www.glidecam.com now has my glidecam footage on their website. I have also put it on youtube. It’s a little more behind the scenes look at my unicycle-glidecam setup I use to film Inner Balance with.
for all those who already own Inner Balance, this is the special feature marked as Glidecam in the bonus features…
the song is from Ian James www.ianjamesmusic.com
thats cool
thats pretty cool. is it hard to ride with the camera?
Am I the only one that wants to ride bike messanger style through NYC after seeing that vid?
Great stuff Brian, I bought your dvd and really really liked it. I think the whole idea of a moving camera really really makes a dvd sooo much better. I hate tripods, they are good for showcasing a new trick but horrible for showcasing skill and trying to entertain someone. A fully mobile flowing camera kicks ass.
As for messenger style riding in downtown environments. I have had a couple close calls involving busses that have pretty much scared me away from that kind of riding now. Although I noticed in the DVD that he was usualy taking the safer routes and not necesarily the fastest or craziest ones :p, but he still did it all with alot of skill.
I need a glidecam now.
I loved seeing you run down the stairs following the rider, then seeing the vid form your camera and its just soo smooth! Love it.
I liked that bit as well. Running down stairs at that speed with all that kit without falling over is probably more impressive than unicycling down it 
Rob
thanks guys…
once i was up and riding, it was pretty easy, but mounting was a little tricky some of the time (much less tricky on the schlumpf than the coker). after I figured out to mount the monitor on the handle (typically they are mounted at the bottom and used as counterweight, but they spin when the whole contraption spins, leaving your view) i was able to keep looking forward while i rode, which was helpful in situations like riding in traffic. Initially (as the Glidecam people thought) the top->forward->righthand weight of the setup might have seemed hard to balance, but that was not the case at all (as I predicted)
(at the beginning of the clip, when i bend down to pick up my uni, and the camera goes way out in front of me, which is about 11 pounds with all the weights, etc…I felt no strain whatsoever, it’s like it was still in my hand close to my body)
While not in this clip, but for owners of the DVD…when you see me follow Adam up between the two rows of cabs, you’ll notice some side to side play in the camerawork. This was from me having no interest in having the big metal extension of the glidecam (which mounts to the vest and takes all the weight of the gear) sticking out beside me hitting any of their mirrors (that shot was the most terrifying to me in the whole movie) (had it hit the mirror of any cab, i would have instantly gone down into the cab, it was a first take shot though, thankfully…i wasn’t even sure i was going to follow him, but I’m happy I did)
Running down the stairs to film took about 15 takes before we got it right, I was getting pretty sick of it by the time we got it! My first couple of times went much slower, the hardest part was running so fast down them, and having to land with my feet angled so my whole foot would be on the stairs…I could have fallen any time, that would have sucked royally!
Jerrick. get one!
PS…I’m currently working on a cut down version of the movie (7 mins or so) for the Banff Film Festival, I think they are going to crap their pants when they see it (not even hollywood could do some of these shots sans-unicycle)
man the glidecam is incredible.
That scene when you are going down stairs folowing the unicyclist is really cool!
I really want one glidecam.
the camera work you are doind is awesome
yea that glidecam is amazing but i looked on the website and 10K us dollars for the whole package. I will def have to put it on hold for now.
the package i am using is about $4000, and that includes the $1000 monitor
the expensive stuff is for the heavy pro cameras, i think what i have is good up to a 10 pound camera give or take
for those on a budget, the $700 or so 4000pro is what works all the magic…the vest is better, and you can sustain much longer shots. with the 4000pro (or 2000 for those with tiny cameras), you can still get the ‘glidecam look’
Really??? wow thats not too bad then… mmm i guess i know what i need to start saving for then. The shots are amazing!!! Thanks for the great info.
Also, if you search for “DYI steadycam” or something alike you can find instructions on making your own. It doesn’t look as professional, but if your just making videos for youtube it will do just fine.
Good Question
Simply put,
Brian makes riding and filming (production quality footage) with the glideCam look as easy as you make riding a unicycle look to your friends.
The big difference is, a unicycle actually gets easier to ride once you learn to ride.
Riding with the glideCam especially in the 100 degree heat which we filmed those scenes in never gets easy. The challenge is not only controlling the weight and rapid movement of the glideCam, it’s being able to shoot the quality footage necessary for production purposes at the same time.
In a location like Time Square at the busiest time of the night with the temp at 100 degree’s only Brian and his best buddy (GlideCam) could catch me on film riding through the streets and side walks of NYC and be able to use the footage.
Even the professional film crews we bumped into in Time Square from MTV and Time Warner were amazed at his setup.
So, The GlideCam is not necessarily the easiest equipment to use while riding a uni in the middle of Time Square but, it certainly makes the scenes that are shot with it look smooth and easy compared to any other technique currently being used. It also leaves the viewer with the question of, how was that scene shot?
Watch “Training Wheel Not Required” and then watch “Inner Balance”, it won’t be hard to find the scenes that where shot with the GlidCam and appreciate what the GlideCam does to improve those scenes from the old technique of riding with a standard tripod in hand.
Go to justonewheel.com and send me an e-mail if you would like to have a copy of INNER BALANCE ($24.95) and/or Training Wheel Not Required ($22) shipped to you for $4.95 anywhere in the US.
Or both movies for $39.95 + Shipping.
We will have our new site and e-commerce up and running within the week.
Great video competitions to look forward to with great prizes for the winners.
Adam
I’ve had bad experiences with Glidecam Industries, I’d lost my thumbscrews for my glidecam and I had a 48 hour film festival coming up so I phoned up Glidecam to ask if they’d be able to courier some screws to me. The guy sounded very helpful and was like “yeah sure, should be with you by Friday at the latest”.
He never even sent them until the following Thursday so they arrived a week and a half after he’d said… completely missing the Film Festival and so that was US$75 in postage and packaging down the drain.
I keep mine screwed in 