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Glidecam Question

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.HERO
Posts: 479 - Karma: 3,676
How do you keep your glidecam steady when skiing? When its windy and I'm doing a follow cam at faster speeds it gets off balance. Is my balancing terrible from the start or what? I have a Glidecam HD-2000 with a Sony a6300 and 18-105 G OSS with Rode VideoMic

Thanks!
Feb 21 2018 1:49PM
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eheath
Posts: 61650 - Karma: 123,491
The trick is to get it as balanced as possible while still and then use your glide hand to keep it level. Dont be dainty with that glide hand, dont be afraid to hold onto the pole at all times, the key is to support most of the weight on your grip hand. Just practice, thats really what it all comes down to.
Feb 21 2018 2:29PM
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kung_powpow
Posts: 1990 - Karma: 3,671
I've always found a glidecam with shotgun mic to be harder to control because the high profile mic gets pushed around more by the wind
Feb 21 2018 5:34PM
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gravel
Posts: 5520 - Karma: 42,297
Just practice it a lot. Like Heath said, don't be afraid to literally always hold onto it with your second hand. I usually will pinch the pole between my fingertips so I can control the swinging but also can aim it pretty delicately. And TBH I rarely rebalance my Glidecam, maybe once every couple months or more. I just make sure that it doesn't tip when holding it steady and I feel good to go after that.
Feb 21 2018 6:34PM
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gabew34
Posts: 500 - Karma: 497
also if you know your going to be in heavy wind or high speed follow cams, use a relatively fast "drop time" from horizontal. around 1-2 seconds will make it a bit more stable in the wind.
Feb 21 2018 6:58PM
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eheath
Posts: 61650 - Karma: 123,491
gabew34also if you know your going to be in heavy wind or high speed follow cams, use a relatively fast "drop time" from horizontal. around 1-2 seconds will make it a bit more stable in the wind.


Yeah good call, having a 1-2 second drop time is standard for me and I think thats how everyone should set up their glidecam for ski filming.
Feb 21 2018 7:11PM
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.HERO
Posts: 479 - Karma: 3,676
gabew34also if you know your going to be in heavy wind or high speed follow cams, use a relatively fast "drop time" from horizontal. around 1-2 seconds will make it a bit more stable in the wind.


Thanks everyone! That's good to know. Do you use a 1-2 second drop time always (like even filming non skiing, leisure activities) or do you use 1-2 second drop time only when skiing and then a 2-3 second drop time elsewhere?

Thanks!
Feb 21 2018 7:14PM
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gabew34
Posts: 500 - Karma: 497
.HEROThanks everyone! That's good to know. Do you use a 1-2 second drop time always (like even filming non skiing, leisure activities) or do you use 1-2 second drop time only when skiing and then a 2-3 second drop time elsewhere?

Thanks!

ultimately it's up to the filmer, the best advice I can give is just to try it out in different situations and learn how precise of a balance you can deal with in different shooting environments.

here's a great short video that helps explain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpbM2lix9w
Feb 21 2018 8:40PM
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