To film this recreated Victorian London street scene, the cameraman next to the lamp post is using a steadicam and wearing the harness required to support it.

The term Steadicam has several senses: Download high resolution version (768x1024, 54 KB)A film crew recreates the atmosphere of a Victorian London smog or pea-souper. ... Download high resolution version (768x1024, 54 KB)A film crew recreates the atmosphere of a Victorian London smog or pea-souper. ...

1. In the loosest sense, it refers to a stabilizing mount for a motion-picture camera, which mechanically isolates the movement of the camera from that of the operator, providing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface.
2. Many familiar with the general concept use it to refer to the combined assembly of mount and camera.
3. "Steadicam" is a registered trademark of Tiffen for their camera stabilizers.

For the remainder of this article, "steadicam" will be used in the first sense. “(TM)” redirects here. ... Tiffen Manufacturing Corporation is a company in Hauppauge, New York, U.S.A. which manufactures filters for photography, and other professional film and photography-related products. ...

Purpose

For static shots, a motion picture camera is typically stabilised with a tripod, or one of a variety of mounting systems which place the camera firmly on the ground. A tripod, in the context of photography, is a three-legged stand for a camera, used to stabilize and elevate the camera. ...

Traditionally, for moving (or "tracking") shots, a director has two basic choices. Typically, the camera is mounted on a dolly—a wheeled camera mount that rolls on tracks or levelled boards. This has the advantage of permitting smooth camera movement, but takes time to set up, and can be impractical in certain situations. The director must compose the shot's movement so as to prevent the tracks or boards from appearing on screen. A Camera Dolly is a specialized piece of film equipment that looks like a little car. ...

Alternatively, the director can use "hand-held" camera work, in which the camera operator holds the camera in his hands. This has the advantage of speed and flexibility. With sufficiently small and lightweight cameras, camera operators can obtain shots that would otherwise be impossible. Even the most skilled camera operator cannot prevent the image from shaking, if only minutely, due to his body's natural movements. Hand-held footage has traditionally been considered suitable mostly for documentaries, news, reportage work, live action, unrehearsable footage, or as a special effect to evoke an atmosphere of authentic immediacy during dramatic sequences. The gritty police television drama NYPD Blue became quite famous for its use of hand-held camera work as a dramatic element. Documentary film is a broad category of cinematic expression united by the intent to remain factual or non-fictional. ... For other uses, see News (disambiguation). ... NYPD Blue was an Emmy Award-winning hour long-running American television police drama set in New York City. ...

A steadicam essentially combines the stabilised steady footage of a conventional tripod mount with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. The steadicam's armature absorbs the jerks, bumps, and other small movements of the operator, while smoothly following the broad movements needed to cover any given scene, such as moving over uneven terrain or through a crowd.

History

The steadicam was invented in the early 1970s by inventor and cameraman Garrett Brown, who originally named the invention the "Brown Stabilizer". After completing the first working prototype, Mr. Brown shot a 10-minute demo reel of the revolutionary moves this new device could produce. Garrett Brown (native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) an American cinematographer, best known as the inventor of the Steadicam. ...

The reel was seen by numerous directors, including Stanley Kubrick and John Avildsen. Avildsen directed Rocky in 1976, one of the first movies to feature steadicam shots. The Steadicam was first used in the biopic Bound for Glory, whilst Kubrick would use the Brown Stabilizer in his 1980 film The Shining. “Kubrick” redirects here. ... John G. Avildsen (born December 21, 1935) is a Hollywood film director. ... For other uses, see Rocky (disambiguation). ... A biographical film or biopic is a film about a particular person or group of people, based on events that actually happened. ... For other uses, see Bound for Glory. ... The Shining (1980) is a film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. ...

Though he was not the first to use it in a mainstream film, Kubrick's use of the steadicam in The Shining is considered the first breakthrough of the technology. The long, fluid tracking shots through the Overlook Hotel of the film had enormous impact on other filmmakers. Both Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have specifically noted the low tracking shots Kubrick made of the boy Danny riding his Big Wheel through the lobby of the Overlook. Because the steadicam could position the camera so close to the ground, the shots are impossible with any sort of dolly track. The Shining (1980) is a film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. ... Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, writer and producer and founder of the World Cinema Foundation. ... A Camera Dolly is a specialized piece of film equipment that looks like a little car. ...

The invention was exclusively licensed by Cinema Products Corporation and later brought to market as the Steadicam. As of October 2000, Steadicam® became a trademark of camera manufacturer Tiffen. [1] Cinema Products Corporation was an American manufacturer of motion picture camera equipment. ...

Function

This steadicam's 'sled' includes a battery pack and LCD monitor.

The operator wears a harness which is attached to an iso-elastic arm. This is connected by a gimbal to the steadicam armature which has the camera mounted at one end and a counterbalance weight at the other. The counterbalance usually includes the battery pack and a monitor. The monitor substitutes for the camera's viewfinder, since the range of motion of the camera relative to the operator makes the camera's own viewfinder unusable. In the film industry the armature and weight are traditionally called the "sled", as they resembled a sled in an early model of the steadicam. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 502 KB) Summary This photograph shows a man operating a steadicam. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 502 KB) Summary This photograph shows a man operating a steadicam. ... Iso-Elastic is a term for a type of arm used on a Steadicam. ... A gimbal is a mechanical device that allows the rotation of an object in multiple dimensions. ... Symbols representing a single Cell (top) and Battery (bottom), used in circuit diagrams. ... Scene from winter nearly anywhere snow may fall on a handy hill—Children at play sledding. ...

The combined weight of the counterbalance and camera means that the armature bears a relatively high inertial mass which will not be easily moved by small body movements from the operator (much like it is difficult to quickly shake a bowling ball). The freely pivoting armature adds additional stabilization to the photographed image, and makes the weight of the camera-sled assembly acceptable by allowing the body harness to support it. This article is about inertia as it applies to local motion. ... A ten-pin bowling ball and two pins A bowling ball is a round ball made from rubber, urethane, plastic, reactive resin (solid, particle, or pearl) or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. ...

When the armature is correctly adjusted, the operator is able to remove his hands from the steadicam entirely and have the camera stay in place. During operation, the operator usually rests his/her hand on the the camera gimbal and applies force at that point to move the camera. To avoid shaking the camera when lens adjustments must be made during the shot, a wireless remote operated by the camera assistant is used to control focus and iris. A gimbal is a mechanical device that allows the rotation of an object in multiple dimensions. ...

For low shots, the camera/sled arm can be rotated vertically, putting the camera where the sled normally sits and vice-versa; since both camera and display are inverted, the operator still sees a correctly oriented picture. The upside-down image recorded by the camera can be fixed in post-production. Post production is the general term for the last stage of film production in which photographed scenes (also called footage) are put together into a complete film. ...

Filmography

Today the steadicam is a standard piece of film-making equipment, used in many productions. Notable instances of steadicam use include:

• Bound for Glory (1976) was the first feature production to use the Steadicam.
• Marathon Man (1976) was the first feature released with Steadicam shots (although these were shot after Bound for Glory)
• Rocky (1976) used a steadicam during its training montage sequence (including the famous run up a flight of museum steps) and certain fight scenes.
• John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) - Director John Carpenter used the steadicam for the infamous opening scene of the film where Michael murders his sister along with numerous other shots during the film.
• Director Martin Scorsese has made extensive use of the steadicam in many of his movies.
• Several tracking shots of Danny the little boy on his tricycle in The Shining (1980) were considered the steadicam's breakthrough.
• Return of the Jedi (1983) used the steadicam with two cross-mounted gyroscopes for additional stability to film the background plates for the speeder bike sequence. ^[1]
• Russian Ark (2002) consists of one uninterrupted 90-minute steadicam shot, with the camera following the principal character as he wanders through the Hermitage, the palatial museum in Saint Petersburg.
• The West Wing (1999–2006) is noted for its long steadicam "Walk and Talk" sequences showing staff members walking down hallways.
• The 2006 remake of "The Omen" used an extensive Steadicam shot in the scene in which the six-year old AntiChrist Damien Thorn knocks his mother off a balcony with his scooter.
• Britney Spears' Music Video for Gimme More (Director's Cut)

Steadicam as a prop: For other uses, see Bound for Glory. ... Marathon Man is a 1974 paranoid thriller novel by William Goldman that was made into a 1976 film directed by John Schlesinger. ... For other uses, see Rocky (disambiguation). ... Halloween (also known as John Carpenters Halloween) is a 1978 independent horror film set in the fictional Midwest town of Haddonfield, Illinois, on Halloween. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, writer and producer and founder of the World Cinema Foundation. ... For other uses of this term, see Shining. ... Movie poster Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, is a science fiction film that debuted in 1983, and re-released with changes in 1997 and 2004. ... A gyroscope For other uses, see Gyroscope (disambiguation). ... Russian Ark (Русский ковчег) is a 2002 movie by Russian director Alexander Sokurov. ... The State Hermitage Museum (Russian: ) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest museums in the world, with 3 million works of art (not all on display at once), [1] and one of the oldest art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... “The West Wing” redirects here. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is a Grammy Award-winning[1] American pop singer, dancer, actress, author and songwriter. ... Gimme More is a song written by James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica and Nate Hills for Britney Spears upcoming fifth studio album. ...

• Aliens (1986) utilized a steadicam harness to create the attachment point of the fictional M56 Smart Gun used by characters Vasquez and Drake.

Aliens is a 1986 science fiction/action film starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Carrie Henn, Bill Paxton and Paul Reiser and is regarded by many as a benchmark for the action and science fiction genres. ... M56 Smart Gun The M56 Smart Gun is a fictional weapon, first appearing in Aliens, the second film in the Alien film series. ...

References

External links

• Homepage of Steadicam inventor Garret Brown
• Steadicam Operators Association
• How Stuff Works - Steadicam
• Steadicam Patent Page
• The BBC's Guidelines on using a steadicam safely
• Steadicam database
• Steadicam specialist
• Steadicam Operators
• Steadicam Posture
• Steadicam Images
• Interview with Dan Kneece, steadicam operator and president of the Steadicam Guild
• Steadicam orientated Forum
• SteadicamGuild Founded by Steadicam operators Dan Kneece and David Allen Grove
• Steadicam Rickshaw