Video Camera Stabilisation

In this filmmaking class, Karl and Ben introduce you to different methods of camera stabilisation to help you enhance the quality of your videos.

You’ll cover everything from in-camera stabilisation settings to tripods, gimbals and sliders.

You’ll even see Karl getting put through his paces as the boys head out on location to test out various stabilisation tools, with fascinating results.

In this class:

  • Camera stabilisation for filmmaking and videography
  • Image stabilisation settings
  • Tripods and fluid heads
  • How gimbals work
  • Camera stabilisation when filming on location
  • Filming with manual and electronic sliders

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. This has to be the best lesson so far my question is i use the new EOS R50V and have it in the Zeadio Video Action Stabilising Handle Grip Handheld Stabiliser .Isthat a good thing to use to get more stable clips, or could you recommend anything different as you used some top end kit which is likey to much for my budget

  2. Great overview thank you. Would have loved to see how you set up the gimbal. I’ve struggled to operate my gimbal because it keeps moving the camera even though I’ve nominated the axis I want. Maybe you have in another video I haven’t seen yet. Using a DJI ronin sc and GH5. Love the classes.

    1. Are you having issues with the initial balancing of the gimbal or is it more the mode you are in? I use the Zhiyun gimbals, they have a couple of different modes to get the camera to move how you want and I imagine all different gimbal brands would have the equivalent (maybe with a different names for the modes) on ours they are:

      F (follow mode) – the gimbal will tilt up and down and pan left and right with you and of course smooth out the movements but won’t rotate the camera.

      PF (pan follow mode) – the gimbal will only pan left and right with you but won’t tilt up and down, will just stay dead level and not rotate the camera unless you move the joystick.

      L (lock mode) – the gimbal won’t pan, tilt or rotate it will just stay level and facing the same direction unless you move the joystick.

      POV – the gimbal will pan, tilt and rotate the camera with you.

      Vortex – the gimbal will point the camera straight up so when you go into an underslung position you can fully spin the camera a full 360 degrees giving you the ability to endlessly spin the camera.

      (When I say rotation I mean the horizon in the camera, so no rotation would be a straight horizon)

      99% of the filming I do I use it in F Follow mode so I can turn left and right, look up and down on the tilt but the horizon stays level. I only use other modes like POV or Vortex when I’m getting creative shots and some times I’ll flick it into PF (pan follow mode) just so I can readjust the camera height mid filming without changing the tilt of the camera and then flick it back into F mode once ive adjusted the height so I can tilt up and down once again.

      hope this helps, let me know if this is/ isnt what you meant,

      Thanks, Ben

  3. bleavitt

    I need steady footage of building exteriors and interiors to document tall industrial doors. Would you recommend using a drone to shoot smooth footage over getting a gimbal for this use case? What factors would steer you in the gimbal direction vs the drone option?

    1. It’s hard to say without knowing what the exact shot needed is but generally I would prefer to use a camera on a gimbal if its doable and the speed isn’t an issue as you generally have more control and higher quality from a camera on a gimbal, for example focal length, any tilting or panning in the shots is usually easier and smoother with a camera and gimbal and also health and safety and permissions maybe become an issue if there are people around when using a drone, for a recent real estate type video I did (interior and exteriors) I filmed the majority of it at 100fps slow mo on a gimbal to give make it even smoother and give a luxurious feel how ever some shots required a drone (of course for aerial clips) but also a shot coming out the front door was required, going all the way back to reveal the entirety of the front of the house (it was a large chateau), I had to use a drone as walking with a gimbal simply wasn’t feasible with the speed I needed to go for this to be one complete shot in the final short video and if I ran it wouldn’t have been as stable as a drone so that was the better option, you can see the shot im discussing in the video here (its the final shot) https://chateaubelvedere.fr/

  4. I enjoyed this, thanks! A quick question: I know you’ve another class on lenses for filmmaking where you talk about autofocus vs manual lens pulling but in these sequences running along beach, walking along pontoon, circling around a stationary subject etc, was Ben using manual or auto focus? And does he have any guidance on when to use which? Thanks!

    1. Hi James, yes as the camera is on a gimbal manual focus is pretty much impossible if you are changing distance to your subject which I was doing in a couple of these shots (unless you have a focus pull that connects to the gimbal) so I was mostly using auto focus, I had it set to eye tracking auto focus wide so when Karls head/face was in the shot I knew it would lock on to that, for some of the shots where I stayed parallel to Karl I used manual focus especially if his head wasn’t in it like the legs running along the pebbles to avoid the focus trying to shift to the fore or background. The same with the pontoon, I had that in manual focus and just pre focused to an approximate distance in front of me that seemed appropriate and then as I walked the same distance in front of me would stay sharp. In the real estate video as there was no subject and nothing was moving except the camera I would move into roughly the centre of the shot/movement I was doing and pre manual focus at that spot and then carry out shot/movement (trying to stay at a reasonable aperture to keep the majority of the rooms sharp), if you are revealing from behind a wall or similar then manual focus is a must as you don’t want the foreground you are revealing from behind to be sharp or shift as more of the room is visible.

      So it changes depending on different scenarios, hope this helps, Ben

  5. Gary Stasiuk

    It would be good to list some of the equipment featured off on the side like you have done in other classes.. things you have used .. I’m interested in getting a glider and I’m facing a cost versus quality decision without any hands on experience with them. Thinking of renting perhaps to get some experience.

    1. Gary Stasiuk

      Whoops.. I intended a say slider.. I’ve been looking at Neewer brands although I’m concerned that the brands you can easily purchase on amazon.. depending on slider length, can be about $300-500 Can.. Those Rhino sliders are quite a bit more.. ranging upwards of $1500. Just concerned about bang for buck and not being let down by the motor or the smoothness of the slide rails.

    1. Hi Scott, thank you. The steadicam is usually reserved for bigger heavier cameras used in live broadcast or cinema films and is a little beyond what we’d expect photographers venturing into film-making to use. The models we’ve shown here handle the type of camera that is usually the first type of entry or transition for stills to moving images. I’ll keep it in mind though as I know someone who has one so maybe we can add it in the future. Thanks for watching this class though, all the best Karl.

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