The Art of Filming Handheld

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00:00 Intro
00:52 Why I love shooting handheld
04:12 Handheld vs Gimbal
07:55 Achieve controlled handheld video
10:31 Outro

[@MABO]

Thank you for your feedback guys :) At 9:57 there is a little editing mistake and music gets louder, hope you can still understand everything:)

[@giulianogirelli]

it happens, great video anyway :-)

[@JohnCooganPlus]

I love that you are recording audio handheld as well.

[@MigueTran]

This skill can be taken for granted but it is extremely important.

[@Leprutz]

Every Skill is extremely important when shooting. One thing I love and that nobody uses correctly most of tje tomes ar extremely well composed still tripod shots. I try to take every way of shooting serioisly and with respect.

[@guillaumedegee2721]

The title should be "The art of filming handheld (with a crazy stabilised camera named A7SIII)"

[@DanyloYermolenko]

😂😂😂😂

[@chelinemagsano6185]

Lol yea, it would be shitty on my nikon z50

[@jessetimmmiller1870]

🤣 Me with my Bmpcc 4k 😢

[@ako9212]

True lmao. The tech in cameras is so good these days they all practically have built in gimbals.

[@yashmaramangallam164]

😅😅😅

[@sixth.memory]

Great tips, I used to shoot a lot of handheld with little to no weight and there was so many shots that would shake. I used to hold onto the tripod to add weight to the camera. Now that I've switch to the black magic camera, forcing myself to rig out and add weight really helps with handheld to the point of not needing to use a gimbal

[@user-kw5tc3zs8k]

Great video. You're one of the only people on YT who discusses the art and feeling of filmmaking rather than just the technical.

[@judithvelanasahl1830]

I really love how passionate you are in the way you talk

[@ravurmovie]

Amazing work as always MABO, love your style.

[@LukasPressMedia]

There are so many points I totally agree on! I am not even close to your level of filmmaking but I already experienced that I am preferring shooting handheld most of the time. It feels more natural and flexible for me. But at least there are some situations as well where I am happy to grab my ronin :)

[@vaydehikhandelwal2785]

This was so helpful. Thanks!

[@sethzhong]

Love you Mabo

[@ArberBaqaj]

Great video Mabo!

[@PacoM.]

Been trying to transition from photo to video and I've been following your work for some time. Good advice.

[@DeonMitton]

Very good and on point about the benefits of handheld - I think too much of creative work get lazy with gimbal shots... love the organic feel of handheld - thanks for putting together this video.

[@homechoicehk]

Wonderful sound design 👍🏻

[@daikez1]

You are the best!🔥

[@TomKaszuba]

Very useful information. Thank you very much.

[@HuyRebel]

Love this

[@dylanjohndickerson]

This was dope brotha! Thanks for making this 🤙🏼 I've actually never seen a Terrence Malick film, but I'm definitely going to give some a watch now. It's true that gimbals can take away kind of that human element that's portrayed through handheld shooting. I'm guilty of relying on them too much, but I've started to push towards more handheld shooting in my projects. All your tips were a great reminder for me. Your english is on point by the way my dude!

[@MABO]

Definitely one of my favorite directors especially his work with Lubetzki is visually on another level :)

[@Mishalphoto]

Great tips, keep going

[@michaelchiaretta]

So cool!!!!

[@filmlanguage2276]

This is great and I subscribed! Just some constructive possible ideas: I think some sections could benefit with seeing some of your footage! for instance, around 8:00 when you're talking about removing microjitters with weight, would be great to see footage where you did this vs. didnt, or similarly when you talk about the ninja walk show footage with the walk vs. without. Just some ideas! might make it more dynamic. great vid though man.

[@Ali_ReBORN]

For me personally it allows me to connect back to our older generation of organic handheld videography in this modern time where most are now stabilized. Both have their merits but handheld has it’s own feel ♥️

[@eladbari]

Agreed. But, although first kinda mocking autofocusing for video- if you are alone, doing handheld- then this could be the modern feature that lets you pull it off

[@Ali_ReBORN]

@@eladbari Auto focus tracking have come a long way, I personally embrace it wherever i can unless i need to something specific technically :)

[@TheConfusedHuman]

awesome

[@9adriano21]

I mostly use my gimbal in POV or GO mode for the reasons you mention (in favor of handheld). I just think using a gimbal in the default Pan Follow setting is the real problem

[@fallendynasty4131]

You are a god

[@antonsemenyura5337]

thanks for sharing your thoughts! once I filmed one music event with my sony a7iii and 85 1.4 gm, I been drinking beer at a time also, gonna say there were less usable footage as I expected, I was holding my breath like a sniper before shot haha. But loved vibe going around with camera in hands, also beer made me less shy so I was able to get closer and care less about people and more about process. Sometimes it really miss this feeling of mental freedom. p.s. there is sound level issue around 10:00, it goes quite high

[@MABO]

Yes its just another feeling, great story haha ups yes, I forgot to retime the peaking, hope you could still understand everything!

[@schoeferfilm]

Da hast Du absolut recht 👍🏻 ich habe bei meiner FX6 aufgrund des internen ND Filters leider keine Stabi mit eingebaut. Von daher muss ich mir da etwas anders helfen. Manchmal verwende ich tatsächlich einen gimbal (Crane 3s) aber sehr oft passt auch das handheld footage oder ich bearbeite es noch etwa mit catalyst browse 😀 beste filmerische Grüße aus Oberfranken

[@TheTy]

You had me at tree of life

[@grigordyankov]

''My fav cameraman Emanuel...'' yeah same man

[@theargedotin]

Great 👍

[@KoelAnderson]

🔥

[@FlorianCoeman]

Love the quality of the A-roll! What setup and light did you use for this?

[@MABO]

Thanks man! It is just a standard softbox from amazon and a small rgb light in the back :)

[@renemersi5209]

Bester Mann

[@KevinMaschke1]

This was super nice! Thanks! Adding weight is a great option, but for travelling and such, adding weight is normally the last thing you want. What would be you recommendation in that case?

[@dasmonddoss2235]

can u make a video about focusing while shooting? struggeling with that

[@andies9994]

That aspect ratio throughout the video is cool , may i ask how u add that into a video ? Thank you

[@yagie6569]

Hey nice video :). Just a short question: which Diffusion filter do you use in your videos?

[@ArionKIDDWEEKS]

Bro what font did you use for the Text on screen? I Love it. This video was great

[@EveryStepAnAdventure]

Really great video. Gained a sub :D I think this video would definetly benefit by some B-Roll in addition to your explanation. I shoot almost everythink handheld as I am doing Event-Aftermovies. Always at least 50fps and with internal stabilisation. No time for Gimbal or anything else.

[@runnerone5358]

Great tutor Sir for handheld 👍 Inspire me to my project to shot without gymbal 🙏 Done to subscribe😉

[@MABO]

Always worth to try :)

[@jezreelfilms]

i really love your videos mabo! what font you are using?

[@MABO]

Thank man! It’s called Sultan 👌

[@mirzaperumbath4377]

I love filming handheld,,but this should be said with a7s3 Coz majority came here for tips for any camera I guess. Still great work keep up man

[@nickeightyfour]

Great video! Quick one - do the FPS make a big difference to the look of the video when filming handheld? I'm guessing 25fps will look smoother than shooting 100fps owing to less frames picking up any shake and smoothing it out. I film sports so slow-mo is a must and I often film everything in 100 just in case. Thanks!

[@linetwofilms]

What train station were the first couple shots in? It’s beautiful

[@James011]

Beginner here.. When you shoot handheld do you use in camera stabilisation along with stabilisation effects in the edit, warp stabiliser for example?

[@Mucarofilms]

Appreciate all the tips and insight on the topic. Do you find yourself using the active steady shot feature on your a7s3 in most situations or do you have it turned off?

[@johnnyweissmuller5838]

Depends on focal length, i feel its a must wth handheld over 50mm

[@MABO]

Thanks! I did not use it until date since the additional crop but might be trying this out more soon!

[@user-nu8bf3bf9m]

Which stabilization mode do you usually use when you’re filming with a7siii?

[@australianboy]

I know it in my head to use wider lenses to have less noticeable shakes, but I can’t avoid using my 35mm and 50mm lenses. Just gotta get better with my ninja walks I guess.

[@rafiqmalik2818]

Colors and grade are also amazing. Will u make a vdeo about it??

[@MABO]

I made a video on color grading check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/laTQkqOposaYorc

[@frankguthrie2825]

Mabo, you mentioned shooting at higher frame rates when shooting handheld. What frame rates do you use? Thanks - love your channel!

[@MABO]

I am shooting partly 60FPS sometimes 120FPS, depends! :)

[@leonardoschwartz3954]

I love your shots and the video, but it would be nice to see some footage of you performing the actions you're explaining and examples of when you change lens, etc.

[@MABO]

Thank you! I will work on that in the next one :)

[@fallendynasty4131]

@@MABO God, I prayed for your next video showing examples of your rotation shots but you have not answered my prayers. Please make another video.

[@bobewu9959]

anyone got any tips on how to pull focus for these kind of handheld shots? Moving the camera around to point at different subjects with purpose is diffcult for autofocus to get and it's a nightmare to manual focus.

[@chrismorenomccarthy8487]

what lut did you use? what else do you do in color grading?

[@subhasishsarkarhere]

nice vid, what's the font in the thumbnail?

[@tobimoriYT]

5 seconds in: oh, that's leipzig! haha

[@chunkykitchen3025]

👍🏽

[@willtanhk]

The art of filming handheld microphone with a fur wind shield indoor

[@yanikkendler]

i dont think holding the cam close to your body helps with shake.. your arms are a gimbal, it takes more strength to do but maked it more stable then holding it close to the rigid system that is shakibg(your body)

[@NowyKurs]

All depends on the project. In some cases you can't use such aesthetic because it would be your last job.

[@lin89chat]

You use always prime, if u must buy only to which will you?

[@life_lights]

1.04 - 2.22 in this A Roll... Your Lighting Setup Is Good But With Frame Rates Light Is Flickering...Try Out 1/100 shutter if your are shooting in 50fps. & 1/50 shutter if you are in 25fps

[@MABO]

Yes, Shutter was set to high, gonna fix that in the next one :)

[@priyandanacr]

where are you color grading ? davinci resolve ?

[@cartergreen289]

how do I make more cinematic?

[@YKProd]

Sind die ersten Clips in Dresden am Bahnhof Neustadt?

[@MABO]

Nah dran, Leipzig Hbf :)

[@UrTdeltawhite]

do u use ibis? , thanks for video

[@MABO]

I use standard ibis of the a7siii but did not work with the active stabilisation because of the additional crop. But might be great for the right shot!

[@dchristianrobert]

Wait LOTR - The Two Towers is coming out this year? 😂

[@Leprutz]

What happened with the music there?

[@DurandFilmsTV]

So is it still organic if you using ibis?

[@mirzahaqim]

Come on dude..,,...

[@VentyGeoff]

idk if lord of the rings / matrix scenes were filmed on a gimbal lol

[@raksh9]

True, but they are good Illustrations of the difference between handheld and stabilized/mechanical movement.

[@NigelZhen]

the lights are flickering sir

[@AlbertoFigueroaArquitectura]

"The art of filming handheld" filmed on a tripod :P

[@movietriptv6986]

Bro I bet you are from germany

[@MABO]

Yes I am :)

[@matrixate]

Your video skills are definitely better than your audio skills. Lol. Good info!