Setting up / Balancing Wieldy Steadicam

[JamiePerkins]

Hey guys,

 

I have to be honest and say that I am a complete newbie to the world of steadicams. Ive been filming for about 2 years now and finally decided to invest in one so I could start getting smoother motion shots. I received my Wieldy steadicam in the mail today and it had no instructions with it what so ever. I know this may make me sound quite dumb, but I'm pretty clueless as to how to set it up and weigh it properly so that it's nicely balanced. Im planing on using it with a Canon 6D and mainly flying it with the 16-35mm lens.

 

Does anybody here have any experience with setting this particular steadicam up? and if so I would very much appreciate your words of expertise.

 

Thank you

 

Jamie.

[Evrim KAYA]

Hello and welcome Jamie,

 

contrary to popular belief steadicam is not a plug and play technology. it requires training and extensive exercises in order to achieve decent shots. my suggestion to you is to get a workshop from a reputable source (tiffen, SOC, PRO-GPI etc..) even a 2 day workshop will give you enough tools to continue your training on your own. also you should buy the steadicam operators handbook and EFP training DVD.

 

 

this forum is mostly populated with professional steadicam operators with top of the line gear so you might be disappointed by the answers you'll get as most of us don't know about the "weildy" rig. but most of the questions about the steadicam in general are already asked and answered on this forum so the search button will be your best friend.

[JamiePerkins]

Thank you for your response and no I never believed the steadicam was a plug and play tool. I understand that it takes a lot of time, patience and practice to get even a basic understanding of. I'm simply asking for some advice from people who have more experience than I. As far as I know there are no such work shops in the Melbourne area so I'm trying to source as much information as possible in order to teach myself and learn from others who were once in the same position as I am now.

 

While I understand that a lot of the people on these forums are professionals who's time is valuable. I believe I posted this in the "steadi newbies" forum and felt a little bit more understanding would be held towards my newbieness.. I'm sorry if I was mistaken.

 

Also I did use the search tool and couldn't find anything about the Wieldy rig on the forums, thus why I posted my own thread.

[Lars Erik]

Hi Jamie,

 

welcome to the forum.

 

Don't take any offense of Evrims comments. He means well, and he is correct. You're basically asking how to operate a steadicam and how to set-it up. Pretty general questions. I think it would be a lot easier if you had more detailed questions. I say this with respect to you, so please don't take it the wrong way.

 

I doubt the Wieldy is known to many ops here, but if someone knows it, please chime in.

 

If you're serious about steadicam, do a workshop. I've been doing steadicam for 10 years now. And I'm still learning! And I've done 2 workshops.

 

So to not leave you totally clueless about the science of steadicam, here's a link;

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTIzOZJemc0

 

It's a fairly easily understood instructions of how a Steadicam Pilot from Tiffen works. If the Wieldy is worth anything at all, it should be similar operations.

 

And there's are numerous buyers of the Wieldy who's posted on YT on how to make it work. Don't know if they know what they're talking about, but you could do a search there.

 

Good luck!

 

All the best

LE

[Victor Lazaro]

Hi Jamie,

I just want to stress out that reading the Steadicam Operator's handbook (find it on Amazon) and the EFP DVD (on Tiffen's website, the video is old but the logic is the same for every sled no matter what brand or age) are the two tools I started with. They will answer all your questions and more. Then if you have deeper questions, you are welcome to post them.

 

Read the book, view the DVD, and keep on practicing. Think of learning Steadicam as learning the guitar it takes time to start and it will take a lifetime to perfect it. Welcome to the community.

 

Fly safe.

 

Victor Lazaro

[Louis Puli SOC]

Hi Jamie

You could also contact all your local operators for assistance .Melbourne where ?

Good luck

[Martin Stacey]

There are/have been several courses in Oz in recent years and a number of operators living in the Melbourne area that would be worthwhile contacting. Louis and James Puli are the first on that list as they often instruct on the courses.

 

Hope that helps.

[Lucas Delbanco]

I own a wieldy rig as well, and I can say the steadicam operator's handbook is absolutely essential. I pretty much read the entire thing multiple times, so when the rig finally showed up, I knew how to balance it almost immediately. The manual goes over balancing basics very well, and has instructions on almost every aspect of operating. Obviously, a workshop would be ideal, but I cannot afford one. I also recommend buying a standard c-stand or light stand to use when balancing the rig.

 

Hope this helps!

[Libor Cevelik]

I also think that Workshop is absolute must if you want take Steadicam Operating seriously .. right on this site "Stabilizer workshops" or Tiffen International workshops. Or like Louis said contact operators need you and talk to them ..

[JamiePerkins]

Thanks so much for the advice guys. I really appreciate it. Im getting copies of both the book and the DVD. I look forward to learning more and getting better over time :)