Is Bigger Better?

Nowadays, the road that video production seems to be following is that of cheap solutions. Smaller cameras, smaller budgets, cheaper gizmos, etc. As the technology changes, companies & people are forced to keep reinventing the wheel. New sensors, new lenses, new formats, new workflows, etc.....the dawning of this new era has been quite an adjustment for most behind-the-scenes staff, however, it has been very friendly to us Steadicam Operators. Our rigs have become sleeker, and the designs have become more functional, but at its core, its the same machine now that it was back in the 70's EXCEPT that everything we mount to our rigs have become lighter. That's the beauty of being an operator of a stabilization rig; the basic concept/science of our rigs are futureproof. Jibs and Steadicams have advanced, but the principal is still the same: balance!

There have been many arguments about new technology, and it seems as though everyone has an opinion, but since this is a Steadicam blog, I'll give you my take on lightweight rigs. People would naturally assume that having less weight on a rig would be easier to fly... Kind of like going to gym; it's easier to workout with lighter weights than it is to use heavy ones. This is true when it comes to strength, and although being an Operator demands a tremendous amount of strength, it's not the key factor in smooth operating. Momentum is what matters most. The ultimate goal with your rig is to have it fly smoothly through the air so having good momentum is a must. Momentum is directly proportional to mass. More the mass, more the momentum. Thus, a heavy object has more momentum than a lighter object. The kinetic energy which you gain from heavier rigs greatly assists you while making grand swoops. Although having a heavier rig can initially seem like a pain in the butt, it really is a blessing in disguise.

In the picture, the rig on the left is a Steadicam Flyer LE with a Canon MKIII. The rig on the right is the ActionCam RebelPro with a Sony 700. Although the weight of the big rig is a little overkill (sitting at 75 pounds) the rig on the left is way too light for my liking. How do I deal with that? Simple; add more weight! Add anything you can to the sucker, matte boxes, field monitor, a set of rails.... adding the extra gack will make your rig more functional and make you look more professional. Win win! Even if you don't have any cool toys to use as extra weight, purchase a few mafer clamps and if worse comes to worse, you can literally attach solid weight. If you look closely at the picture, you can see I have a small 2.5 pound dumbbell weight attached to the beck end of the sled (If you do plan on just using weights, there are more aesthetically pleasing options out there). What would be optimal for this setup would be to have the second Anton Bauer Dionic attached to the bottom mount along with an additional weight attached to the top.

Long story short, if you happen to be an Operator who mostly flys lightweight rigs, I challenge you to try loading more weight onto your rig! I can guarantee that you'll have more control and you'll really notice the difference while performing high precision movements.