Quick way to raise camera 10′

[Todd Terry]

What kind of “stability” are you concerned about? I’m just thinking that jib shots would normally be pretty stable… and if there were conditions that would not allow a jib to be stable (i.e. wind or whatever), that if that was the case then a C-stand would likely be much less stable than a jib.

Also… what’s the camera? It’s one thing to put a GoPro on top of a tall stick, entirely another to put an Arri Alexa up there.

If you want to go the stand route, rather than a C-stand I’d look at any of the Matthews stands that have “Vator” in their name… such as the Minivator, Crank-o-vator, Supervator, etc. Or at very minimum, at least a junior stand or a Combo stand.

I think the last time I needed a high shot like that where a jib wouldn’t work (I can’t even remember why we didn’t jib it), we just used a plain ol’ 10′ a-frame ladder. I drilled a 3/8″ hole in the top of it, where a tripod head mounted like a charm.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Chris Pike]

> I’m just thinking that jib shots would normally be pretty stable

I was thinking that the jib arm is potentially a place for more vibration. I would need to secure the jib so it can’t move up and down. Maybe I should give it a try.

The camera is just a canon 5D, with tripod head.

Those Avenger stands look sturdy, now how to mount a tripod head at the top?

A ladder…nice cheap idea. thanks.

[Todd Terry]

Hard to say…

An avenger terminates with just a standard 5/8″ baby pin on the top… so you’d have to figure out a way to put a head on it. It all depends on what head you have, there are so many different types of head bottoms out there.

if you have a tripod head that terminates in a 3/8″ male threaded stud (as many do), you could use a regular grip head to attach the tripod head. If your head terminates in a female receiver (as many do), you need a piece of threaded stock to put in there and attach to a grip head in the same say. With other head types, no doubt it would require some kind of creative jerry-rigging, but it could be done relatively easily I’m sure. I’d probably just hit the Matthews catalog and start browsing through the various pieces of gear to either see if there is something that would work, or or something that would spark some ideas to custom build something.

Then again, I’d personally probably just use a ladder and be done with it. 🙂

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Mark Suszko]

Ladder with hi-hat and c-clamps, done. That’s what I do.

[Chris Pike]

I found a connector that lets me put a ball head camera mount on top of a C-stand. We did a quick shoot, and there doesn’t appear to be shaking in the video. Thanks for the ideas.