The Steadicam®, invented in 1976 by cinematographer Garret Brown, is a brand-defining icon in film and video production. It is no exaggeration to say that the Steadicam revolutionized the handheld shot, with the most famous early examples being Rocky (1976) and The Shining (1980). Genuine, authentic Steadicams and certified Steadicam operators don't come cheap, however. Furthermore, the balancing principle behind the device is not exactly rocket science, which has led people to create hundreds of imitation, homebuilt Flying Camera Supports, with the most famous pioneer being Sami Raimi in The Evil Dead, which started shooting in 1977. I won't call these cheap imitations Steadicams, because they aren't, but it is with this history in mind that I present my own DIY Flying Camera Support.

Principles

There are really only two principles behind the fanciest Steadicam and the cheapest DIY imitations: extra Weight and a Gimbal.

Adding weight is easy and - all by itself - makes a camera more stable. Duct taping a brick to the bottom of your camera will make it more difficult to move. Add a homemade shoulder mount or some grips and you can improve the steadiness of your shots. There are a number of DIY plans on the Internet that do only this and I don't doubt that they work, but they are NOT Steadicam-type flying camera supports. For that, you need a gimbal. 

And the gimbal is the sticky wicket. It needs to move freely, but it also needs to safely secure your camera. Those two characteristics are in conflict. Oh, and it needs to be inexpensive. I searched and searched and even tried to build my own gimbal, but, finally, I gave up and just purchased a monopod from Amvona.

I purchased the $50 Amvona AM-101KB primarily because it looked like the gimbal up top was what I needed, but it turned out to be a pretty nice monopod and very solidly built. And although I really just needed a gimbal-on-a-handle (you can also get the gimbal head all by itself for $22), the extensible monopod actually has its own advantages, but we'll get to that in just a bit. 

The Build

The monopod also had another feature that I hadn't anticipated: the mounting plate is made of an aluminum alloy that was both strong and very easy to drill through. I mounted a short section of 3/4" PVC pipe to the plate with a pair of bolts from my junk drawer. To be honest, I eyeballed the whole thing, but I've included dimensions on the diagrams and photos here: feel free to adjust anything you want. This isn't rocket surgery.

Next, I attached two 45° PVC joints to that.Not incidentally, this is all attached in such a way that it doesn't get in the way of the quick-release plate at all and so it doesn't actually interfere with how the monopod works.

Then, I attached two *mumble-inches* sections of 3/4" PVC pipe to that, maybe nine inches? Seemed about right. The important part is that they are the same length. 

Then, I drilled 5/8" holes in the pipe for the bolts in the next step. This, actually, did not go well, and the holes are ragged and uneven. (Probably because I used a wood bit with a starter thingee on it? I dunno.) Slide a bolt into the hole, load it up with washers (10 seemed like a good number), and then thread a nut on the end of it and the mount is basically done.

I splurged and spent another 50-cents on end caps and spray painted the whole thing black, just for looks, but with the PVC costing $1.50 and the bolts and washers coming in at about $6, I'm pretty happy with the project's total pricetag.

In Use

I don't have any formal or professional training with a real Steadicam, but I have used a Steadicam Jr. and a Steadicam Merlin and an early Glidecam, so I do have something to compare with my device. My DIY Flying Camera support is easier to balance and use - initially. Add a washer here. Twist the PVC there. Very easy, although the jerry-rigged contraption does need duct tape and other assorted, completely unprofessional adjustments here and there. By bringing the weight out and away from the center of the camera, my mount also resists drift-panning movements that center-mounted designs do not. On the other hand, this makes the rig awkward indoors in tight places. Fortunately, having extra PVC lying around means you can change this mount into different configurations in just a few minutes.

The monopod has some other advantages, too (besides being cheap). It's easier to rest with it, for example. Drop the leg down and it's still a real monopod. Hold it up and you have a mini-boom crane. And since the weight levels the thing out, you can actually perform low-to-high pseudo crane shots that are pretty cool.

There are downsides to this design. While many people might see "cheap" as an advantage, my system looks cheap and homemade. Quite honestly, the bride at the wedding you are shooting is going to freak when she sees it and faint dead away when the PVC arm loosens and drops on the floor during the ceremony.  And the gimbal on the top of my DIY Flying camera support is not nearly as good as the Steadicam or Glidecam gimbals. And it's a lot easier to bump into the limits on the monopod's gimbal (gimbal lock), which completely ruins the shot. Take 2!

In the end, this isn't a Steadicam® - and I'm not pretending it is. If you are working on a serious professional project and need a Steadicam shot (i.e, it's in the shooting script that you need one), hire yourself a certified Steadicam operator. Or buy one and LEARN HOW TO USE IT (i.e., take the class and get certified). Really, there's a difference between what professional Steadicam operators do and what you and I do for fun on the weekends.

If, however, you are a hobbyist that wants to try some Steadicam-esque shots because they look really cool, but you don't actually have a shooting script that calls for it (yet!), save some money and build one yourself. A few hours to build and a little fooling around shooting and who cares if it ultimately ends up in the closet? At least it didn't cost you a thousand bucks.

References:

• Garret Brown
• The Steadicam – “The biggest thing since Technicolor”
• $14 Steadicam
• Amvona
• Home Built Stabilizers