Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The "Fincher" Cam and the pouring rain

As all of you probably know by now, I pretty much have a man crush on David Fincher. The man is just well, awesome. Fincher's movies always have some sort of camera tracks that make me go WTF. Most of my tracking shots are pretty much trying to emulate those. Sadly, Dhaka doesn't have the luxury of electric cranes (actually we do have 1 of those, but no "real" operator) as well as a proper steadicam that can mount a 35mm/Digital Cinema cam and have a wireless follow focus unit.

So, I took in upon myself to build a system that part steadicam/part jib arm and can mount a Canon 7D with a follow focus. The idea is to balance the camera via a counterweight and add handles to it so you can hold the rig with one hand and maneuver the camera (while focusing) with another. It may sound like rocket science, but actually its a semi-easy rig that can allow me to get those Fincher-esqe shots. All you need is balance, just like you'll need for operating a traditional steadicam (heel-toe steps, pivoted on your hip and bent knees).

Its been raining cats n dogs non stop here, so I could only take it outside for one shoot for about 15 mins, without drenching myself and the 7D. I also tried it inside my parents' living room, so you can check out how to handle the rig in small spaces as well (although the room's kinda big, there are a lot of obstacles and the ambient lighting is more to my liking).

Here's the vid:

The Fincher Cam

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