When I’m working on film and video projects I tend not to be a big fan of tri-poding everything. It’s just so much more interesting to have sweeping, fluid camera movement rather than just pans and tilts from a fixed point. The problem is that hand held shots have inevitable camera shake and you lose the purpose of fluid shots. Thankfully, a number of filmmakers that have come before me have experienced the same desires and problems and have come up with a solution… the SteadiCam. SteadiCams come in all shapes and sizes, from the humongoid contraptions costing in excess of $100,000, to the small, almost worthless varieties costing as cheap as $800. Ah, now we’ve hit a problem, the cheapest ones out there cost $800, not exactly something I can afford on a college filmmaker’s budget, which consists mainly of lots of begging. So, I decided to make one. I found that you can do that for about $25. Here’s the result:




Just a simple weight, counterweight system… works wonders! You know you love it.