Steadicam Dynamic Balance Quick Guide

Rough guide to dynamic balance, the Jerry Hol way.
Shot by Mack at Cam-A-Lot

[@filipadamczewski2571]

Video 9 years old and still helping new junior steadi ops understand dynamic balancing better, fantastic teacher!

[@ArtisFX]

Happened again in 2023. A dynamic balance issue with a Steadicam newbee. Your information pointed me in the right direction. Thank you for the physics lesson on how the weight is distributed in a moving object. Cheers!

[@CircuitBoardcokr]

It was exactly same session I got from 10+ years steadicam op 2 years ago. It was my pleasure to watch this video before I buy my own steadicam for my own.

[@humbertocares8385]

A Real Master Class. You are a natural teacher... Years of experience, explained in just 10 minutes. The best Steaicam Balance Tutorial in all web sites. Thank you very much.

[@dictionaryofwords1108]

"Not quite, but not bad" is pretty much my motto when balancing my rig

[@JustinWoo]

This guy is a GREAT teacher. He knew exactly what he wanted to teach you, and how he was going to teach it, and how to make it clear. This guy is the shit. If he had a KZbin channel, I'd sub for sure.

[@Nuvola1312]

Most informative video on the tube I've found on steadycams.

[@user-km9fz1sy5y]

agree

[@SaschaPlagge]

Totally! Hundreds on "how to balance" but every single one lacks knowlage on whats the right sequence and why there are certain setting options/directions for things to go

[@aljamesproductions]

Genius.

[@marlonb1852]

The best video on Steadycam-Balance out there

[@steadivision]

Here’s an i for you. Use it judiciously.

[@BrendenJohnFilms]

Seriously, you are a genius! Not too many people are great at explaining something complex in such a way, visual or not, for the mass to grasp the concept of what needs to be done. I love smart people that don't bull shit and really do help people out and tell them the correct information. Seriously, great job and well done for a ten minute video! You inched me closer to a perfectly balanced stedicam I just bought and can't wait to post classical performances shot in a new kind of way, and I want it done right with my new toy. You are a priceless help!

[@IanMorrisJournalist]

There's an entire book, which is very good, but still doesn't quite get this message over as well as this video does! Much applause from me, as I've just been tinkering around with my old Pilot for a bit of fun :)

[@bonym371]

The best explainer of dynamic balance I I have ever seen by a country mile; brilliant!!!

[@ian9outof10]

This is one of the easiest to follow tutorials for dynamic balance. A lot of guides, including the Steadicam one, make this process seem a lot harder.

[@MrJM0B]

This simplifies everything dramatically. Thank you so much, Chris & Jerry.

[@CowboyFrankHarrell]

I agree with Mathew, best explanation I have seen anywhere on dynamic balance. Most just tell you how, you explain the why in a way that is easy to follow. Well done.

[@cleoncleoncleon]

Best production/cinema steadi-op information video on youtube.

[@calebnichols5374]

Great video, i REALLY enjoyed. Thanks!!!

[@MitchMommaerts]

I miss being in this guy's presence. A phenomenally knowledgeable and sharing instructor!

[@canturgan]

At last, someone who knows what he's talking about.

[@ozcinemarob]

Fantastic tutorial. I've been using the steadycam for a couple of years and I certainly learnt something new from this that enhances my ability to balance the rig. Thanks.

[@davidjackson1719]

Thank you for telling me what I needed to know in 10 minutes, it was worth hours of looking at how to balance a glide cam or similar simple stabiliser. God Bless you Sir!

[@TopFlexA]

Thank you very much! Very helpful video

[@Samuelkonetsky]

Dynamic balance. Something I’ve been searching for for months. Thank you thank you thank you 🙏

[@Tzrnutt]

Brilliant no nonsense, informative video with just the right amount of science background. Superb. Thanks!

[@Lytemotiv]

Mister, that is the BEST dynamic balance video demo ever. Thank you so much!! I have learned sooo much!!! Best wishes from germany!

[@RobertoRodriguezPhoto]

Probably the best balancing video out there - Thanks so much!

[@JakeLMitchell]

Amazing. Great to see something so professional on KZbin.

[@jkattz1]

Really helpful video, I went to one of tiffens workshops and they taught me pretty life-changing-ly well, but I honestly think this video was way better at teaching dynamic balance than the instructors. Particularly talking about how the three weight correlate with each other. Thanks mate!

[@chrisfawcett7265]

Joseph H Squared Hi Joseph, thanks for that! Which workshop did you take?

[@chrisoakleyfx]

excellent demonstration, I've just started learning Steadicam and this has really helped demystify things a little bit :)

[@matrixate]

Reminds me of centroids and center of masses back in high school. These problems, mathematically are actually problems of torque. Believe it or not, what you are doing mechanically is finding the position of the center of mass such that everything is balanced in a 2-space mapping. 3-space (you would now include the side-to-side balance into the equation), ideally is what you want but that would be much more difficult and would require weighing everything and then finding the center of mass within the "sphere" and then calculating all the distances from the origin of the sphere using vectors to locate the CM points....goodness! This video definitely demonstrates a much more practical way that is good enough. Awesome!

[@steadivision]

Interesting. What do you think of this? www.steadicam.com/manuals/dynamic%20primer.pdf

[@matrixate]

steadivision That was an awesome link. Yes! I was right! It's torques. I recognize the equations. They mentioned the inverse square law and centrifugal force but they are actually sticking to the torques because they are working with the 2-space aspect like I mentioned and that is much easier to work with. That, is interesting. I see that they divided by the acceleration of gravity (g gets divided since the gravitational acceleration is the same everywhere) and obviously took the sine function argued at pi/2 which I guess they consider that everyone is probably working with the perpendicular to the moment arm (when dealing with momentum). I guess that makes sense since most people are probably mounting things close the "axle", that is, the point where the where the batteries and monitors are mounted away from the main pole. Interesting. Thanks so much for that pdf. It's really great that time was taken to publish that information. Best regards!

[@steadivision]

This is all fantastically interesting stuff. I may say that Jerry Holway, the Steadicam operator that took the time and trouble to write that primer is much gratified by your comments, as am I. Thanks!

[@Grow_Everything]

Probably one of the best demos i've ever seen. Great job!

[@doityourselfpakistan6535]

Best tutorial of steadycam ever which i was looking for 3 years and now i know why i cant have stable top to bottom movemnt shots

[@elvisobsessor]

thank you!

[@wolfangdigital]

Thanks for sharing, Chris. Love the fella who's filming you, really puts me in the scene!

[@murillohenrique6325]

Amazing class

[@steadivision]

Wolfgang, that's no guy, that's Mack, my kick-ass AC and Steadicam operator, but she appreciates the comment.

[@heminahmed9420]

Great video

[@EasttSideCustomZ]

i literally just moved up from a ronin s to a steadicam ripped it all out of the packaging static balanced and damn i was flying around all wonky im here thinking wtf have i bought. this video has taught me that i completely missed the point lol

[@Digitalchirppy]

Thank You Very much for sharing. Really a Educative video about Steadycam. Thank you once again for Sharing.

[@chrisricker]

Much appreciated! Best dynamic balance tutorial on the net! I've been pulling my hair out trying to balance my rig and after watching this video it took me 5 minutes! :D

[@eglegro1]

Wow. This is a must save video. Great Job.

[@kylecoggins]

Best stedicam video out there. helped tremendously!

[@DatrysiadMedia]

Dude this is awesome. Was trying to add a monitor to the bottom last night and just couldn't get it right. So took it off. Got the static balance right but the dynamic was off so this helps a lot. Always learning

[@TonyVirili]

Incredibly helpful! Thank you!

[@LoveStoryMedia]

Excellent guide, thank you.

[@Sonicsnd888]

Excellent !!!!! Thank you for sharing your great knowledge & experience.

[@SonicOrbStudios]

Great tutorial on dynamic balance for glide rigs

[@wolves1010]

wonderful video. I'd love to attend your workshops. This video is sooo amazing!!

[@blakenolanbrown]

Thanks so much. You really gave me a leg-up and helped me understand the physics.

[@bergproduktioner4485]

Very pedagogical; thank you!

[@AdamOpie]

I love this video, amazing explanation!

[@MusingOfaMan]

Thanks so much. Regardless, of the size of your stabiliser, this helps a great deal. I should know, the stabiliser I've just got can only just about take the weight of my dslr. Thanks again.

[@petarsfinalcut]

Best Video out there thank you. I bought steady cam and having hard time to balanced my SONY Z1U and my SONY FX1

[@liberalpoet]

Brilliant! Thanks!

Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

[@ellozy]

Great video. Thank you.

[@JoeBaughman]

This is incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!

[@TomBarkervideo]

Great video, very helpful and brilliantly explained!

[@JakobJonesMedia]

A true genius! Thank you so much!

[@marycigarettes]

you got great clarity,chris.

[@steadivision]

Thanks Greg! Didn't know you were into this nerdy stuff :)

[@marycigarettes]

i'm not really..just general interest...and at some point i'll replace my video cam with one of those canon 5d affairs

[@steadivision]

mary cigarettes Cameras are continually evolving, so check back before you buy! Also remember that full-frame cameras like the 5D are more exacting to focus since the sensor size is much bigger than in 35mm movie cameras. If you want to shoot on your own, and fairly rapidly, you might be better off with a smaller sensor size to give you some depth of field to play with.

[@marycigarettes]

thanks chris!...that's very helpful food for thought.

[@devin119]

Fantastic information and nicely articulated. Thank you!

[@ifocusfilms]

Great video !

[@roehaus1]

A little dicey throwing that Alexa around......but a massively brilliant explanation. Thank-You!

[@theskiingdrummer]

Brilliant, thank you Jerry!

[@matthiasrowley]

Thank you so much for the information. Finally proper information (love the circle example of all objects in relation) always had problems with the dynamic balance although it was in static balance. will now try to get it work 👍.

[@victorbart]

Is this shot in the Netherlands? The background talking sounds like dutch :)

[@chrisfawcett7265]

Yes, in Camalot, Amsterdam.

[@Dustydelux]

Very very helpful thanks so much for this!

[@PaulMGardner]

thanks, Chris....good video, well explained

[@GobensCloudsurfer]

I'm new to steadicams and just got an original Flyer, thanks for this video! I think getting bottom rails and a new handle would help me out of needing an Allen key for adjustments, but where to begin?

[@steadivision]

Jon, the Flyer dynamically balances well. Usually the batteries are tilted way down to within 30 degrees of hanging vertical. Check the gallery on my website. There are some Flyer pic there.

[@steadivision]

Or maybe not. Email me and I'll try to find one for you that shows the correct setup.

[@joyoffilming9500]

Awesome instruction!

[@starboy2013]

Just what I need!

[@rezamousazadeh6119]

finally a helpful video, thanks

[@SyCoNationHD]

How future proof would the Zephyr be for an aspiring Steadicam Operator? I feel like in many circumstances jobs would have to be declined due to the rather limited maximum payload. Also, which Steadicam Workshops do you mostly recommend for a beginner who has used a few systems but needs a lot of practice and extra knowledge? Thanks Chris!

[@steadivision]

You just need to buy the best you can, then save up for a bigger system. The Zephyr is a great rig. It flies anything up to Alexas. The best workshops are the Tiffen Steadicam ones, but I'm biased. I teach them :)

[@SmiechowyLudeczek]

really good tutorial, thanks!

[@jc3777]

brilliant. loved it, thank you!

[@Pawlkoko]

Nice, thank you.

[@dawsonwaters1371]

legend. Thanks for the help

[@steadivision]

Thanks everyone!

[@calebnichols5374]

You have a new Subscriber.

[@Skace99]

This help soooo much, thanks you :)

[@Skace99]

plus it's very clear

[@MilanKarakas]

Good to know. I have no such thing, but have plan to buy cheaper version of vest and steadycam. Thanks.

[@thedigitalemotion]

My rig seems balanced ok, however when i spin point the camera to static rest on say 12 - 3 - 6 & 9 hour points, the bubble level is not always exactly to the millimetre for each point? For instance let's say i've balanced perfectly at the 12 point with the exact horizontal and parallel bubble level, but spin to point 6 and it may be slightly off level? Is it ok to be not exactly on the millimetre on every point?

[@steadivision]

Steve. Your gimbal is not centered. If it's Tiffen, I can help you do that. If it's another manufacturer, you should refer to them. If it's only off a few degrees with a long drop time, you can probably live with it, but if it really leans on a normal drop time of 2-3 seconds, it will affect your work.

[@thedigitalemotion]

steadivision Thank you for the swift reply! Yes i suspected the gimbal too, admittedly it is a Chinese manufacturer so it was a risk when i got it but their customer support is excellent. I have flown it this morning with a good 2-3 second drop time and it is passable but probably best to get this corrected! Really appreciate your verification on this!

[@brucetrappleton6984]

Awesome!

[@celonziajohnson]

Man I have a flycam 5000MB and I can't get it balance... how do you know where to place the camera on top? 5d mark iii HELP please how do I do a dynamic balance test?

[@ShawneeUnion]

Thank you forever

[@produKtNZ]

In regards to your drop test at 9:26, as per your own advice at 6:14, why did you not see the need to have the gimble perfectly horizontal obviously I'm not calling you out on this, i just wonder if there's method to the madness, so to speak :)

[@steadivision]

produKtNZ, good question. The answer is that we're dealing with a pendulum, which has the property of always having the same period despite the length of its swing. That's why old pendulum clocks keep such good time, the period of the swing is always the same.

[@matheus4089]

I have the same problem with the dynamic thing with a HD 1000 steadycam using my DSLR, How do I fix It?

[@DerZaubererFN]

Very, very helpful! Are you giving workshops and how can I take part? :)

[@steadivision]

DerZaubererFN Sure: tiffen.com/flysteadicam/

[@DerZaubererFN]

Great, thank you! And it is you (in the video) giving the workshop?

[@steadivision]

DerZaubererFN yes, that's me. I'll be attending all the gold workshops, except the English one.

[@hackerr2656]

You relly know how to explain!

[@llleolllolll]

quick question: I'm about to place an order on a stabilzer. Do you really need to have monitor and battery at different levels (easier to balance?) or are rigs with both on one level just fine?

[@steadivision]

Many operator fly co-planar rigs (monitor and batts on the same level), so no problem. Please don't waste your money on buying a knock-off. I guarantee you'll regret it!

[@llleolllolll]

steadivision i wont, i promise :P (i might still regret not doing so, friends have some that work like a charm)

[@llleolllolll]

steadivision very nice video btw, really clearly explained and showed. thanks for that!

[@steadivision]

leolol Yours might work better :) And when you can, take a workshop.

[@llleolllolll]

steadivision we'll see, if it doesnt I can just return it anyways. I've been using a handheld device for some time now, how different is it when switching to arm and vest?

[@Всеисразу-д1ы]

Видео уже столько лет, а вопрос все актуален

[@SharpStudios0]

dudes holding probably close to $250k right there.

[@doggerproductions]

And laying on a $250 badly tiled floor 🤠

[@MrGreenfields]

Hi everyone, I have the Alexa xt plus with Cooke primes. It's a heavy payload what is the ideal steadicam rig to get that can fly this set up??? Please help

[@steadivision]

I fly that very comfortably on a Steadicam Archer 2-my favourite rig.

[@dominickestarella]

Awesome 👌

[@marcado48]

Very interesting

[@danielrodrigueztorreblanca9763]

Necesito ayuda, dejo la caida de 2 a 3 segundos y nivelo perfectamente pero al girar la camara al lado opuesto pierde el la burbuja, que puede ser?

[@steadivision]

daniel rodriguez torreblanca, seems like your gimbal needs to be re-centred.

[@danielrodrigueztorreblanca9763]

mi steadicam es el zephyr, donde puedo conseguir que lo re-centren?

[@steadivision]

daniel, there’s a detailed answer here, in English: steadicamforum.com/index.php?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topic&id=28984

[@danielrodrigueztorreblanca9763]

@@steadivision muchas gracias por tu ayuda :D

[@steadivision]

daniel, good luck!

[@vylu107]

You are the Best.

[@steadivision]

+Christian Keele Put the DSLR on the plate then do the rod test.

[@sirsmokealot112]

recorded in holland?

[@steadivision]

Yes, at Cam-A-Lot, Amsterdam.

[@MirdjanHyle]

Man the video is amazing, but it took me more than I care to admit to understand that you are NOT, in fact, Peter Capaldi

[@corneliusdobeneck4081]

Salute! :D

[@Pattern_seeker202]

Very smart

[@ghoutilakhdar3132]

your a great teacher, but am i the only one feeling pain for the way you treat your equipment? great job