Enable Your Jib to Do More

I watched the beautiful camera angles and movement “Hollywood” movie makers get with their expensive jibs, and wanted to be able to operate my DSLR camera (pan/tilt, focus, zoom) when it was out there at the end of my own jib. Here’s a video in which I share my inventions and methods that permit me to do more with my jibs. I cover nine topics and offer 18 of my inventions/ideas for the jib user, including some simple tips for setting up any jib.
In case you want to come back and review one or more of the topics again later, here’s a table of contents showing which subjects are covered at what points in the film. Just click on the blue time numbers and you'll be taken to that spot in the video:
1:00 Planning your shots with small or large jibs
1:44 Choosing a jib stand
3:20 Setting up your jib efficiently
5:14 Finding out how much counterweight you need
6:16 AND 11:18 Operating the camera from the front, middle or rear of the jib
7:08 Putting your jib on a dolly and track
12:31 Building a remotely operated fluid head
15:30 Making a wired remote follow focus and zoom control
21:11 The types of shots you can get with an enabled jib.
The PDF that describes building the dolly and track is here: brucephilpott.c...
A detailed photo of the enabled ten-foot jib is here: brucephilpott.c...
Details:
The working title for this project was Gee-Haw.
I made the animations in Adobe After Effects from drawings I created in Adobe Photoshop. The video was shot with three Panasonic HC-V700’s. The PDF was created in InDesign, again using photos and drawings I created in Photoshop.
One thing that prompted my invention of the remotely steerable fluid head was a music performance I filmed. In the conceptual stages of this film, I knew I wouldn’t have much room to move my main camera around behind the packed audience in the small room. I knew I could swing my ten-foot jib seven feet to the left and seven feet to the right above the audience, but I’d need to be able to pan and tilt the camera while standing at the base of the jib. It turned out there wasn’t room for the jib stand at the back of the room after all, so I wound up just moving from place to place back there using a long lens while four un-manned, static cameras captured continuous footage. By the time I found out there wasn’t room for the jib, I’d already built the steerable head.
I bought a 48” tent bag online to carry my jib accessories. It holds my jib stand and the 17” and 34” sections of track. The restraint cords are attached to end caps. I attach these end caps to the 17” sections and wind one cord around each 17” section and secure each with a rubber band. The metal track separators, the luggage scale, the yoke and the bulls-eye level all go into this bag as well.
The quick-open, quick adjust tripod I put my yoke on in this video is a Manfrotto 458B NeoTec.
My 10’ jib comes apart into two sections. When in use, they’re held together with two bolts with wing-nuts. I used cable ties to bundle the servo wires with the HDMI cable along the camera end of the jib boom. Beyond the wing-nut joint, those cables are held to the boom with BongoTies. An alternative method would be to use cable ties throughout; Your two boom sections would remain “hinged” together when the section bolts are removed, and would fold for transport.
To mount my monitor to the stand, I bent some aluminum stock 90 degrees and put a ¼” hole through it. I attached this bracket to the center post of the stand (the yoke part that swivels the boom) with two hose clamps. I mount the monitor to a friction arm and mount the other end of the arm through the hole in the bracket and secure with a locknut.
By the way, I received no compensation for the products I mention in the video.

[@krisinsaigon]

This is one of the best made and most helpful videos I've seen on KZbin. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. The attention you put into both the video and the jib design is great, I'll be watching more of your videos after this! The jib though will have to wait

[@RobFilm]

defenetly i like how sir Bruce make the whole thing, everything is explained and covered :) but the most interesting part is how the voice is clear and sound great ;P very nice presentation @BrucePhilpott

[@LukaBelle]

I'm thoroughly impressed. The time you've taken into giving us this info is very much appreciated. Thank you for making this!

[@pinchekittybiker]

Excellent video - and of great value when shopping for a jib - or trying to understand which jib to look for.

[@ChrisBrown1957]

Very informative video. Can I make a few observations? Re the limited range of servos. You can get - or modify - servos so they become "continuous rotation" rather than the limited 270 degrees of normal servos. (The servo tester should still operate them as that generates a series of pulses) Ideally a microswitch can be added to the gears so they cut the motors at end of zoom / focus range so the servo is not stalled, (and drawing heavy currents/burning out) I notice too some 'bounce' at the end of the jib. I think this can be alleviated by making the tripod pivot higher, and then running a wire from weights, across a pulley at top of tripod down to camera, thus creating two "triangles" The jib won't be able to move downwards as to do so would mean it would have to 'lift' the counterweight, which it physically cannot do. This cable can be tensioned via double ended threaded units, (the name of which escapes me at present) Another alternative to using a dolly on smaller shots might be to use a 'modern' jib/slider. This uses two 'tracks' mounted on the tripod. One has the camera, and one has a counterweight horizontally opposite the camera. (As the camera moves to the left, the weight moves away from the tripod to the right - and vice versa - so that the weight at tripod is zero) This means much less force will be used to tilt the jib arm up or down. True, it has a more limited range of 2 - 3mtr (ie 1mtr - 1.5mtr either side of tripod) and so cannot be swung out over audiences etc. I'm building mine out of bedroom sliding door fittings that use bearing rollers in a "U" channel. I like the idea of using the speaker stand - and using a speaker "Top Hat" so the unit simply slips onto the pole. (I went "heavy duty" and adapted a surveyor's tripod!!) Also like the "U" bracket/tripod support idea. For my pan head, again, I went the long route, and I've designed it to use stepper motors and a 20:1 worm gear. The latter stops the camera from moving from its set position as the gear cannot turn the worm attached to motor. (Mind you, to control it I will have to work on a 'microcontroller' to work out the actual position / desired position / generate pulses) Will keep you posted Again, very interesting video

[@dr.yahyaelewa1628]

Mr Bruce, HATS UP. We all love you.

[@PeterCane]

Super cool Bruce, a great demonstration of your jib,thanks for taking the time to put it together!

[@ahsimiksnabac6576]

most EXCELLENT youTube vid on DIY filmMaking i'v ever seen, mate ur a star, keep up the good werk!!

[@JamesStickel]

Awesome video.Thanks Bruce! Also... the turkey's caught me off guard.. haha.

[@pettypoh]

OMG the amount of work you have put into the video is enormous, super impressed, much respect sir

[@MariaAltmann]

Now this is top-notch Film-Making - "OM" Bruce Philpott

[@ErichHaubrich]

A clamp mount and counterweights from a shoulder rig might work in place of the C clamp for fine tuning in a pinch.

[@ernestacosta5958]

Good video as I just pulled out an old jib for a short film. I wish you would have uploaded a small video of how it looks using this jib. Thank you.

[@seventysevencats]

Like the others, I am too extremely grateful for the knowledge you share here, Bruce. Thank you for taking the time to put this together - and the many PDF on your website.

[@abhijithanandnewyork]

Hats off Bruce, for your time and effort.

[@BudzillaCycles]

This is a great jib video! Thank you SO much for helping educate new fans like me!

[@gamingdimension7]

Sir you are a true Master, thanks for sharing this, Blessings !

[@karenb1331]

I am fascinated by all the wild turkeys!!

[@FUBARPROTOCOL]

Thank you for all the great info. Could you please provide a link for the speaker stand you bought from Amazon. Thanks...

[@PhilpottBruce]

Mine is like this: www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TS80B?product_id=TS80B&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%2520-%2520Catch-All&adgroup=Catch-All&placement=google&adpos=1o6&creative=156936231009&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjw87PNBRBAEiwA0XAIrwQLMP8lvxy3lEpdkYbrUWsY68N65E016LkAuksFixYzlCPDTEk8PhoC6HQQAvD_BwE

[@ErichHaubrich]

Stepper motors might be cheaper and/or better than servos for some of this, perhaps use Arduino or ESP8266 to drive the motor controllers over bluetooth or wifi. This is fun stuff! Cheers!!

[@moth.systems]

this mans voice is so soothing theres just deer casually eating grass in the background while he gives this demo

[@sayedmohdsalman]

I was planning to build something similar like this.... really helped a lot .... thank you sir for your effort and sharing the idea

[@seantheberge5456]

Great video! It is possible that you may be be able to get more rotational travel from your focus and zoom servos by using a more advanced servo tester that allows extended rates. Nice work.

[@shreditors1389]

Saw this on the Frugal Filmmaker FB group Bruce. Interesting video and I picked up on a few new things!

[@guguemichaels]

God bless you sir! I enjoyed this detailed tips and suggestions. Thank you for sharing.

[@SymonSaysTV]

I'm so surprised nobody mentioned those big hawk type of birds entering the frame in the background at 1:02!!! I have never seen big birds like that in my life, and especially in a town. What are those???

[@PhilpottBruce]

Those are wild turkeys which my camera operator didn't think to tell me about so we could resume shooting when they walked away. We decided it wasn't worth the re-shoot.

[@SymonSaysTV]

Reshoot? Never that's amazing. Do you have a lot of those in your neighborhood? And where do you live? First time I've seen that in my life..! By the way it must have taken you an awful lot of time to make this tutorial with all the DIY stuff, the rather complex editing with VFX, voice over and stuff. Nice job! Keep it up.

[@PhilpottBruce]

I live in northern California. This was shot in a friend's gated community. Yes, it was a lot of work - thanks. I wanted to get my ideas across. I'm hoping they'll be used as springboards for others' creativity.

[@GameZone-eq7wt]

Those are my crocs

[@abhishektiwari2600]

Respect for all the efforts

[@OmnableCreative]

Excellent work, Bruce! Glad to see this :)

[@robertnorris4642]

Bruce OUTSTANDING job. I am completely new to video. I have been searching for someone else that put a servo on the telephoto side to zoom in and out with and your the only one I have founded. I am getting back into wood working and going to video my work. I have purchased a Canon 80D along with wireless lav mic's by Saramonic. I would have used the Rode film maker but the 2.4 frequency is very full around me. Looking to do the zoom like you did but wireless also along with tilt and pan wireless. Arduino boards to build for the controlling them and running wireless side.

[@petercofrancesco9812]

Hi I'm from 5 years in the future (2020). I watched and enjoyed your video. You should have credited the extras who appeared in your video (the wild turkeys and deer) ;p

[@metamuhamudnoah2856]

Best detailed reviewed video.

[@victorbart]

Very nice rig! So many tips. Thanks for sharing :)

[@MikesCarInfo]

Very impressive video and ideas! Thank you for sharing your expertise :) Mike

[@soundgardenmusic]

Thank you so much sir, your video has lot of good tutorial and information.

[@gregmcdonald5986]

Thank you for such an informative video. Your time and effort are much appreciated!

[@MrTunapie]

Very very good video presentation. I cant myself doing all that, but this guy has my respect.

[@freddymuggs3902]

Your a great guy Bruce. Thank you

[@samfawaz9312]

Well done. Plenty of good ideas and lots of creativity. I do however believe some of the setup is very time consuming and impractical for travel or even moving around. Time to consider drones and motorized gimbals like the ronin. Some of which attach to the crane. I do admire using your brain and honing your skills.

[@SlowandExpensive]

This video is fantastic. Great share!

[@AudioLabbStudios]

great you took the time to do the video very informal for upcoming filmmakers.

[@jakob.k_design]

Very impressive and great Video. But for me some things just loook a bit too flimsy and it looks like its gonny take a while to set it up. The electronic Followfocus looks great, maybe i will try that one.

[@ahsimiksnabac6576]

Bruce, i NEVER EVER subscribe or like ANYTHING! but ur zite has awe struck me to the n th degree, you can consider me an avid follower.

[@jephbennett]

If you combined a wizard, a genius, and MacGiver into one cameraman, his name would be Bruce Philpott.

[@richardwasserman]

Thanks for making this video. You can increase the focus range by using a larger size gear on the servo. Why are there turkeys and deer walking around?

[@PhilpottBruce]

Thanks for the suggestion, Richard. I've tried to find larger gears, but haven't found any compatible ones yet. The turkeys and deer are just wild and it's not hunting season.

[@ashwin3101934]

Bruce Philpott I am ashwinkumar chande photographer from India. I am 82 Years old and still active in creative photography/videography. I am impressed by your video on youtube. Can you please give me detailed list of all the materials used in this jib. so that I can try to build it my self here. My e-mail ID [e-mail]

[@PhilpottBruce]

ashwin chande The proprietary parts are listed in the video comments ("SHOW MORE"). The rest of the materials are whatever size and shape you have available in your area. For instance, the plywood or aluminium parts can be whatever thickness (metric or inches, etc.) are available to you. The specific measurements don't matter. Have fun modifying my ideas to your own needs.

[@TheAppieJj]

Absolutely brilliant!

[@PhilpottBruce]

TheAppieJj Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@TheAppieJj]

Bruce Philpott Question, I bought a $59 proam jib stand from amazon, and I find it a bit wobbly with the jib on top if I give it a shake. Would this still work well if it is mounted on a wooden platform to be used as a dolly?

[@PhilpottBruce]

TheAppieJj If the stand is wobbly with the jib on it (with the camera and counterweights on), putting it on a platform will not increase the stability. A lot of the stability of a jib comes from the inertia of the weight on it.

[@gmanus1]

Creative mind, nice going

[@fredmiu6038]

Bruce, You are AMAZINGGGGG. Thanks & well done.

[@tommyandtammy1]

Awesome video.Thanks and God Bless.

[@francogiovannini2192]

Great Ideas. You are a master of the filmmaking matter, your work seems to than one of Ron Dexter.

[@wordsneverspoken-thewebsit4742]

A question, When you pan left to right doesn't that also affect the up and down movement (the cable controlling up & down is pulled or loosened. Do you then do a "2 handed" motion 1) to keep the camera at the appropriate up/down position and the second controlling the left right?

[@PhilpottBruce]

I hadn't noticed that in operation. I'm probably just intuitively compensating for that. Originally, I wasn't even thinking of panning or tilting during a take (from out on the jib), I just planned to do the moves between takes. I'd show, say, a music group from up over "here" for a few moments, then (while other cameras are running) move the jib to over "there" and recompose the scene. It takes me a bit of practice with any given combination of tilt/pan/swing to get it right. I would be terrible (so far) at following a subject's spontaneous moves.

[@slackjacket]

Really ingenious solutions, Thanks for sharing mate

[@mozarlima-locutor525]

Showwww..... ! Obrigado Mestre por ser tão detalhista e fazer com que as pessoas compreenda mesmo não falando a sua linguá...Obrigado Obrigado Obrigado

[@SpikaItEnglish]

Great job Bruce! I found your video both useful and enjoyable :)

[@pumah96]

Thank you so much for making this video and for all the help!

[@MagicBiscuitShow]

Excellent stuff. Thanks for posting.

[@hellohogo]

Man, look at these codgers go! Great video

[@parsianproductions6596]

I love the lav mic's quality

[@baddad9186]

Thank you

[@gsanchez922]

hello, you can check the bascom mp 101 for better move on till and pan

[@PhilpottBruce]

Does the Bascom you own give you fluid movement? I've seen ads but never had my hands on one. The price is certainly low.

[@gsanchez922]

+Bruce Philpott I will make a video this week to show you how is look

[@PhilpottBruce]

Great! I hang a 5DII plus FF and zoom servos on my jib. Sometimes I'm using a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. That's a lot of weight to steer around.

[@gsanchez922]

+Bruce Philpott well in this case you can use a movo photo mgb-5. This support until 11 lb and is 360°

[@danobrien3695]

@6:30 pretty much using the jib as a stationary steady-cam

[@snargk]

great ideas

[@Shiznaft1]

Really great tips, thanks for posting this.

[@BIGAACE]

This is awesome and ingenious.

[@everettclark6632]

thanks

[@MrDaho84]

Very nice video :)

[@richardking333]

Love this video, but, is this entirely ADR'd?

[@PhilpottBruce]

Yes, it is. One whole day's audio was corrupt, so i just decided to ADR it. The footage about the servos was the original audio, though.

[@31buce31]

its a great concept, but there are way too many moving parts and things that need to be assembled. I feel like to get everything set up it would take around an hour. Time is money... Good job though

[@Avidcomp]

What kind of engineering is required at this point if you are to focus on developing your work to lose the _wobble_ ?

[@PhilpottBruce]

The more weight on (both ends of) the jib, the less wobble. Also, the wider the lens the less noticeable is any wobble. I primarily use it to change positions of the camera rather than capturing panning, etc. footage.

[@Avidcomp]

Bruce Philpott Thank you. I admire your ingenuity and enthusiasm. What do you think of the idea of bringing a flywheel (as we've begun to see in many sliders) to the jib movement?

[@PhilpottBruce]

Sure - a spinning flywheel could act as a kind of gyro.

[@Avidcomp]

Bruce Philpott That's what I thought. I see nothing on the market like that. I own a Rhino Camera Gear EVO Pro slider with a flywheel, and the added inertia it gives is wonderfully smooth... so it got me thinking about jibs. I do not as yet own a jib.

[@ross1ful]

Awesome video my friend! subscribed :)

[@connys6204]

Thank you so so much!

[@TWIMAGING]

good