Hanging in the balance.

As with all things in life, achieving a balance leads to a successful and fulfilling existence. This too, applies to the proper deployment of the Glidecam.

Three years ago, I had the opportunity to edit a Product video for Westin Hotel. The Videography was provided by a third party who used the Flowcam from Varizoom. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that Varizoom's stabilizing products are nowhere near Glidecam Industries'.

After my own considerable practice with it, I managed to iron out the intricacies of my Glidecam. In retrospect, it was very clear from the get go that the Videographer did not consider balancing his Flowcam before applying it on an actual Videography session. The symptoms are an annoying swing of the video camera along the axes (a left-right or forward-backward rocking motion) when then the Videographer alters the speed of his movement.

A well-balanced Glidecam should not deviate much from any of its axes when the Videographer shifts his movement speed or abruptly stops. The Glidecam manual clearly shows us how to test for balance: walk with the Glidecam (camera mounted, LCD panel folded out) and stop suddenly. There should be no noticeable pendulum-like swinging of the Glidecam; this is a good indication of a well-balanced Glidecam.

I have to allocate about half hour to set up and balance our Glidecam. This means being on-location earlier. During our practice runs, it's a real drag packing up the Glidecam knowing full well it's going to be set-up again the following day.