How NOT To Operate A Steadicam

Pretty freakin' impressive right up until those last couple seconds, though.
 
The Reddit thread for this said that the camera was fine, it was caught by one of the guys on the left.
 
Damn that was good.....he was busting a move and then "OH SH*T"
 
And this is why skilled steadicam operators are a thing. Basically expecting those stabilizing arms to hold all the weight at full extension while you're leaning back is too much you're not suppose to let go of it and let it hang so far from you.
 
That thing is amazing....did the inventor of that win an Academy Award....that person should have. I'm being serious.

I have seen basic demonstrations of them before, but not like that. By basic, i mean like a guy walking down the street.
 
That camera and sled weight isn't even all that much. The arm is rated somewhere in the 62lb range, and that whole setup was probably in the 45lb range. It was a stupid showboat move from the guy testing the equipment, but it's the equipment (which is basically a pre-production release) that failed spectacularly due to relatively poor quality of components (compared to other industry standard equipment)
 
I own a "GlideCam" and on my setup, the sled, arm and harness connections are all held together by gravity. These are awesome tools (when you're holding on to them) but shoot.. Even walking around (let alone jumping) when not slightly holding on can be dumb ass idea! WHAP.
 
Semantics said:
And this is why skilled steadicam operators are a thing. Basically expecting those stabilizing arms to hold all the weight at full extension while you're leaning back is too much you're not suppose to let go of it and let it hang so far from you.
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Bingo. It's a Steadicam, not a mount for zero handling of the camera. You still have to maintain proper counterbalance with your body and to keep your hands within reach of the mount... So this guy, even if he was trying to show off the capabilities of the rig, was still using it improperly. I'm the only Steadicam operator at the studio I work at and it's not my most favourite setup to use. A lot of effort and concentration goes into getting acquainted with the rig before you can just automatically (without thought) start getting what you want out of it. Even then, most people don't use it properly.
 
>Plastic mount and extension arms in a $18,000 stedicam rig

What is a waste of money for $1000 Alex?
 
rat said:
Bingo. It's a Steadicam, not a mount for zero handling of the camera. You still have to maintain proper counterbalance with your body and to keep your hands within reach of the mount... So this guy, even if he was trying to show off the capabilities of the rig, was still using it improperly. I'm the only Steadicam operator at the studio I work at and it's not my most favourite setup to use. A lot of effort and concentration goes into getting acquainted with the rig before you can just automatically (without thought) start getting what you want out of it. Even then, most people don't use it properly.
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I disagree. If this arm snapped as it did from just that, it's wholly unsuited for the normal expected workload of a steadicam operator. Heavier cameras, more dynamic moves, and DEFINITELY not for vehicle hardmounting (during which you'll frequently extend the arm out as seen).
 
The failure happened right at the component attached to the camera. Being at full extension had little to nothing to do with it. Component was underbuilt/defective.
 
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