Low-cost automated / automatic camera movement / slider?
April 16, 2013 11:10 AM   Subscribe

I've decided to start posting my music on youtube... performed live. I'm looking to improve the cinematography with an automated slider / jib that could produce a movement like this on its own: Does anyone know how I can do this on a budget?
posted by audio to Media & Arts (4 answers total)
 
Well, really, really low budget would be taking a wide-angle shot with a stationary camera, then post-processing it (iMovie can do this type of thing) to make the view slide by (Ken Burns style). However, you won't get any of the perspective changes or object obscuring effects that are kind of charming. I'm guessing that's not good enough for you, but I thought I'd mention it as a possibility.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 11:29 AM on April 16, 2013


There's lots of good stuff on the Frugal Filmmaker blog you might want to have a look at.
posted by brilliantmistake at 11:51 AM on April 16, 2013


A lot of this is going to depend on how handy you are and/or how much of a budget you're on. I built a mostly-functional motion-controlled camera jib back in 2004, but I started with a good grasp of metalworking, electronics and software development, plus access to a fully-stocked shop with folks around to answer questions (this was a college project). I still spent over $500 on raw materials and hardware, and the better part of a semester getting it mostly-working. There's a LOT more documentation out there now, (ie: you can buy stuff like the Arduino rather than buying an STK500 and teaching yourself assembly) but this will still be an involved project.
posted by Alterscape at 12:44 PM on April 16, 2013


A) Why automated?
B) What kind of budget? Video production "on a budget" means nothing. Everybody has a budget but those can vary from $0.00 to million$.

I've worked on a number of live rock events. They've all had camera movement but they were operated by people (up to eight at one event).

If I may project a little bit, what I think you're trying to say is that you want the production values to seem higher than your budget allows. I agree that is what you do want.

If I also may suggest something: do not do this yourself. You are a musician. That's your thing. You want to get somebody for whom video is their thing. You want your talents presented in the best way possible, so use people who know video the way you know music.

There are ways to line up people to work on your projects for free, not in an exploitative way but in a mutually-beneficial way. People who are looking to add to (or start) their resumes and reels, for example.
posted by trinity8-director at 3:27 PM on April 16, 2013 [2 favorites]


« Older [Excelfilter] How do I stop Excel from formatting...   |   Car stereo drains battery: Is 30-50 mA normal? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.