Steadicams are frequently used for tracking shots.
The steadicam is a device that stabilizes a film camera during motion. It was invented in 1976 and came to have a great impact on the way films are made. The first notable use of the steadicam was in the film "Rocky". Since then it has been used in countless films. Using a system of counterweights, it separates the operator's movements from the camera which keeps the footage smooth. When the steadicam operator walks or runs the camera seems to float as opposed to the jerky footage that results from hand-held camera operation. Professional steadicams remain very expensive, but with some basic tools and a few items from the hardware store, you can make your own steadicam.
Instructions
The Camera Mount
1. Secure one of the end caps in a vice and using an electric drill, drill a 1/4-inch hole through the center of the top of the cap.
2. Insert the machine bolt through the opening of the end cap and through the hole you just drilled. Put the lock washer on the bolt and then the machine nut. Use a wrench to tighten the nut, to hold the bolt in place. The mount will now resemble a small bell.
3. Cut a one-by-one-inch square of foam rubber with the utility knife. Drill a 1/4-inch hole through the center of the square. Push the end of the bolt, that is sticking out of the end cap through the hole in the foam so that the foam square is sitting on top of the end cap, impaled and held in place by the bolt. The bottom of the camera will rest on the foam when screwed on.
The Frame
4. Screw the end cap on one end of one of the 1/2-inch pipes and the T-Joint on the other. The T-Joint has three openings. The opening that forms the bottom of the "T" is the one that you will screw the pipe into.
5. Attach the camera mount onto one of the pipes. Screw the end cap with the bolt and foam on it onto one of the remaining two pipes. Screw the other end into the T-Joint.
6. Take the remaining pipe and screw it into the last opening of the T-Joint. This will form the bottom of the steadicam.
The Counter Weight
7. Construct the counterweight. Loosen the screw on the pipe clamp and slip the clamp onto the pipe you just screwed in.
8. Attach the weight. Take the barbell weight and put the bottom of the pipe through the hole in the weight's center. Attach the remaining end cap to the end of the pipe. This will keep the weight from coming off.
9. Secure the weight. With the weight resting on the ridge of the end cap, pull the clamp down tight against the top of the weight, to sandwich it in and hold it in place. Tighten the screw on the clamp.
Tags: through hole, 4-inch hole, 4-inch hole through, hole through, hole through center, pipes Screw
