Every time you turn around in the video industry, there is a new toy or a new trend. I’m more than a little obsessed with keeping up with it all. So why not be productive and start blogging about what’s hot and what’s not?
Let’s kick it off this month with Gimbal Stabilizers:
As with all things, I am sure there was a design that has been floating around for quite some time, but a company, Freefly systems, announced its latest piece of tech at last year’s NAB conference, the MoVI. The MoVI utilizes an electronic three axis gimbal system to take all the shaking and bouncing out of your shot. So… really, they just announced a more computerized steadycam system. While I do see some flaws in the design right now, it definitely has some awesome advantages. Here is a behind the scenes video to show you what I mean:
As you can see, it’s versatile and can be easily modified to suit your needs.
With the announcement, everyone and their brother with a little tech knowledge announced their “cutting edge” design. Which essentially meant they copied the exact same set-up, just built it cheaper and are selling it at a fraction of the price (MoVI runs about $15k). That being said, the new-comers are all announcing systems that are only capable of flying a 5D or similar. Some, like these guys, are starting off REALLY small, gearing their set-up towards the likes of GH2 or Black Magic Cinemas Pocket cam.
While I applaud the innovation and am really excited to see where this leads, I see some glaring flaws in the set-up. For one, we shoot EPIC on almost everything. Can you imaging flying a fully kitted-out EPIC on that rig?! That’s nothing but forearms holding it up. Whereas the tried and true steadycam system utilizes springs and counter weights to smooth out the image, meaning you can operate all day without taking the camera off (ok, all day may be an exaggeration, but a 5-minute take is a breeze). That is next to impossible on the MoVI system, or anything similar.
My take: this month it’s hot, but I see it becoming a very specialized set-up that after a year or so becomes very out-dated….. but I guess that’s our industry now.