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The story of the iconic Copa long shot from Goodfellas as told by the man who shot it

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It’s the most iconic scene from what is arguably the most legendary gangster movie of all time. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about that 1990 classic, Goodfellas. And more specifically, I’m talking about that three minutes and twelve seconds long take where Henry brings Karen into his world. It’s a fantastic piece of storytelling, but it’s not something for which Scorsese alone can really take credit.

The whole process of walking from Henry’s car on the street to sitting in front of the stage three minutes later and how it appeared on screen was largely down to Steadicam operator, Larry McConkey. And not just because he shot it, but because he provided so much creative input into how it was shot and transitioned from place to place. This video from CineFix walks us through the story of its creation, as told by Larry McConkey himself.

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This is the world’s most advanced “handheld” camera stabiliser rig

I’m a big fan of gimbals. I have several from companies like Zhiyun and Moza. For my needs, they’re awesome and fit into my different workflows wonderfully. But in the grand scheme of things, the gimbals most of us own pale in comparison to the $50,000+ Arri Trinity – the world’s most advanced camera stabiliser.

Potato Jet got the chance to go speak with one of the masters of the Steadicam, Ari Robbins (before this whole quarantine thing) at the Arri store in Burbank California to check out the Trinity rig that allows him to get some of the most amazing shots you ever saw.

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How to set up the DJI Ronin-S on a Steadicam with the Steadimate-S

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A few months ago, Steadicam announced the Steadimate S. It’s a device to attach your DJI Ronin-S or Zhiyun Crane 2 to a Steadicam arm and vest system. Steadicam was exhibiting at IBC 2019, so we paid them a visit to find out how it all works, how to set it up and why you might want to use one.

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The Steadicam Steadimate-S helps stop that annoying bounce in your DJI Ronin-S gimbal shots

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I couldn’t not have a gimbal in my filmmaking toolkit now. I don’t always use it, but when I need it, there’s really no other substitute. They’re quick to set up, and if you’re moving around a lot, especially over rough terrain, they help you to get a pretty stable shot very easily. But they have one big problem. Z bounce.

It’s not so much a design flaw with the gimbal, but the inherent structure of humans. People naturally bounce up and down when we walk, and so does anything we’re holding. It’s referred to as the Z-axis or 4th-axis bounce. And Steadicam has a solution to help eliminate it!

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Here is the craziest Steadicam shot ever from the Eurovision contest

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Back in the days before gimbals were invented, we had the Steadicam. Now, I am not saying that Gimbals are easy, but getting a good shot from a Steadicam is somewhere between science and art.

Speaking of art, did you catch that Eurovision contest yesterday? it was Epic. So epic that we felt obliged to share an email we got about Eurovisions and Steadicams.

The shot above was taken at the 2009 Eurovision contest while Belarus were playing their song and it’s stellar. Before hitting the play button below, see if you can guess how the shot above was taken. Then see the clip below

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Steadicam gets into the monopod game with their new carbon fibre “Gas Lift” Steadicam Air

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Cameras becoming smaller and easier to manage has led to monopods becoming more popular as a preferred camera support. As many are coming to the world of video from photography, a lot of folks already own one, so it’s only to be expected. They offer more mobility with a sort-of stabilised handheld feel to them.

Tiffen’s new offering, though, takes video support to quite an extreme. Capable of holding up to 25lbs (11.3kg), the new Steadicam Air is a lightweight carbon fibre monopod with an easy foot pedal for quick height adjustments. And it weighs only 3.5lbs (1.6kg).

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Glidecam and Ronin M gimbal stabiliser go head-to-head in these running shot action tests

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Camera stabilisation has always been a big deal. It’s the difference between a good shot and a piece of footage you can barely watch. Until fairly recently, stabilisation was the realm of Hollywood. Mere mortals could one day only hope to see a Steadicam in person. Now, though, that’s all changed. There’a a whole plethora of camera stabilisation tools on the market.

Two of the most popular are the Glidecam range of gravity stabilisers and motorised gimbals. Photographer Ed Gregory puts the two to task in this side-by-side comparison. The Glidecam HD-2000 goes up against the mighty DJI Ronin M in this side-by-side comparison. The comparison shows some fairly common but also quite tough shooting tests. And, just for a laugh, the Canon G7X with its electronic image stabilisation (EIS) is thrown in, too.

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Steadicam’s new Volt electronic smartphone stabiliser keeps working even when the batteries die

Steadicam, the devices famous for stabilising Hollywood’s footage for decades, are refocusing their efforts towards phones. Tiffen, Steadicam’s owners, have just announced the Steadicam Volt. Taking square aim at the influx of motorised handheld gimbals launched recently, the Volt works a little differently. It also offers advantages over those motorised gimbals we’ve come to know.

It’s also been awarded as an Honoree of the 2017 CES Innovation Awards. Tiffen have released smartphone stabilisers before. The Steadicam Smoothee, for example. Unlike the Smoothee, though, this one is electronic. They’ve teamed up with drone makers, Yuneec to load it up with some pretty cool stabilisation tech. This lets it achieve camera moves no current motorised stabilisers can.[Read More…]

Quick & Easy DIY Counter Balance For Steadier Video

Here’s a super quick and relatively uncomplicated DIY build for those of you who are in need of a camera counter balance (think Steadicam) on the cheap. Using a few pieces of pipe and some basic fittings, you can make yourself a DIY version with just a little bit of elbow grease. The team over at I Like To Make Stuff created this video, showing you exactly how to make the counter balance.[Read More…]

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