MANILA – Filipino directors, cinematographers, producers, and camera operators attended the country’s first Steadicam Bronze Workshop on July 22 and 23.
Presented by Big Brother Manila, in partnership with Tiffen Steadicam and Abracadabra Inc., the workshop provided the necessary skills and background in using a Steadicam.
Big Brother Manila’s JR Misa shared that although the Philippines has had the technology as early as 1991, this was not utilized as there was a lack of certified operators. 16 participants were to be certified at the end of the workshop.
Instructor Sang Hoon Park (Korea) began with the basics. “With every camera, everything is impacted by gravity. You have to check first for the center of gravity.” Park also gave tips for stabilising, such as keeping the camera far from the body. “Do not touch the camera directly,” he said. Meanwhile, Zhung Wei (Singapore), gracefully demonstrated how to wear the Steadicam.
Tiffen sales director for Asia Pacific Brett Smith (Australia) gave the introduction, explaining the Steadicam to both directors and producers as well as operators. “Without directors and producers understanding what a Steadicam shot is, when you use it, and where you use it, then the Steadicam operators have no job… That’s very important to divide the two areas. We need to educate both sides, not just an operator,” he said.
Smith explained that Steadicam was initially developed by Garrett Brown in the early 70s as a moving point of view device, used mainly in feature film production. “Today, the moving image is used everywhere,” he said, noting that Steadicam has applications in corporate production, television commercials, industrial education, documentary, news, lifestyle, variety, and drama.
He also discussed when a Steadicam is useful, such as in complex walking situations. “Where the talent changes direction, the background changes, you don’t want the film crew to be seen and also you want to keep the subject focused on the main characters. With a Steadicam you can do that beautifully. With any other product or any other dolly that has a restrictive position, at some point, the actors have to stop,” he said.
Smith placed emphasis on storytelling. “The ‘Why’ is to tell the story well… there’s a lot of unspoken emotion in the ability to just focus on a character and then change the point of view,” he said.
The Steadicam Workshop is not just for beginners. “Some will be Steadicam operators that just want to fix their bad habits or improve their skills or learn new techniques, which are always coming,” he said.
As with other skills, it takes regular practice in order to master the Steadicam. “The basic operation in three days or two days like this, gives people enough knowledge to be able to practice and go on… Some people have to work a lot harder than others. It’s like writing or directing or anything – some people are naturally better than others, and they they can be operating professionally in a very short time,” he said.
For more information on the Steadicam Workshop, visit Big Brother Manila on Facebook.
