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November "Whatnot" featuring GARRETT BROWN |
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I really do pay attention to my fellow digital
video students. I hear the laments of what we wish we
had in the video cage. The picture shown above
is Garrett Brown, noted for the invention of the SteadicamTM,
but me, I rather like his dolly. However, the dolly is
not what this "Whatnot" is all about. Garrett Brown is best known as the Oscar-winning inventor of the Steadicam™. He has shot with it on nearly 100 movies including Rocky, The Shining and Return of the Jedi. View Garrett Brown Filmography. Garrett holds 50 patents worldwide for camera devices which include the new Steadicam Merlin, a miniature version for camcorders; Skycam, the robot camera that flies on wires over sporting events; and Mobycam, Divecam, Flycam et al that pursue athletes worldwide. In past lives Garrett has recorded for MGM as a folksinger (www.BrownandDana.com), sold Volkswagens, directed TV commercials and made films for SesameStreet, and his voice was the other half of that well-known ad-lib duo on radio for Molson and American Express (www.TwoVoices.com). He is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. So what's my point? Well essentially we've all just begun in this thing - the idea that we'll all make movies or commercials or whatnot in our lifetimes. Some of us will and some of us will not. I think we'll find along the way that we don't always have the tools that we need and one or two of us will go on to create - to invent whatever is necessary to get the the shot required. We'll go on to use these tools over and over again perfecting them to the point where we get that fluid motion look of Rocky Balboa running up the steps of the art museum. Okay, so maybe not Rocky. However, it wasn't a crane or whatever getting the look, it was a man with a camera rig fastened to him running up the steps behind him. What Garrett Brown has achieved in his lifetime is phenomenal. What we can achieve over the course of our lifetimes will also be great, but it takes a lot of practice and a lot of ingenuity - that is my point. Practice, practice, practice with the tools we already have. It's good place to start. www.garrettcam.com |
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