Steadicam Maintenance - The Machine

In conjunction to maintaining your body, you must take care of the machine. If you work with any type of machinery in any industry, it must be properly maintained, and if your a Steadicam op, this rule is especially true for you and your gear. Even though our rigs don't contain gasoline, or explosive materials, it does contain a lot of levers, springs, screws and pinch points, and if you're not careful, these things can become a huge safety concern. Not to mention, if something fails, your rig is expensive, the camera is expensive, and its all riding on your shoulders (literally). So there's a few things you'll want to do; perform a circle check around your rig and address anything that appears to be out of the ordinary. Make sure all screws are securely fastened, locks are locked, mechanisms are greased, etc. Reassure all cables are properly attached and there's no frayed wires being used. After its all in good order, check the arm for any oddities, then look over your vest for the same things. As I mention in my article Maintaining The Body, the cushioning tends to wear away from within the vest. If this becomes too big of a problem, get the foam replaced, or if you have the extra money, get it altered to cover more area and get it puffed up by an extra 1/2 inch. Sometimes the cushion in the shoulder straps can get worn out, but its pretty rare. Its easy to get this altered too. Another ailment that Steadicam vests can suffer from is when the hard plastic begins to crack. I've had this happen on several rigs and the problem is not that easy to fix. If its gets too cracked and can become a hazard to how you operate, at this point, it'll need to be replaced. If you notice a crack starting, a trick I've discovered to prevent it from spreading is to drill a small hole right at the end of the crack. The circular drill hole actually reenforces the plastic and stops it from cracking further, a trick I learned as a drummer with cracking cymbals. 

Although it should be a quiet machine, sometimes your rig can start making a lot of noise. I once flew a steadicam that was in such rough shape that all of the squeaks and clunks it was making were actually noticeable through my Hosts microphone. Proper Steadicam grease is actually not a very common thing to have laying around so over the years I've discovered that a good alternative is rifle grease! Use it as needed on any of the metallic parts but be diligent with it because it is an oil and it does stain clothes. Another piece that gets squeaky on Steadicams are the buckles located on the vest. Those suckers can really make noise especially if they're from a rental rig or a rig thats constantly changing operators. You don't want to use rifle grease in this situation because it's very harsh on the plastics, instead, try rubbing a dry bar of soap all over the plastic. I personally like using a bar of Ivory soap. It'll give it enough lubricant to prevent all noises. This can get a bit messy so make sure you brush away all the powdered soap.

The rig that I' currently flying needs to have a ridiculous amount of accessories attached to it so there's a ton of wires everywhere. In general, its a good habit to keep all your wires clean and tidy however, you'll also want them tucked away to prevent them from snagging on any nearby objects. At the very least, a tug on a wire will slightly jolt your shot, at worst, it'll unplug something or cause a malfunction. Clean them up, tie them together, try to keep them hidden. Cables, especially thin gauge BNC's are delicate and needlessly expensive so don't allow them to kink or bend. Cables tend to take the most damage near their ends where they easily bend. When its bent like this, even a little pressure can be enough to tug a cable out of its connector.

Most Steadicam related accidents are preventable as long as you keep on top of repairs. Your rig should always be given a complete once over before operating. The key to having a long life span for your equipment is to properly maintain it. 

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