[Todd Terry]

Dollys don’t always run on tracks, you know.

When you have a smooth stage floor like that set had, they can run on regular wheels, sans track. That was obviously the case there.

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

That’s why I said no buildings on that side, so you can back way way way up. You’re not just shooting across the street, you’re shooting across that much further distance than the width of the street. Maybe even a whole block away if you find a empty block, or shoot across a park or whatever. Just not shooting across a street that has tall buildings on both sides of the street…. which would limit your camera-to-talent distance.

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

You’ll be fine, for that shot you need a downtown location that does NOT have solid buildings on both sides of the street. Find a location where one side of the street is clear of structures (parking lots. open field, whatever), that will let you get far enough back to shoot your talent across the street with a long lens.

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

It’s two completely different things.

Stop worrying yourself to death about the dolly track, this is NOT a dolly track situation… so just let that go.

Trust your DP.

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

https://www.steadicam-ops.com

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

No they would not.

Do you think Roger Deakins is his own Steadicam operator? Nope, not in a million years.

It is quite common practice (actually usual practice) for the Steadicam operator to be a different, specialized, and specific crew member.

Go out and get one if you want (and again, mine’s for sale!), but don’t be fooled by how easy it looks, especially if you are starting from zero. It doesn’t take “practice” it takes “training” and fair bit of it to get decent. With a fair bit of hard work one can get reasonable results, but not right out of the box. And it literally takes years to really master it. Inventor Garrett Brown himself has said there are only about a half dozen Steadicam operators that he would call “real crackerjacks.” I think he was exaggerating as there are quite a few great ones, but it is something that falls into the “harder than it looks” arena.

I myself have been a Steadicam operator for 20+ years and have owned five rigs through the years (including one that I personally sold to George Lucas… but that’s a different story)… and I’d still only put myself in the “pretty decent” to “fairly good” neighborhood. Because I don’t do it full time, I’ll never really be a master.

I’d hire one and concentrate on the directing. Not many directors will do their own Steadicamming (well, except Robert Rodriguez, but he always does everything himself).

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

Unlike a lot of other kinds of gear… because it is such a specialized thing, when you hire a Steadicam operator they typically come with their own gear. Actually, I’ll say more than “typically”… I’ll say pretty much always. In fact I’ve never heard of hiring a Steadicam operator who did not come with his own gear. That’s just the way it works.

And in fact, unless they happen to be needed on set for other duties (for example, very often Steadicam operators are also credited as “B” camera operators or second unit DPs) they’re typically only hired for the days they are needed, unless a film has a tremendous amount of stabilized shots in it.

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

Those Marathon Man shots definitely are not dolly-appropriate…. neither for the location nor the style of shooting. I’d personally probably do a Ronin in a golf cart.

Also keep in mind that Steadicamming is an art, and one that takes a bit to learn and a long time to really master. Rarely on a real feature will you find a case where your “A” camera operator or the DP is also the Steadicam operator… it’s a specialized art.

If you have your mind made up about stabilizing… I do still have a full-size Steadicam rig (yes, a real Cinema Products/Tiffen Steadicam, not one of the cheapo clones) still for sale… ☺ “Low miles, only driven to church on Sundays… what can I do to put you in this Steadicam today?”

https://fantasticplastic.com/steadicam/

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

I have my old fall-back line when I’m asked, “How come those other guys are so much cheaper?”

Well, “Because they’re worth it.”

T2

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

[Todd Terry]

By the way, the movie that you referenced there, Marathon Man, was one of the very first (if not the first) feature film uses for what was then a brand-new invention, the Steadicam.

Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown was the camera operator (just as he was for The Shining, the other very-early-Steadicam movie).

T2

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