Made Handle, want to improve...

[bighaircarey]

Ok, here I go.

I made this top handle, really cheaply with a piece of metal and some screws from Home Depot.

Edit: Hmm picture doesn't seem to work. Here is a link.
My plan was to use this to help with my follow cam of snowboarding and skiing. I had originally tried my Merlin but outside on the hill in the wind it was pretty touchy plus it stabilizes perfectly level and going down the hill you might want to be looking up or down the hill. Since riding on the board is actually fairly smooth I figured just a decent handle would help. So I made this handle and first time out I was fairly happy with the results but it was still a little jerky/shakey.

[ame="http://vimeo.com/2901620"]You can see it right here on vimeo.[/ame]
My attempt while riding with it is at 02:27 into the video. Note that the video is not edited at all I just threw some stuff up for the kids that were in it cause they wanted to see it quickly.

So my thoughts are is there something I could do to the part that I actually hold onto that might absorb a little of the shock? I was thinking possibly some foam which would make it nicer to hold also. Or how about like long balloons filled with sand and put those around the part that I hold. Does anyone know if things like that might help?

It would be great if anyone has any thoughts on this or any experience with follow cam for skiing and snowboarding.
Thanks,
Carey

[HueyNRolf]

Wow!
Rather you than me.
That's not bad at all, it certainly could use some dampening. A rubber engine mount from a car comes to mind, but that might be too large and stiff. So something along those lines to interrupt your handle might work.

I still can't imagine snow boarding with my camera... your fault if I get nightmares over it

[bighaircarey]

LOL Thanks,
I'll look into what you mention and definitely will update here as I make improvements. I might try skiing as that might be a bit smoother.

I do get a little nervous with my camera on the slopes but the way I look at it is this was one of the main reasons that I got my camera so to not take it out there because I don't want to hurt it would mean it would just sit at home and not get used. I know I'm risking it but hopefully I'll get some good video that I can be proud of.

Carey

[kibonki]

I would suggest adding some weight. I know this could make skiing/boarding more difficult but a little weight can go a long way. The camera will still move but it wont be so jerky.

[fishops]

If you can hold on with two hands, a fig rig or something like it would be worth considering. Trying to dampen the vibration probably isn't worth the hassle, nothing is going to isolate it better than your arm. It needs lots more mass and a better grip.

[bighaircarey]

K, wouldn't be hard to add some weight to the bottom of that I will probably try that as well.

I wonder if there would be some way to make a slightly larger handle that is hollow? and then attaches to the top handle of what I made by a bunch of rubber bands, kind of like a shock mount. Not sure what the easiest way would be to do that but I wonder if that would work. I'm probably going to keep modifying it until I get it down.

Thanks, Keep the ideas coming!
Carey

[HueyNRolf]

There could be an even simpler solution. What are you editing with?

[bighaircarey]

Premiere and I have After Effects. I've stabalized footage in After Effects on cameras that didn't move but wasn't sure how to do it if it is moving. I know in Final Cut and some other things there are some shake reducing plug-ins I think. Is there something like that for Premiere or After Effects that would work decent while the camera is moving that much?
Thanks for all your help guys, you rock!

Carey

[I C]

For some reason "Made Handle" instantly reminded me of a video I saw about "Mandles!", a totally different product...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-6ph7NWoBM"]enjoy[/ame]

[FuGZ]

hi bighaircarey,

to make a comfortable handle, you could glue some sponge on the rod and cover it with those tennis racquet grips. here's mine.



the velcro piece strapped at the front end evens out the weight of the camera. reduces fatigue on your arm and improves control for your shots. this was prolly the best part of the handle i made.

as for shocks/shakes, maybe a wide angle/fisheye adapter would be a better idea?

[bighaircarey]

Thanks FuGZ,
Your looks really nice. I'm probably going to try some stuff out like that. I do have a wide angle, so will give that a try. You think the velcro holding/pullings the WA to the top of the handle helps with how it is weighted?

Carey

[HueyNRolf]

Premiere and I have After Effects. I've stabalized footage in After Effects on cameras that didn't move but wasn't sure how to do it if it is moving. I know in Final Cut and some other things there are some shake reducing plug-ins I think. Is there something like that for Premiere or After Effects that would work decent while the camera is moving that much?
Thanks for all your help guys, you rock!

Carey

Carey,

I don't know about AE, but there's a distinct possibility that you'll be able to stabilize with it. Motion has had it for quite some time and now *even* the humble iMovie will have it on the '09 release:

http://movies.apple.com/media/us/mac...bilizeTutorial

I really don't think the shake on your footage is that bad, so I'm sure it would be easy to smooth it out in post.

-HnR

[FuGZ]

Thanks FuGZ,
Your looks really nice. I'm probably going to try some stuff out like that. I do have a wide angle, so will give that a try. You think the velcro holding/pullings the WA to the top of the handle helps with how it is weighted?

Carey

thanks but i do plan make it to look alot nicer next time. yeap, wide angle and sports for followed shots is essential. at least for skateboarding, i'm guessing it may be the same with skiing/skateboarding. then you won't need stabilizing plug-ins, or you prolly can't use em due to the blob effect you'd get after stablizing (wide angle/fisheyed footage).

yeap, makes alot of difference, you gotta try it out yourself =) my mates made their handles with such support after trying mine out.

[bighaircarey]

Note to Mods: It's not my intention for this thread to turn into how to stabilize in post. If you think it gets that way and needs to be moved or want me to start a thread in PC let me know.

So here is different attempts at trying to do a little stabilizing in post.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGIorpKqaoQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGIorpKqaoQ[/ame]

The first is the original footage. Then I tried Deshaker through Virtual Dub. I think this worked best. It was just basic settings so I'm sure as I go along and learn the settings I can improve on it.

Next is After Effects, the thing with Stabilize Motion in AE is that it requires you to pick a tracking point and it bases its stabilization off of the movements of that point. With a camera moving as much as I am the only thing that stays in shot would be the person I'm following.

I wish there was something similar to Deshaker for CS3(Premiere or AE) because I would really like to not have to render my footage out to anything and then have to re-render it out of virtual dub.

My plan is try to really improve my handle and get the best footage possible and then try to have it reduce a little bit in post in Deshaker or something similar.

I'm going back out on Sunday so I'm going to try, more of a foam handle, WA lens and adding some weight.

Thanks for all your ideas and feedback guys!

Carey