Steadicam Merlin 2 - Page 33

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Basic Set-up
Boom high for shooting adults
Boom low for correct headroom for kids. This
lets you see the world from a kid’s perspective,
rather than looking down on the top of their
heads.
Boom up as you approach your subject (instead
of tilting) to maintain correct headroom.
Boom up and down if the height of the
ground is changing between you and your
subject. Example: You are following someone
who steps off a curb. Boom down as they lower
in your frame. Boom up when you step off the
curb because your subject will appear to be
rising in frame. The Merlin 2 is an inert object
and tilting rapidly is difcult. Booming is easy
because moving the Grip hand straight up or
down has no effect on the camera’s angle and
can be done as quickly as you like.
monitor screen as needed and experiment with
raising and lowering the height of the camera
and notice the effect that it has on your shot.
When you boom up and down, make sure that
the operating hand (on the Guide) rises and falls
right along with the lifting hand (on the Grip). In
fact, when booming, it’s helpful to let both hands
remain slightly in contact with each other so they
can move in sync.
Combo Tilt/Boom Shots
Working with, rather than against, the unique
nature of any
Steadicam rig, large
or small, will make
your shots as easier
to obtain. Booming
is easy. Tilting is
difcult due to the
increased inertia of
the tilt axis.
Note: Your framing is the sum of the tilt
angle and the boom height.
Experiment with different combinations. A low-
angle shot (boomed low, tilted up) can be much
more dramatic than the usual eye-level stuff.
A high-angle shot (boomed up over your head,
tilted down) looks great for similar reasons.
Don’t always just shoot at the conventional
hand-held lens height. Adjust your camera’s
Combine booming and tilting: raise the camera
part way when tilting up, lower it when tilting
down – it keeps your hand positions less radical
and your shots more precise.
Body Clearances
Learn how to avoid bumping your body or
clothes with the spars and the weights.
Bend your elbow out sideways to avoid hitting
the Merlin 2 as you boom up.
Flex your wrists out of the way of the spars as
you make extreme pans to either side.
Almost any contact with the lower spar can ruin
a shot, but giving the Steadicam a bit of “ying
room” will soon become instinctive. Be extra-
conscious of clearance at rst, and after a few
days of practice you will nd that you almost
never bump into things.