This little trick may be something that the veterans are probably aware of, but for those that are just getting into film and video production I thought it might be helpful.
Before flying out to Las Vegas to shoot video of a bodybuilder preparing for the Mr. Olympia competition, my assistant and I improvised an inexpensive alternative to lugging a heavy tripod on an airplane.
At a craft store we purchased a bag of colored beads, the kind you would use for stringing on a necklace.
We then went to an office supply store and got one of those stretchy book covers. We wrapped the cover around the beads, still in their plastic bag, and secured it with several staples. It fit neatly in my small camera bag with my new Canon Vixia HD camcorder.
Here it is plopped on an abandoned concrete median. (In the 108 degree heat!)
Nestling the camera into it I was able to get rock steady shots of the depressing industrial park where our hotel was located. You can see the NICE part of Vegas off in the distance!
In the gym I set it on my backpack on a bench or on the floor. It was easy to reshape the bag and tilt the camera up or down to frame the image exactly the way I wanted it.
This enabled me to roam freely and get hand held and detail shots like this all the while knowing that I had a stationary camera as backup.
I love my new beanbag tripod! I take it everywhere!
Much, much easier, is just to get the bag and carry it empty and folded up. When you get where you're going (this is especially useful when flying), buy a decent bag of lentils or other coarsely granulated stuff, and put it in the bag, still sealed. It works just as well, and you can eat the contents when you need to. It also works with dry sand, or gravel, whatever you can find, but doesn't taste as nice afterwards.
Good one Mike, a bit cheaper than the 'Cinesaddle' eh?
Cripes! where was your hotel? I've stayed in most of the hotels on the strip (at least the ones built before 2004), except the Bellagio and I'll bet you can't see the fountains out front from the vantage point of your second still. I always managed to get a great deal on the rooms... for example $70 a night at the Stratosphere and only $90 for the MGM Grand and Treasure Island, and once even managed to get a penthouse suite in Treasure Island for less than $120 a night! So you musta been really slumming it!! :)
Much, much easier, is just to get the bag and carry it empty and folded up. When you get where you're going (this is especially useful when flying), buy a decent bag of lentils or other coarsely granulated stuff, and put it in the bag, still sealed. It works just as well, and you can eat the contents when you need to. It also works with dry sand, or gravel, whatever you can find, but doesn't taste as nice afterwards.
LOL! Very good advice.
However, the plastic beads are very light and I didn't want to have to worry about finding something to fill the bag once I got on location because I didn't know what my situation would be and I would have no car. I wanted to be ready to go as I stepped off the plane.
Good one Mike, a bit cheaper than the 'Cinesaddle' eh?Cripes! where was your hotel? I've stayed in most of the hotels on the strip (at least the ones built before 2004), except the Bellagio and I'll bet you can't see the fountains out front from the vantage point of your second still. I always managed to get a great deal on the rooms... for example $70 a night at the Stratosphere and only $90 for the MGM Grand and Treasure Island, and once even managed to get a penthouse suite in Treasure Island for less than $120 a night! So you musta been really slumming it!! :)
ha ha! How right you are! We were nowhere near the strip!
It's not that we were slumming it and the sponsor, MuscleMeds supplements, could certainly afford better, but this athlete had come to Vegas seven weeks before the show to shut himself off from the rest of the world and do nothing but train. We were in a nice but simple hotel, separated from the action. It didn't even have a restaurant. I had to walk a quarter mile in the incredible heat to eat at the closest casino!
It was an amazing, intense three days that I spent with Kai Greene and his trainer. All they did was train, cook, eat, sleep and listen to power of the mind positive reinforcement CDs. The only time I got to see the strip is when we passed it in his car on the way to the gym! So here we are in one of the most decadent cities in the world, surrounded by all-you-can-eat buffets, alcohol, entertainment, gambling and dancing girls creating a "bubble of purity" within it where no temptation could reach.
It's going to be a great segment of the documentary.
I've been looking for a bean bag or its contents for yonks.
I've only found massive seats, much too big, so the tips for filling are handy.
Good on you Mike. If it's any consolation I have had to work that way a number of times before myself (thankfully not in Vegas though!).
Me and my crew are about to embark on an intense 4 days of ob. doc filming in South Wales from tomorrow, somehow we have to cover a number of events at more than 12 venues all over a seaside town as we follow our subject this coming weekend. I've hired a large coachouse in a nearby rural location, so in contrast to you we will have a luxury base to work from. :D
I'm thinking I will follow your lead and pick up a bag and some beads/lentils tomorrow too.
I've been looking for a bean bag or its contents for yonks.
I've only found massive seats, much too big, so the tips for filling are handy.
Same here! We looked everywhere and eventually decided we'd have to make it ourselves. Go to a craft or hobby store. They have bags of colored sand and beads of all kinds!
Good on you Mike. If it's any consolation I have had to work that way a number of times before myself (thankfully not in Vegas though!).Me and my crew are about to embark on an intense 4 days of ob. doc filming in South Wales from tomorrow, somehow we have to cover a number of events at more than 12 venues all over a seaside town as we follow our subject this coming weekend. I've hired a large coachouse in a nearby rural location, so in contrast to you we will have a luxury base to work from. :D
I'm thinking I will follow your lead and pick up a bag and some beads/lentils tomorrow too.
It was the first time I had been sent on location like this. I felt that the hardships added to my experience and I look upon it as a right of passage.
If you are on the run I think you will find the bean bag very useful in certain circumstances. It's also helpful in getting candid shots because in combination with a small camera it is also less obtrusive than setting up a tripod which announces to everyone..."Hey! We're filming here!!!"
Coachouse? Sounds nice! Can you give us a little hint as to the subject matter of the doc?
Mike you have a PM.
Great work Mike. My philosophy entirely. Anything to get the solid shots.
I've used walls, cupboards, but never made a portable one. Good idea, though what the airlines would make of taking something similar on board here, I don't know. :)
That's why I said use an empty bag, and fill it with whatever makes sense when you get there. Lentils are perfect.
and you can keep stuff in the bag -like a pair of shoes. a cheap cushion cover works well as they have a little zip
I bought two of these recently and they are great for putting small cameras like my HF11 on cars and anywhere, I also use it for the cheap 7" monitor I bought:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Helmet-or-bullet-camera-ULTRA-CLAMP_W0QQitemZ220479014946QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item335592c822&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_736wt_941
Great work Mike. My philosophy entirely. Anything to get the solid shots.
I've used walls, cupboards, but never made a portable one. Good idea, though what the airlines would make of taking something similar on board here, I don't know. :)
They are pretty strict here too. I didn't have a problem although I was watching the X-ray tech and she did hesitate for a moment!!
Good idea Mike. I find the top of my Billingham bag to be nice and flexible for that kind of use.