The final shot in our film opening is a crane shot. We originally recorded this shot by holding the camera upside down on the steadicam and lifted it up. This was to allow the camera to get as close to the floor as possible for the shot. However, this shot was very unsteady. In the end we decided that the shot was unusable and that we'd need to reshoot it.
To solve this issue, we decided to make a DIY crane, shown above. It is made from pine, MDF and a ball head. In order to be able to get a smooth rotation we used a lazy susan bearing.
We decided to use these materials because they are lightweight but also durable. In order to keep the weight of the crane as low as possible, we routed five holes into the top beam. Doing this helped to cut down on weight, without compromising the strength.
In order to get smooth shots with the crane, we had to counter-balance the front. This was done by attaching a sandbag of the same weight, to the crane.
The crane was assembled at the location. The crane arm attaches to the legs with a central bolt. We decided to make the crane into two main parts to make it easier to transport it to and from locations.
Here you can see that the camera can be attached to the top or bottom of the crane arm. This allows us to get shots from very close to the floor as we can then flip the footage in post.
In this picture you can see our DP, Tom, ensuring that he is happy with the framing of the shot. We decided to get a variety of movements for this final shot and then we could decide which shot to use later, in post.
Nathan and Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment