DIY shooting techniques

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This is a general thread for shortcut filmmaking techniques.

Here is my latest dilemma:

I want to film a static shot of something directly BELOW the camera (in other words, the plane the the subject is on is entirely horizontal and I am shooting it straight on. I don't have a tripod that can do this nor can I afford a rostrum, which would be the industry-standard way of doing something like this. I can cheat it and shoot on a wall, but the viewer MUST get the impression that they are looking at the ground, so I would prefer another method.

Who is brave enough to suggest a (cheap!) solution for this?

adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Monday, 7 March 2005 19:42 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm not following. Can you be a little more specific?

jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 01:30 (nineteen years ago) link

You might be able to rig something with several bungee cords...

Girolamo Savonarola, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 10:13 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh, so you're doing a bird's eye shot? Am I getting this right?

The way I've done this in the past is by building a small shelf to hang from the ceiling with a round hole mitred through it, large enough to fit the lens through. Then secure the camera with rope.

If you don't need to be very high up, you could just buy a cheap tripod that can tilt down all the way.

jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 15:36 (nineteen years ago) link

If you don't need to be very high up, you could just buy a cheap tripod that can tilt down all the way.

Haha, this is basically what I wanted to hear. :/

adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 16:05 (nineteen years ago) link

Tape the camera to the underside of a table.

Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 10 March 2005 21:47 (nineteen years ago) link

Actually there is a Bogen tripod that allows you to do this. A guy with a voice box at college showed me it!

Milo Smiley (nordicskilla), Friday, 11 March 2005 17:51 (nineteen years ago) link


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