Handheld gimbal stabilizers are all the range in the market these days. They range in functionality from pocket gimbal like ZHIYUN smooth Q2 3 axis handheld gimbal stabilizer to more professional DSLR camera gimbal that carries DLSR and even larger cinema cameras. In this article, we’ll take a look at five different ways you can capture stable movie footage with the handheld gimbal stabilizer. Let’s hop into the list and see what kind of cinematic effect you can capture.
3 Epic Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer Moves to Make Your Shot Look EPIC!
In this tutorial, we are using the ZHIYUN Crane series for our demo along with the ZHIYUN follow focus system, which makes for a great cinematic tool.
#1: Steadicam-Style Tracking Shot
Here a very Incredible use of a Steadicam Tracking shot
from The Last Bandit
As the classic western movie – The Last Bandit from ZHIYUN’s latest movie series, a Steadicam-style tracking shot is used to follow your subject around to capture tracking shots. You can follow your subject’s feet as they’re walking or slowly and evenly move by the subject, which includes:
- Walking backward in front of the subject, filming from the front as they walk.
- Walking alongside the subject, filming from the side as they walk.
- Walking behind the subject, filming from the back as they walk.
- Walking through space, showing the audience who and what’s there.
In the Last Bandit, the camera movements are so controlled and steady, carefully, and coolly gliding through the scene as we follow the protagonist – the western cowboy. It conveys his own control over the situation, his confidence in his skills as he walks in the desert. The camera isn’t remotely frantic until the gunfire begins, but even then, the move is steady!
As mentioned above, the Steadicam-style tracking shot is a shooting skill to keep your audience move through the scenes and follow actors smoothly, placing the audience in the center of the on-screen action. To achieve that, you need a handheld gimbal stabilizer system that helped evolved the way movies tell stories. With ZHIYUN Crane 2S, it’s a lot easier to get those smooth movie-style shots, includes six gimbal modes: Pan Following, Locking, Following, Full-Range POV, Vortex, and Go mode, as well as the unique modes for aiding in the creation of panoramas, time-lapse, motion lapse and long exposure time-lapse.
The above tips have streamed a complete presentation of how Steadicam-style tracking shot is made. You can also view a replay of the stream more on https://www.zhiyun-tech.com/crane2s/en.
#2: Long Tracking Dolly Shooting Style
The scene of THE PACKAGE features a long tracking shot.
The long tracking dolly shot is frequently referred to as “one takes,” it usually involves moving through a scene, following on the subject without any visible cuts for a lengthy period. To achieve that, you can move the camera towards, away from, or alongside your subject for the long tracking.
Note: the movement should be smooth and controlled– as if the camera is floating.
On the ZHIYUN tutorial movie series – How to Film an Action Movie with Your Gimbal, the action movie THE PACKAGE is really an excellent example for long tracking dolly shot as it has some really great tracking shots. The movement of scrolling alongside with the subject through the scene can be a great way to demonstrate actors’ movement, meanwhile, to gear the viewer’s attention to something specific.
The difficulty of long tracking dolly shot comes from having to get everything right in one take. Generally speaking, the filmmaker commonly uses a wheeled cart with a camera mounted for big movie production. Yet, a motorized handheld camera gimbal stabilizer is another tool that’s more innovative and economical and works similarly to a camera-mounted wheeled cart. The gimbal’s electronic motors do all of the balancing work, making it a feasible option for operators. ZHIYUN makes some of the most popular 3-axis gimbal stabilizers, like the WEEBILL-S. It is worth noticing that the 3-axis gimbal stabilizer can work well on anything outside with an uneven surface, giving you the ability to create smooth dolly shots.
#3: Dutch Angle Shooting Style
Dutch angle camera shot from Blood of Freedom
There will be moments in an adventure movie where the main character is under duress. To convey this point, one great way to do this is with a Dutch Angle. As we explore the Dutch angle in detail, we will take the Blood of Freedom of ZHIYUN original movie series as examples of the Dutch angle. Like in this shot from Blood of Freedom, we know the character is under threat, and something is about to happen here — and the Dutch angle is there is to seal the deal.
The Dutch angles can also be used in exciting scenes, like the one below from Blood of Freedom, to help raise the action’s stakes in progress. To achieve that, you need to stably switch from regular to extreme framing creates an even more significant shift within the scene. Otherwise, you end up with Dutch angle shake abnormally, and they will start to lose their impact. In this respect, the handheld gimbal stabilizer can simply realize the camera shot with a tilt on the camera’s roll axis.
As mentioned above, we have seen some examples of how the classic cinematic effects are made, you can apply these shooting effects and use them with other camera shots and shooting techniques for the most significant impact. To learn more about developing and applying techniques like the 3-axis gimbal, check the ZHIYUN YouTube series – How to Make A Short Movie with Your Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer, and they will provide sample shots with a step-by-step guide to filming your own.
