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Micro-Budget Steady Shots from a Car/Taxi

PositiveFuture

PositiveFuture

Micro-Budget Steady Shots from a Car/Taxi?

For my filler footage I often jump in a taxi and go round town taking whatever shots I can. In a 30 minute shoot I always end up with 1-2 minutes of great pics...

The camera is jerky as hell but I shoot 1/12 down to 1/3 shutter speed and slow down the footage in post.
The jerks become slow up and down swaying. It works well with the project I'm currently working on.

Any ingenious micro-budget ways to steady a camera in a car? I was thinking of balancing it on something soft like a rucksack or thick sweater. Any other ideas for shooting from a car? I'm using a Panasonic DVX Ag 100b. I know I'll never get true steady but any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks/Peace
 
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A while ago (I'd have to find the thread), there was a gent who had created their own little Camera stand, could be held in two hands on a pole with a flat bottom, and it could be used for camera shots....


Maybe one of the posters here know what I'm referring to?
 
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Probably not sturdy enough for your Panny, but check this out:

Panavise Car Mount

Especially the 1st video review. I was thinking of getting one for some car interior stuff I have coming up. Essentially the camera becomes part of the car frame and is using the same shock absorbers as the car.
 
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PositiveFuture said:
Thanks, but was there a shock absorber mechanism Tina? I've got a tripod but it's the jerks and bumps that affect the shot.
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I don't think it did now that you mention it (though it could be adapted to it). It was a solid pole that could be held and "panned" smoothly.


Hmmmm....now you've got the gears turning in my head with that idea. :)
 
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PositiveFuture said:
Well there's a lot of brainpower here. One idea keeps going through my head: A tripod with a fluid shock absorber on the pole so you could ride out bumps that way...
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Are you mechanically minded (or know someone who is)? I can take stuff apart just great, don't ask me to put it together ;)


I would think if you did that, your "tripod" is going to have to fit into some tight spaces-instead of tri, maybe a single, flat foot with a short shaft?

I would think something like a basic lamp, with base and shaft. Take two cylinders, one on bottom, one on top, spring in the middle. Have to do something with the mounting plate though....


Sorry if I'm saying stuff you've thought of already-mainly talking out loud :)
 
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I'm not so good putting stuff together Tina.

What I could do is put the three legs of the tripod together and rest it on something very soft, like sponge or layers of bubble wrap. That should give me a bit of a steadier shot...

It's fine to think aloud; that's what this forum's for.. :)
 
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Dont worry so much about up and down motion, translation is almost unnoticeable, what seems like bounce is more likely ROLL. Try this experiment to see what I mean.

Stand on firm ground, with your best camera hold, start shooting.. now CAREFULLY move your camera up and down, no roll, just vertical only. Move up and down about 5 or 6 inches.. do this as fast as you can without introducing roll... now in the next shot ROTATE the camera just a few degrees.. a tinny bit .. do this fast..

Go watch these two shots.. and you will see that up and down moment, not so bothersome, a small rotation is way bothersome!

a SOLID connection to the car will REDUCE roll, and the more FORWARD facing your shot, the less the up and down translation will be noticeable..

Also, if you can include a bit of the door or something fixed in the movie frame, the movement behind the solid will look IN CONTEXT and wont seem so bouncy.. or rather, it will look appropriately bouncy :)

Going the soft\bouncy\springing route, IF it allows for ANY roll, will just make it worse..
 
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Really good tips Wheatgrinder that was exactly what I was looking for... I'll take all of them into consideration next time. You should see some of my from car footage when I upload it in the next couple of days...
 
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We're all noobs. This is a forum to brainstorm ideas and learn together. I run all advice through my BS detector and yours comes up clear. haha.

Whether you're right or wrong you've thought through the various factors to a level I never bothered with...
 
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wheatgrinder said:
you need to upgrade to "B.S. Detect 2.0", version 1.0 is SO 2009.. ;)
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I'm actually Beta testing 3.0 as we speak ;)


I shall also take this advice from Wheatgrinder So two of us have learned something (and if I get anywhere with that idea I had, I'll let you know :) (though I haven't had a reason to use this type of shot, but I've been thinking of getting on the city bus-course that will take some interesting explaining to the bus company. "Do you mind if I film a masked female walking onto your bus?" :weird:

:D
 
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Throw on a head scarf, fear of PC violations will keep em quiet! :)

In related news, I sat on the train from Charles Degual Airport to down town Paris (I had a freaking 7 hour layover) .. filmed the hole thing.. sucky SD footage, very euro trashy! Though, I should do SOMETHING with that footage.. I feel a 30 sec montage is in my future..
 
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wheatgrinder said:
Throw on a head scarf, fear of PC violations will keep em quiet! :)

In related news, I sat on the train from Charles Degual Airport to down town Paris (I had a freaking 7 hour layover) .. filmed the hole thing.. sucky SD footage, very euro trashy! Though, I should do SOMETHING with that footage.. I feel a 30 sec montage is in my future..
Click to expand...

Head scarf eh? Hmmmm....not bad, not bad ;)

Maybe use the train footage as part of the greatest film? You know, the "narrator" travelling from place to place, could be dubbed(what's the lighting/jerkiness like?)

I keep thinking we need someone like that, someone who is "telling" the story as a documentary, strolling around places of note that take place in the film.
 
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You could get a POD, its a bean-bag with a screwmount on it, alternatively you could get suction cup with a mount on it (they do make them). Both options should run you under $100.

Wheatgrinder is right. For the technical explanation (as best I know)... Your camera scans lines from top to bottom, so if your bouncing up and down there is very little noticeable effect (you will get some vertical compression), however if you start to roll or pan while doing this then each line of video starts to skew and no longer match up.

CMOS
In DSLR this is called "rolling shutter" because how the CMOS chip pulls data is very susceptible to this. Following this "rolling shutter" you get the added issue that effects CCD cameras, motion artifacts.

CCD
Its called motion artifacts, this is due to your compression software. Since every frame is not a key frame (if your shooting uncompressed its less of an effect) your compressor is trying to write the differences into the file and major bumps like this aren't easy line transition therefore bigger in size unless the compression program "reduces" the accuracy of the video to make it fit within the bandwidth.
 
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of getting on the city bus-course
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I noticed that buses and coaches are a lot steadier than cars and you can get a much better shot from them. One of those things you never think of.

You could get a POD, its a bean-bag with a screwmount on it, alternatively you could get suction cup with a mount on it (they do make them). Both options should run you under $100.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking of, especially the first one. I knew there was some sort of ingenious indie solution out there...
 
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