."---II'--"-.

5.2
SpecialCameraMounts
Nonconl'enriona.l mountsaredesigned10 helpYOll
operat eacamerain unusualshootingcunditions, such as
whencoveringa scene in acrampt!d livi ng room or field
position,sWOOpUlg (rom a view hi gh .:above the event to
beloweye level, running upa flightofstai rs, orshooling
(rom rhe perspective of a speeding Car. Some pedestals
afe designed to do wi thout YOu ; their mOI'emellls are
controlled notby theC<4mera operatorbut by acomputer.
ThisSlXtion examinessuch Ilonstandard ca mera mount-
ingdevices.
.... SPECIAL MOUNTING DEVICES
Tiletugh theOeonbagandotllerCOl movni>,the
5leodicom.5/10'1andIOfICJjlbs.ondIheSfudiQcrane
... ROBOTl( CAMERA MOUNTS
Usedfor ShOWI withrigidproductionformms, Wcll05 newscastl
SPECIAL MOUNTING DEVICES
Despitetheirfl exibilitythetripod<tnd thestudiopedestal
cannotalways facili tatetherequiredcameramovements.If
duringafield production,forexample,thedirectorwanted
youto foll owt hemai ncharacterfromthecarthrough the
frOllt dooranddownthehallh, jlhgreatf1 uidi ry,and then
foll ow th{" character runni ng up a fligh t ofstairs wi th-
oul any distracting Cdmera wi ggles, you'd need " special
mountingdevice. If thedirectorthenasked you10 al'tach
thecameratoamo\jngca rwithoutresortinglO extremely
98
<'xpensive(>qui pment,howwou.ldyo udoit? Herearesome
oC themoreaccessiblemounti ngdevices:( I)rhehigh nat,
(2) thebeanb;tgandOlhercaT mounts,(3) theSteadicam,
(4)shonandiongjibs.and(5) thestudiocrane.
HIGH HAl'
ThelIiglflint isashari(about6inches)cylinder-shapedor
three ltggcd metalmounl that accepts theusual fluid or
cam moul11inghead. You can boltorchimp the high hat
ontoPUtofthescenery, onthe ofastadium,on
afencepost,or,forlow-angleshots,onapieceofplywood
fastened toa Iri poddoll y. SUS. 14
BEANBAG AND OTHER CAR MOUNTS
No kidding! Thebeanbaghasitspl.u:cas aneffectivecam-
era mount. It issimpl)'acanvasbag filled nOI wi th beans
but\", i[hhi gh-Ie<:hfoam that molds it selfto theshapeof
an)' ENG/EFP cameraor camcorder. All you dois sel rhe
cameraonthebag,mdthenstrapthebagwith thecamera
to theobjectthatactsasacamera mou n!. You canUSc this
bag mount oncars, boat s, mount ain ledges, bicycles, or
ladders. SEES.15
Ifyouhave a bi gbudget,youcanrentshock-absorb-
ing C.1T mounts that are speciall ydesi gned for attaching
thecamera10acar.Thespring-loaded devicesare usually
3113ched 10 the hoodor Ihesides ofthecar by meansof
largesuctioncups.
STEADICAM
Just as we use the term Xerox to mean anykind of pho-
tocopier, we uS\:' Sletldicolll 10 mea n anycamera mount
\'Ior n by the camera operal or. This camera mount uses
vari ousspringstoabso rbthewobblesandjittersI.olhileyou
run I"ith the camera. Duringthe take,you can wa tch the
scene in a small "((,,,,,fi nder mounted below the camera.
Thecount erbal ance mechanismkeepsthecaml'fasosteady
Ihat even when ),Oll run upst airsor ona mountai n trail
thecarn"rashotswill comeOUI as though you had useda
largecameracrane. TheSteadicam harnessandmountfor
motion picturecameras and large ENG/ EFP camcorders
are rel ativel y heavy, and onl yexperienced operatorscan
wear them and the camera/monitOr combination for an
extended period. 5U.5.16
There are , however, more-compact spring- loaded
cameramount sthat li ght er(from8 10 17 pounds)
ENG/EFr cameras or small (2- to 6-pound) d igilal or
consume r camco rders . The came ra mounlS for such
li ghrwe ight CJmerasdo not need 3bodybrace. You MIlI-
ply grabthewhok unit with both hands and run withit,
si milar to c<l rr yingasm,I11fl ag. SUS. 17 Unless youarea
-
Sec t ion 5.2 Special Camero Moun t s
5 .14 HIGH HAT
The high hat can be bolted or clamped to scenery,
bleachers, or a fence post. You can use il wi th a iluid head
or even a cam head.
camera
Vidl.'OmonitOl'
.."
~
5. 16 CAMERA STABILIZING SYSTEM
This rype of slabilil 'ng system, ge nC(icaUy called a Steadiedn'!o
anows you t o walk or (Un with the camera while keeping the
pict ures perfectly steady. The rather heavy spring-balanced
mechanism i ~ wnne<:ted 10 a body harness.
5. 15 BEANBAG
This Cilnv.n bag lilted with syrllhelic. mille/ial <ldjum 10 any
camera and any object on whi ch the camera is mounted. Both
bag and camera [an be I'aslly secured with nylon lope.
(oOOI('fWeighl
5 .17 IlEADICAM MOUNT FOR LIGHTWEIGHT CAMCORDERS
The Steadicam JR mount is designed for lig htweight con5umer
camcorders. such as the HiS o r Drv models.
99
100 Chapter 5 CAMERA MOUNTING EQUIPMENT
5.18 SHORT JIB
This lightweight counterbalanced jib
c<ln be cl amped onto any sui table
surface. It is especially useful when wOlk-
ing in cramped quaners,
5.19 lONGJIB
Wi th the long jib, the (amera operator can dolly, truck, and boom the camera up and
down Clod SImult aneously pan. til l, focus, and zoom.
weighlli fler, howfver, even a lighll"e ighl camera to
gel heavy when carried this \\' ay for a prolonged period.
There are small body braces available even for relatively
light prosumer and consumer camcorders.
SHORT AND LONG JIBS
The shon jib arm is a counlerb3kmced C<l Ill t' r a mOu nt
designed for shooting on location. You can clamp it onlo
a doorframe, a chai r, a deck rai ling, or a Glf window and
t hen tongue t he camera sideways dnd boom il up a nd
down. SEE5.1' That way yo u can nOt only r erform smooth
camera movemen ts but also pay fuU aHent ion to panning
and zoomi ng and the general composiTion of your shol6.
The long jib or long jib arm is a craneli ke device tha t
let s you- by yo urscH- lower the camera practically to
the studio floor, raise it 12 feet or el'en higher, lo ngW? the
jib arm and swing it a full 360 degrH's, doUy or I"fUck the
whole :lssembly, and, ,It lhe same ti me, tilt , pan, focus,
and zoom the camera. Obviously, all of these movement s
require pract ice if they are to look smooth on the air. The
ca mera and the jib arnl are balanced by a moni tor, the h,l t-
tery pack, remote camera controls, and, for good measun::,
actual counterweights. 55.19
Some jib arm ca mera mount s are specially designed
for fiel d\"o,k. You can quickl yand easi ly collapse lIle \" hole
jib and carry it in a si ngle 6-fool bag. Once at Ihe remot e
location, ),OU ca n h3 ve t he 12-foot jib assembled and op-
l'rational in less t han five minutes. 55.10
STUDIO CRA.NE
Alt hough a crane is desirable for creati ve camera work. it is
used in \'cry few tel evisi on studios. In most cases t he long
j ib 3rm is preferred over a cralle because it is light er and
(an pe rform almost all the functi ons of a crane. The st u-
dio crane is used more fTequently in film work or with 1111
HOTV ca rner" for dect ronic ci nema prod uction. S5.21
ROBOTIC CAMERA MOUNTS
Aut omat ed pedestals altd mou nting heads, someti mes
called foiwr-ics. are used more and more for sho ....s with rigid
product ion for mal S, as newsch ls, teleconferences,
and ceTlai n instructional programs. There are baSicall y
Ihree types of robotics: ( I ) the robot ic pedt: stal, (2) the sta-
t ion,IT), robotic camera mOl!l\ t, and (3) the fai l system.
r

Section 5.2 Special Camera Mounts
camerawith
mKhanbm
Monitor
5.20 FIELD JIB
This field jib can be easily di s;membled. carrie-d in a canvas bag.
and reassembl ed in minutes.
Ro:aOTIC PEDESTAL
The robotic pedestal consists of a motor-dr ive n studio
pedestal and a mounting head. The roboti c pedes tal
and the remote worn and focus controls arc guided by
a computerized system that Ca n Slore up to 800 camera
moves. SEE 5.22
For exa mpl e, the computer li st fo r a portion of a
news show may display and eventuall y ac tivate the foll ow-
ing scenario: whiJe cameras 2 and 3 are Slit! on the neh'S
anchor, camera J reJocOlt es to Ihe wea ther set and sets up
the opening shot brtilting up and zoomi ng OUI to a long
shot of the weatherperson and the map; camera I is then
joi ned by camera 2 (or close -ups of the wea ther map: in
the meantime camera 3 trucks to the center or the sct and
looms out for a cover shot- and alllllis \v ithout a ca mera
opnator in sight on the studio floor. The only huma n be -
ings in the studio are til e news anchor, the wealherperson,
the sport scaster, and sometimes a lonely fl oor manager.
Even the director no longer gives any ca mera instruct ion
but simpl y checks the comput er lisl in the neh'S script
against the actual roboti c execution of ca mera shots in the
preview monitors.
5.21 STUDIOCRANE
Studio cranes are used je)( productions.
Besides the (lanes need one Of two
extrd Pl?OP1e 10 Ihe (lane doll y and boom.
5.22 ROBOTIC PEDESTAL
The 1000lie IS fully automated and needs no camera
opelalol. All necessary cameli! ilnd functions afe
computer-conlloll ed.
101
102 Chapler 5
5.23 OPERATOR CONTROL PANEL fOR ROBOTIC PEDESTAL
With such computer control P<'nels, an individual can operate
several cameras by remote control.
Beca use a small crror in sel ling the pedestal wheels on
long dolli es can cause the camera to end up ill the I,-rong
place, some systems use aluminum tapeollihestudi o Hoor
to gu ide accurate camera travel. An opcrmor COll lrol prlnel
in Ihe studio cont rol room all ow.s for remote cont rol of
Ihe camera movements that have not been Siored i ll the
computer. SEE 5.23 But what happens if Ihe computer fails?
You must have somebooy read)' 10 override the automalic
system, rUll inlo the studio, grab the nearest camera, and
lOom OUt to a long shol of the news ,scI.
STATIONARY RD.BOTle CAMERA MOUNT
Th'lnks to smaller and lighter.\veighc G!.meras, some news
st ati ons use smal! stationary mounts. These mounts are
in (t fixed position but allow t he camera to be panned
and tilted from a remotely comroll ed joystick panel. This
!"eOlOle comrol ca n also acti vate the zoom lens for doser
or wider shot s. Some robotic systems used primarily for
news have compule r programs that control a vari ety of
additional event functions, such as swit chi ng from ca mera
to camera, opening and closi ng microphones, and co ntrol-
ling the teleprompter. These small stationary systems are
also popular in classrooms and teleconferences, where the
camera acti on can be precisely preset. SUS..l4
CAMERA MOUNTING EQUIPMENT
5.24 STATIONARY ROBOTIC MOUNTS
The stationary robotic mounts enabl e an ENG/EFP camera or a
prosumer camera to pan, lill. 31ld zoom. II i$ oOfmaliy attdChed
10 a 51andard tri pod. 11 is controlled by a joY$tick panel and can
be interfaced with a l<lplOp computer for storing and exe-cuting
predetermined C<lmera moves.
RAIL SYSTE.M
You hilve. undoubtedl y St:Cn a rail system in act ion. The
ca mera that sprinters or speed skat ers aro und the
raceltack or icc rink is mounted on a ca rt that a
Slll ail ra ilroad car. It rUll S on rails that are laid paraUel to the
t rack or rin k. The speed of the cart and all customary cam-
era functi ons are remo tdy l.'ontroll ed via a joystick pa nel.
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E O L