtv ... faster setup, you can work with small crew. jib, something like the jimmyjib lite, is great for all work. you can achieve shot you can only dream of once. the downside is, its big. transporting it, setting up and the number of crew is more. as mention by john, if your usage does not justify the cost, its better to rent. remember, if you own it, you have to maintain it. another option for great moving shot you should consider, dolly.

ed

[Leigh Wanstead]

Originally Posted by Ed Liew

it all depend on what you do and you how you do it. stabilizer system would be great for short film, mtv ... faster setup, you can work with small crew. jib, something like the jimmyjib lite, is great for all work. you can achieve shot you can only dream of once. the downside is, its big. transporting it, setting up and the number of crew is more. as mention by john, if your usage does not justify the cost, its better to rent. remember, if you own it, you have to maintain it. another option for great moving shot you should consider, dolly.

ed

I think dolly is similar to jib in the sense of setup time. Sometimes dolly need to lay tracks which will be dear.

Stablizer offers the freedom no other device can do.

Regards
Leigh

[Charles Papert]

Dolly setup is usually quicker than a crane, initially speaking. Given the right kind of floor and the right kind of dolly, you can roll the dolly in and start to work right away, versus having to build and balance a crane or jib. However, Leigh, you are right in that leveling track can take time, depending on the experience level of the person levelling. And of course a jib may give you more flexibility than a dolly, especially if it is on wheels and can quickly be repositioned to make another setup.

As far as a stabilizer is concerned, while it is more flexible, it can be a bit more complicated if your shot needs to rise significantly above eye level. A nearby staircase can make a great instant crane shot with a stabilizer, or you can build a ramp. But do consider the experience level of the operator--don't think of stabilizer shots mimicking slow moving dolly shots unless the guy behind the rig is really good.

[Ed Liew]

for some of our smaller project, we use a mini dolly system. here are two photos to explain http://visualline.7p.com/cine_dolly.html so setup time is pretty fast ;o)

we have tried using steadicam for some of our corporate work but it does not to out to be what we want most of the time. one problem is, we are not very good at it and these corporate folks are very fuzzy with their time. who can blame them, time is money.

ed

[Leigh Wanstead]

Originally Posted by Ed Liew

for some of our smaller project, we use a mini dolly system. here are two photos to explain http://visualline.7p.com/cine_dolly.html so setup time is pretty fast ;o)

we have tried using steadicam for some of our corporate work but it does not to out to be what we want most of the time. one problem is, we are not very good at it and these corporate folks are very fuzzy with their time. who can blame them, time is money.

ed

Hi ed,

How much is CineKenetic dolly? Where did you get it?

TIA

Regards
Leigh

[Ed Liew]

its call the pocket dolly. cinekenetic is an australia product. i bought mine from a film equipment supplier here locally. you can find it from their site.

its just another roller skate dolly. only different is it need a bigger diameter pipe compare to so other i've seen on the web which mean it can also run on professional tracks. i have tried it on a bigger piece of plank with a miller pro jib and operator on it. again as compare to another "home made" dolly i bought earlier, the bearing on the wheels just don't last like this one. i have the pocket dolly for some five years now without a change of bearing.

ed

[Tim Clark]

Remember that a Jib/Crane is more than just for getting elevation shots. A Jib can be used for elevation but it can also be used for reach and for position.

The Jib can get you out over the edge of a cliff or building. It can put you though the window of a semi truck. Whatever. Also, when you've got a camera mounted on a Jib, you can position it at several different angles and get several different setups very quickly without having to adjust a tripod and move anything around. And, most people don't think about this, but you can even use a Jib as a dolly. As long as you don't cross the horizon/background more than once, your talent can walk in a circle around the perimeter of the Jib and it will look to the audience like a dolly shot.

[Leigh Wanstead]

Originally Posted by Tim Clark

Remember that a Jib/Crane is more than just for getting elevation shots. A Jib can be used for elevation but it can also be used for reach and for position.

The Jib can get you out over the edge of a cliff or building. It can put you though the window of a semi truck. Whatever. Also, when you've got a camera mounted on a Jib, you can position it at several different angles and get several different setups very quickly without having to adjust a tripod and move anything around. And, most people don't think about this, but you can even use a Jib as a dolly. As long as you don't cross the horizon/background more than once, your talent can walk in a circle around the perimeter of the Jib and it will look to the audience like a dolly shot.

Hi Tim,

I read http://www.microdolly.com/index3.html and I think this is a nice product. I noticed that product is patented. Can you give me a patent number related to that product, so I can read the patent document.

TIA
Leigh

[Tim Clark]

I do not have the patent info at hand, but if the CEO of the company agrees I will email you the details directly.