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Lesson Info

Movement with Video Tripods

Let's talk about the other tripod. Okay, so when we talk about like a tripod, here is a miniature photographic tripod, okay? So, this is a mini tripod. We'll just put it on top of here. Some of the major differences between like a still tripod and a video tripod and I know this might be review for a lot of you guys at home but I think it's so important to understand the tools you're working with and understand major differences because I know so many photographers that tell me, "Victor, I spent $700 on my fancy tripod, "carbon fiber tripod and I really don't wanna buy "another tripod if I don't have to." And I say, "Absolutely, don't buy if you don't have to "but there will be a time where you're gonna want one." So here's the thing, if I'm uneven on a still tripod and I level up my ball head, I can get one image still perfectly. But the minute I try to pan it, my horizon's all janky, right? First thing here is most video tripods have what's called a ball bowl combination. Which means,...

if my legs are uneven or I'm on an uneven surface, I have the ability to level my head out and then still maintain a level horizon if I pan. That's the first thing. Another thing here is still tripods, they're great, they're lightweight, easy to carry, I mean this one folds up and it fits into a messenger bag. But there's no tension in it and if I loosen it, it just flops over. Now, if you're only gonna get static shots and you're never gonna pan and you're never gonna tilt, it's fine. But at some point, camera's gotta move, right? So the camera moves and you have the ability to do what's called panning with tension and tilting with tension. It becomes a whole different story. So on the side of this head here, we've got a couple dials. This is what we call fluid drag and what it does, if you increase the drag, it increases the level of tension that presses back on you. So I could feasibly dial in a lot of drag on this and do a nice, slow tilt with very little effort. The panning is the same way. I can crank up the drag and then pan it and not have to worry about, "Oh, am I panning at the right speed?" Because the resistance that it's giving me is enough resistance just so that if I lightly move it, it's gonna move at the same pace and same speed because it's kicking back on me. Now one of the features that you actually pay for in a video tripod is something called counterbalance. And counterbalance is interesting. I like to compare it, because I like little funny analogies, I really like funny analogies. So I compare a counterbalance to a little, little person inside of the head that does the heavy lifting for you. So it's a person that lives inside the head that goes, "Oh, you're gonna put 13 pounds on this, "you're gonna dial in counterbalance, "I'll take away half the weight for you." It's like an assist. It's like a spotter. Somebody's gonna help you lift weights and spot you. So this guy is a 17.5 pound fully capacity head. So it can take up to 17.5 pounds. If I dial in one level of counterbalance, it's gonna enact, engage a spring that will assist me if I stack a lot of weight on this. So think 70 to 200, think recorder, monitor, that adds a lot of weight. And if you try to move the camera and it's not properly counterbalanced, it's not gonna be a good story 'cause it'll just flop all over the place on you. So by dialing in appropriate counterbalance and appropriate drag, you can actually execute, let me see here, execute a really wonderful tilting movement and never have to apply a lot of effort to it. Now, there are a number of different tripods out there that have all of these features and none of them. Some of them just have fixed drag on a pan and fixed drag on the tilt. Some of them have variable drag on the tilt but fixed pan on the pan. So just pick your tripod based off of the knowledge that I'm giving you because there will be price differences for all of them and you're gonna wanna pick the tripod that fits best for you. Now, one thing that I do wanna kinda key you in on is two things. A lot of people don't know why these things slide. They're like, "Victor, it just makes no sense to me "why these plates are so long and why they have to slide." So, if you have a longer lens or add more weight, where does the center of gravity for the camera go? It goes forward. If you're able to slide the camera back, the weight of the camera now is actually resting upon the head properly so that when you enact counterbalance, that counterbalance is actually being effective. So you'll see a lot of people mount this plate onto the foot of their longer lenses because that's where the center of gravity is on their lenses and then they'll slide that camera back or forward based upon where that weight's gonna be. And all that does it make it easier for them to work. It makes it easier for them to pan and tilt. If you've ever done any wildlife photography and you've worked with a gimbal, it's the same concept, it's the same concept. Okay, a couple of little known tricks about most video heads is this. So, a lot of people, so if you look at the base of my camera right now, can you see how that knob is just barely clearing the base of my camera? If I didn't have this plate underneath it, which I'll talk about tomorrow. If I didn't have that plate underneath it, this knob would be hitting. So I'm gonna turn it so you guys can see it. Most video heads have a functionality that allows you to do what's called kipping. So if you actually hit something, you can pull that knob out and ratchet it. And kind of just keep pulling and keep ratcheting so you're always being able to tighten, even if you're hitting the bottom of the camera. Most of the knobs on this tripod will kip, see how it kips here? And why does it kip? Oh, it's because if I were to take this head off the tripod, a lot of people go, "Well, Victor, you're gonna take the head off the tripod, "and all of the sudden you've got this weird little ball, "how does that fit on anything you're gonna put it on?" Well, this manufacturer's kinda cool. If you lock off the pan and you tilt, now you've got a flat based head. So now I can take this head, I can put it onto a slider and now I have this ability to kind of work and then oh hey, wait, if I'm on something flat and I'm hitting something for some reason, hey, I can kip down. So that's why all these kipping things exist. It allows you to ratchet. Any questions so far? How we doing? First of all, can you clarify, were you saying that they kip, K-I-P? K-I-P. I stole it from the type of knob that actually does that. So in the motion world, there is a little knob that's called a kip handle and it just became part of my vernacular, that it kips. Because the kip handle actually does that. [Female Assistant] So that's a Victor word? I don't know if it's a Victor word or if I stole it from some of my friends who are in the industry. Well let's all take it and run with it everybody. Okay, so moving to past that tripod. So, I know, it's a tripod, right, and you spend a lot of time talking about a tripod and it seems so silly to be talking so much about a tripod but a lot of us haven't ever had experience with a video tripod and so it's really important. Now last thing here, and I took the head off for a reason 'cause I didn't wanna drop it. You're gonna notice that the way that video people and motion guys deploy their sticks is completely antithetical to what we know to be true as photographers. So in photography, how would you deploy your tripod? You go top section first, right? Big section first. Well, motion deploys their tripod legs bottom section first. Here's why. So, let's make believe I have this guy and it's got a camera, a $2,000 lens on it, a monitor, and a bunch of other doohickeys. And if I'm extended from the top section, I now have to reach down and clip all of these while trying to support the weight of that camera. Whereas opposed to now, I can undo the top sections and lift and now I can actually manage the weight of this camera a lot more easily. As opposed to, okay, well I gotta, you don't wanna do it that way. So it's just something that I've learned over the course of the past few years of people laughing at me and making fun of me for using tripods incorrectly in a motion shoot. And I'm giving that you to. That one's free to you, I'll charge you for the next one. So let's look at some footage. (upbeat music) Dude just wants a Coke, right? All the sudden, when you start moving the camera, it changes. (upbeat music) Ah-ha. It's not that one was better than the other, it's one felt differently. On that last one, I felt like I was in the room watching him as he walked in, watching him, kinda following his actions. Whereas before, I felt like I was just observing. One instance, okay, so let's take a look here. In this one, it literally feels like you're in the room because you're looking and moving and you're actually making the movements that you would typically make if you were watching somebody and a Coke machine. Whereas opposed to the one before it, he walks in, and it's just cut after cut after cut, single static shots. Is it that the first one kind of feels like you said, like you were observing them, the second one it felt like you were that person. Yeah, almost were it, a part of it, that kind of thing. It's not that one is better. And I wanna get away from that. It's not that one is better, it's that one becomes a little bit different. It feels different. So if that's what you're going for is the second video, that's what you should do. If what you're going for is the first video, that's what you do. If you want people to feel disassociated from the action, you make it static. If you want them to feel like they are a part of the action, you move the camera. We go back to that last question so how much is too much motion? When it deviates from what your initial intent and purpose was when you wanted to do that, when you wanted to move the camera in the first place. So question was, how do I know when I've moved the camera too much or when is too much and what percentage can I move the camera? Well, you can move the camera in so far as much as it doesn't deviate from the initial purpose or intent of the film. If you want the viewer to be a part of it, you move the camera. If you don't want them to be a part of it, you don't. Well and I love the idea that we need to know what effect our camera movements have on people because it's not just a question of how am I going to show this thing, it's how I show this is going to have an effect and we need to be consciously deciding what effect we want. Exactly, exactly, and that's the fun. When I talk about falling in love with the process, that's what I'm talking about. Because you could film this exact same video five, six, seven different ways and add motion in the beginning, end, middle, it doesn't matter. And it's gonna turn out different, it's gonna feel differently every single time. That's what we're getting at. I want you to think about the process. I want you to fall in love with the process because that's gonna make you better. It's gonna make you so much better. So let's see here. Let's watch this one one more time. He comes in and it just moves, right? Be a part of it.