Home Built Camera Crane

[mrduffy100]

how much did it cost to build?

[Jes437]

@mrduffy100 : Less than £100 for the crane itself, some more for the monitor.

[josef0skate0sebas]

very smoooth = )

[merovatis1]

H! I checked the site you link at the description but i cant see any image...

[BanoDiego]

nice job!!

ok!



[uDaeth]

is there a video monitor on it so you can see whats on the camera?

[Jes437]

@uDaeth : Yes, a 7" widescreen LCD with shade has been fitted since, see my other vid

[MrSmallButBrave]

2:53 lol :p

[TEENSHOW1]

HI WOW THAT IS COOL IM TRYING TO MAKE ONE AND LIKE HOW MUCH WOULD THAT BE AND HOW BIG IS THAT ?

[Jes437]

@TEENSHOW1: It would cost less than £100 to make. There's a link to a web page in the description, you should be able to suss it from the pics.

[18529]

your son is adorable ^^

nice work man! it would be nice to explain how u built it!

[Jes437]

@18529 : There's a link to a web page in the description, you should be able to suss it from the pics.

[yoginegi143]

hey, can i know how u build that jib, pls tell us. i really want to make one. i am an indie filmmaker.

[Jes437]

@yoginegi143 : Hi, there's a link to some information in the description.

[selthedon1]

Nice crane mate, looks very smooth!

[omgitsmadonna]

Haha wow!

[matrat57]

holy sh** this is impressive for an homemade crane, doesnt even shake at 2 story's high.

[RosserProductions]

Fantastic Build! Looks great

[tinotrivino]

I hate 3ccd chips i prefer 1cmos cameras!!!

[VegasCinemaTV]

looks very proffessional!

[StatelessDave]

Nice job, keep jibbin 'n crani'n! Shiat looks so heavy though.. Couldn't you have made it from a lighter material like a sturdy PVC? That's what I'll do and I'll post it on YaTube for yours trully...

[Jes437]

it's a trade off between weight and ridgidity. I can't deny that this fairly large crane is weighty, but that weight also aids smoothness. I've carried the assembled jib for about half a mile across a beach on my shoulder, it hurts after that :-)

Let me know when you've put your video of your crane up.

[StatelessDave]

Will do.. It'll be made entirely of a sturdy PVC plumbing pipe and it will weigh somewhere in the vicinity of just 5 lbs... Will let you klnow where you can "watch" it in action... Listen, now that you got that jib you need to get some Video & Audio skillz under you belt, what are you currently using for Video edit?

[Jes437]

Premier Pro CS3 since I've gone HDV. This vid was made with Pro 7 in DV.

[StatelessDave]

Premier Pro is pretty good but if you wanna go pro get what the big boys in Hollywood use for Blockbuster movies, it's Avid Media Composer 4. You will NOT believe the difference.. premiere pro is child's play compared to this... That's why I asked...

[studiomlmoviemakers]

i just maked my own camera dolly. I want to do my next project an jib camera crane man. Nice work!

[SportsCurry]

that was perfect! I love how you edited it so there is a picture-in-picture... well done

[topbunkvideo]

Very nice. Your camera two operator did and awsome job!

[Jes437]

Hehe, yes, bith my girls seem to have a talent for framing and an interest in film making, something I try to encourage :-)

[MIKEY19900]

Very nice and smooth video handling , u see mine?

[Jes437]

Yes I have, looks good.

[DjSamarium]

lol .. nice and sharp or shut up :))) .. never mind ... really cool :D:D good work

[Cash4Eric]

Nice for spying on those pesky neighbors!

Very nice, very smooth!

Beautiful device!

Good Job!

[eckstudios]

great!!

[cubleycat]

That works so well 10/10

[shadowbayfilms]

"I said shut up so I can hear it." What kind of an way is that to talk to your kid?

[Jes437]

I said 'nice and sharp so I can hear it'. Listen again.

[InfinityM3dia]

yea he really did say nice and sharp, listen again

[spaceye]

LOL, epic.

[snypercat]

It does sound like he said "I said shut up so I can hear it." but he did say 'nice and sharp so I can hear it' I think we should give shadowbayfilms a break now after all well all make mistakes! I recently had a comment on a video about something that cost £650, I was referring to the scopes @£35 the Guy called me a Dumb F**k and a C*nt, he didn't read the whole thing and he ended up looking like an idiot!

Jes437 Is a genius at engineering

[gravelboycauty]

Wow, that looks great! So smooth aswell. Good work.

[nigel101]

hey i make films too you look like your from UK, im liverpool. How high is that? looks awesome im building one tomoz.

[Jes437]

It has a usable height of about 23 feet, it changes a bit depending on what rig I have on the camera, sometimes I now undersling it as it's more stable that way. Checkout 'Sony HC5 Camera Crane and Car mout test' on my channel for it's full height in use.

[ryanucr]

pretty smooth

[betacircuits]

Good job! We are helping those future spielbergs afford to have these gadgets! More power to you, keep on going. [:0)

[kyleeastman]

theres a little vig on your wide angle

[Jes437]

Yeah, I've gone way past those sort of problems. I've got some ace conversion lenses now, check out my Sony HCR crane and car mount test vid in the higher quality version..

[edchaos2]

I like it. it's so quite, tell me can you dolly with it?

[Jes437]

I can now, but it's a two man job :-)

[dillyworld]

Nice job!

[abdouoriginal]

so what you can move your camera up and down the quality still is not professional, you dont even look like a jewish director, you look more like a creep spying into womens windows next door with your spy camera

[Jes437]

Thanks for your input. Could you show me one of your videos please so I can learn from you?

[Uhoh2012Productions]

I just noticed the UK... So let me rephrase my cost question. How much is 80 pounds in the US? Land of floods and world ending events.

[Jes437]

About $160 off the top of my head. I've added a few bits since, some more bracing, but I just used cheap ratchet straps and a couple of eye bolts each side of the crane, to stiffen lateral movement. Plus, I've now underslung the camera when using a tripod head for full adjustement, as this also aids stability. 'Cheap' is the order of the day, so long as it works and the camera doesn't see it! :-)

[Uhoh2012Productions]

Man, I'm Impressed. Not only extremely steady but look at that height(Is that how you spell that?). You really should put up a how to make it tut. I'll check out that link tho. I'm definitely making that. What was your actual cost?

[capriccioso35]

great vid, pretty helpful

[shlomo1986]

waouah! its pretty cool! do you have any video of how you actually built this crane, or would you recommend any video or website to learn how to make those? thanks for this video though.

[Jes437]

There's a link in the video description that may help you a little. J

[Jes437]

And check out my other crane test video, it's much better than this one. J

[asplosionsRtehShznaz]

oh wow this is amazing. i needed a few crane shots for my movie for this summer but didn't want to spend on rentals. this is amazing! perhaps it might still be a reality =] how much did all this cost you?

[Jes437]

The crane as it was in this video was about 80 UK Pounds.

[StinkyKnobcheese]

Wow. That's really nice. Beautiful and smooth.

[anre2004]

Great job...Israel :-)

[Jes437]

LOL!, Er, glad you liked it -)

[Jes437]

Link to some construction information now in 'About This Video'

[jjjjoseph5]

awesome... i am looking to make my own soon but maybe not that big

[EddieProductions]

I used ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0

[Jes437]

Ahh right, thanks, I'll check that out.

[EddieProductions]

It's a great program I am now making twomovie!, But where did you get your camera statif, or did you make it by yourself...

[Jes437]

If you mean the crane, I made it myself. There's some better footage in my other crane test video.

[EddieProductions]

I'm sorry, yes i mean crane In the neterherlands we call it a ''Statief''

but Wow that's great. How you did that, can you mayba make a tutorial of it, i LIKE IT.

[Jes437]

I've got still images of parts of the crane, and some drawings. I'll send a link to a web page once I've put one together in a few hours.

[EddieProductions]

Thank, I think, was that a compliment

[Jes437]

Yes, I like it, mine looks cartoony, yours has a sharp look, something I'm finding hard to animate, or indeed produce in any other way.

[EddieProductions]

thanks dead mauahHIhahah WTF

[Jes437]

I like your ident Eddie, your work?

[laplantine]

I like the way you show your home.

[Jes437]

Who said it was my home?

[laplantine]

the tags: Camera, Crane,

Home, built, video.

[Jes437]

LOL!, a little tenuous, but I see your thinking. 'Home made' as in not a professional item.

[laplantine]

also my english is not very good, but I

had the feeling to see a bit of your

familly too, I watched it as a familiar

space.

[Jes437]

No worries :-)

[filmguy91]

careful with the sun

[Jes437]

In what way, artistically? or for the safety of the CCD?

[filmguy91]

for the reason that the sun can block out you images when you shoot against it. you only get a glare. shoot with the sun and your images look absolutely professional and there is no sun glare. 12 noon is best. if you do shoot against the sun use a sun lens to reduce glaring to get a picture of the sun and you set with out the glare. you save alot of time in post production with this.

[Jes437]

Can't agree with noon sun, the light is harsh and narrow shadows reduce the depth. But, this is test using a cheap handycam, it's about the crane not the composition, check my other crane out for a touch on that. In my Powerkiting vid you'll see a direct to sun shot about mid afternoon, neutral density filters and a polariser alowed that. Here the footage was taken within an hour of making the crane. Thanks for you input though.

[Jes437]

* 'my other crane' should read 'my other crabe video' Cheers. J

[Jes437]

LOL!, I wish this had an edit function ....'my other crane video' :-)

[Jes437]

Btw I'd use a fixed apeture and fill in light for contre-jour stuff normally, this cam was set to auto.

[Swagbagcorp]

In some cases the sun can burn the CCD

[Jes437]

Yes I know. Thanks. J

[JoelMorehouse]

What did you do with the end of the rope that wasn't hooked up to the camera?

[Jes437]

The other end of the line is connected to a post fixed to the centre pivot, this post turns with the crane. With the main jib it then forms the parallelogram arrangement which keeps the camera at the set angle.

[oliviervanaschen]

Please, please, please can you make up the plans for this crane? This is really amazing footage from a diy crane. Very smooth. I'm really impressed!

[Jes437]

I'll get something together by the end of the month.

[Jes437]

Nearly there, a couple more measurements to make and I'll have the drawings finished :-)

[amstoakes]

this is quite kwl.. as a media student this has helped me to understand how a few camera angles are accomplished.. i also like the way you have simultaneous screens.

[jonathanbrann]

i have just got a Bolex from ebay. i love to make stuff and know i could make a crane like this. how do you think i could get a screen to work with this and a Bolex. i thought about using a web cam or some very small cam, fixed to the side. what do you think?

seeing this gets me fired up. good work getting around problems. the sine of a true film maker.

[Jes437]

There's a function I've yet to try with this crane which invloves using a second camera on the head for monitoring. So, about £100 invested on ebay stuff got me a bullet camera and the monitor you see fitted here. It's a cheap route to getting a monitor image. But, it would have been better to buy an old video camera, say a video 8 or Hi8 for £50 and use that, you'll be able to match focal lengths (at least field of view) to your 16mm cam and get a far better setup, I figure :-).

[anthonyt87]

i'd say this is the best diy crane i've seen so far

[hayzhayzhayz]

this is REALLY GOOD.

plus it helped me to understand crane camera movement (im a visual learner)

[oneeyedgeek]

Great video. The images have a crisp, almost 3D look. Have you made a video of the crane's construction, or are the plans available somewhere?

[Jes437]

The 3D thing comes from the way objects are view by the passing camera, it's a lot flatter from a regular pan/tilt tripod, with the crane things close to the camera move aside more for any given angular change.

There's no plans, but I hope to be able to make some up, this one was designed in the hand based on stuff from the net. The other video shows how it goes together a lttle bit.

[ObserverSUB]

me and a friend are making a jib 13foot(3m) with aluminium and wood, with platemounts to extend 5feet more. We will be finished tomorrow, we just used a wheelbase for big containers as the pivot points(updown,sides) and we will post some footage in a few days. if ur interested, i could put it as a video comment.

[Jes437]

Cool, yes, would be good to see what you've come up with

[ObserverSUB]

DUDE, thats nice work! You should start a jib business!

[Jes437]

Hah!, the number of people who have said that:-) It's really not that difficult a thing to make, getting the bits is probably the biggest construction challenge. Probably the most difficult thing is knowing how to use it effectively.

[Thephotofreak]

Whitch camcorder did you use?

[Jes437]

It was a Sony TRV270E

[DBAKER]

Nice!

[rcs2003]

The picture has very ugly barrel distortion. But nice work, good crane!

[Jes437]

Thanks. Yeah it's a cheap WA converter on there on that occasion, I'm looking at better cam gear at the moment, but still plenty to exhaust with my Handycams first.

[Melbell101]

Also how long did u make the crane?

[Jes437]

It's just under four metres from camera to the central pivot, so I get a five metre max height if you include the stand.

[Melbell101]

Can bought ones of e-bay and sites hold a sony handycam?? i dont get it how does it hold the camera??

[Jes437]

Most probably, yes. Most cameras have a threaded hole on the underside.

[Melbell101]

Who do u recomened i buy from? cause i cant build my own

[Jes437]

The Kessler's look good on paper, but can't say more than that, they are too costly to get to the UK where I am, so making one was the only viable option for me, especially for the height I wanted.

[Jakersoxas]

how do u actually mount the camera to the crane ? do u find the correct nut to connect to the bottom of the camera itself?

[Jes437]

The vast majority of still and video cameras use a standard thread, a 1/4" Whitworth, or 'BSW' (British Standard Whitworth). Many try and force a 1/4" UNC (Unified Coarse)into them, which is wrong, the pitch of the thread is the same (the number of turns of the thread over an inch), but the 'included angle' is different, 55 degrees for BSW, 60 degrees for UNC, the BSW gives a deeper thread. Mine came from an old tripod.

[Sshortgb]

lol was that your next door niegbours house that u lowerd the jib into

[Jes437]

Lol! Nah, The camera stayed within our boundary. There is footage from that day of my neighbours looking a bit quizical at this thing peeking over their fences though :]

[Jes437]

Thanks. I did the water thing to it to suss out the weights I'd need to buy, but ironically the crane is less stable this way. With the prper counterweight a new wobble came with it, a twisting one. So apart from the loss of crane height as the bucket hits the ground, it's actually better. I've have to stiffen the crane to get back to where I was. I've since used the crane in anger as it where, check out the other two videos of mine, another test, and the crane used in a film. J

[runeshai]

This is the second crane I've seen recently that used a bucket of water as its counterbalance, nice job. This one's really tall, I keep thinking of a shot from one of those top windows of the house down to a front door or something of somebody leaving. Nice job.

[Jes437]

About £100 so far, but a few things were bought in pairs, so I guess about £70 if I halve the cost of paired parts.

[jrusso7660]

How much money did this thing cost you?

[Jes437]

it's now 3.86 metres pivot to pivot.

[ace24ace1224]

Very nice. but how long is the main beam on you crane?

[JesterThump]

I really like the results which remind me of The League Of Gentlemen opening shot and the smoothness of the overall movement.