| Camcorders
used to be so large that they rested on a person's
shoulder while he shot. The fact that they were
heavy made for fairly steady operation. These
days, those full-sized camcorders are few and
far between, having made way for the smaller units
we all know and love. The newer smaller camcorders
are light years ahead of their predecessors with
regard to portability, but because they are truly
hand-held, the shots they produce are not as steady
as those of their bulky forefathers.
So
how do you keep your shots steady? Not to worry-there
are lots of ways. You probably already have a
tripod, the best choice for the rock-steady shot.
But, like that big, old camcorder, a tripod can
be a pain to carry with you on your all-day trip
to the zoo. With that in mind, we're going to
lay aside that three-legged contraption for now,
in lieu of finding a more creative approach to
camcorder support
Image
Stabilization
When
manufacturers realized that smaller camcorders
meant shakier images, and that video hobbyists
weren't using tripods, they invented a nifty little
feature called Image Stabilization. Chances are
your camcorder has it, just look for a button
labeled EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) or
OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). A flip of this
switch employs artificial intelligence that recognizes
camera shake and compensates for the shake electronically
or optically. For a technical explanation of how
EIS and OIS work, check out Smooth Moves: Understanding
Image Stabilization by Scott Anderson in Videomaker's
December 1999 issue (available online at www.videomaker.com).
While
Image Stabilization technology does help to smooth
out minor camera jiggles, it isn't able to eliminate
all unwanted camera movement. Clearly your EIS
or OIS button is not the answer to all of your
camera support problems. The best way to make
use of your camcorder's Image Stabilization technology
is in conjunction with the other techniques discussed
in this column. So flip the switch if you want
to, but keep on reading.
Getting
Attached
You
may have noticed that your camcorder has a threaded
hole on the bottom. All camcorders have them.
This is where you attach your tripod's mounting
plate with a bolt. That bolt is a standard 1/4-inch
diameter.
What
does this mean to you? It means that you can attach
a whole slew of homemade support accessories to
your camcorder with a common, 1/4-inch bolt that
you can buy at your corner hardware store.
You
can attach a flat stick or metal rod that will
extend back to your shoulder, giving your camcorder
the added stability of it's older larger ancestors.
Attach a bolt to the end of a lightweight pole
and you have a makeshift monopod that can rest
on the ground while you are shooting. Monopods
provide stability to your shot while allowing
you to move the camcorder quickly to follow action.
Readers have even bolted entire tripod heads to
the tops of ladders for shooting over large crowds.
Get creative, the possibilities are as endless
as your imagination.
Bean
it Baby
 One
of the popular and effective guerrilla supports
is the bean bag. Bean bags make great camera supports
because they mold to fit the contours of your
camcorder while resting on the ground or other
solid surface. Simply get your hands on a bean
bag large enough to support your camcorder. Set
your camcorder on the bean bag, frame your shot,
and the bean bag will hold it in place.
When
should you use bean bags? Well, suppose you need
to shoot from the top of a wall or other tall
objectyour tripod proves impractical to use. Simply
rest the bean bag on top of the wall and plop
your camcorder on the bean bag. Bean bags work
especially well for low angle shots. Most tripods
cannot hold the camcorder lower than a foot off
the ground. A bean bag will provide a rock-solid
platform inches from the ground.
Don't
have an actual bean bag? You can adapt this technique
to a myriad of soft items: pillows, blankets,
sandbags, a sack of leaves, even your camcorder
bag. They'll all work just fine.
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Finders
Keepers
Just
because you didn't buy, build or bring a camera
support doesn't mean you are doomed to have shaky
shots. The attentive shooter can find camcorder
supports all around. You might set your camcorder
on a picnic table to get a shot of your daughter
playing at the park, or you could rest your camera
on a fence post to get a better shot of the zebras
at the zoo. Anything is fair game. Creative shooters
have been known to steady their camcorders on
garbage cans, mailboxes, curbs, benches and truck
tailgates. When you start to look for them, camera
supports are plentiful and practically everywhere
to be found.
 Brace
Yourself
Another
easy, yet effective, way to steady yourself is
to simply lean on something. You can lean forward,
bracing your elbows on the hood of a car, or lean
back against a tree or wall. Flat walls are great,
but one of the best places to lean is in a corner
where two walls come together. This provides support
on both sides of your body. As you lean back into
the wall, extend your legs forward and apart.
This essentially turns your body into a tripod,
providing a very stable platform for steady shooting.
 Get
Down
Finally,
don't forget that your body itself can serve as
an effective support. If you kneel down on one
knee, what support jumps right out at you? The
other knee. Rest your camcorder on your free knee,
and you will have almost as much support as if
you were using a bean bag or a tripod. This is
very effective as long as you can keep your balance.
 Take
this idea a step further and sit on the ground
with your legs crossed. Your legs form something
of a cradle in this position. This cradle is ideal
for holding a camcorder and shooting from low
angles. Sit with your knees up in front of you
and you can rest your elbows on them.
Riflemen
know that one of the best shooting positions is
prone. Lay on your stomach with your head raised
and elbows on the ground and fire away. Another
riflemen's tip: to minimize the motion of your
body, relax and breath in deep, slow breaths.
As
you can see, tripods and other store-bought camcorder
supports are not the only tools you have at your
disposal for keeping your camcorder steady during
a shoot. The key is to be creative, understanding
that nearly anything solid can serve as support.
You can rest camcorders on the roofs of cars,
on stone walls, on furniture and just about any
other solid surface. They all work in a pinch.
With a little forethought you can prepare some
unusual camcorder supports that will give you
just the right amount of assistance to steady
that shot. Try constructing a homemade monopod,
bean bag or shoulder support. Think about your
environment as having potentially unlimited types
of camcorder supports. And you never know, they
might provide you with some flexibility to get
shots that are just plain impossible with a tripod.
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