In July 2011 Garrett Brown visited the Australian SMPTE Conference and Exhibition to demonstrate his new Steadicam invention the Tango which was shown on Tiffen Steadicam Products Australian distributors Lemac Film and Digital stand. Garrett took some time out of a busy schedule to talk to Alison Ray about designing, using, and the ongoing development of the Steadicam.
In this first episode Garrett talks about what inspired him to build a device that could fly a camera smoothly and unrestricted over almost any terrain.
The scene from “Bound For Glory” that refers to can been seen here at Steadishots.org
In Part 2 Garrett talks about how the Steadicam evolved, he demonstrates the new Tango jib arm for Steadicam and talks about working with Stanley Kubrick on “The Shining”
Watch the scene from “The Shining” at Steadishots.org
The week after SMPTE Garrett led a Steadicam Workshop in the NSW Southern Highlands town of Robertson, the location for the movie “Babe”. Along with Jerry Holway, Chris Fawcett, Harry Panagiotidis, Louis Puli and Rebbecca Wilson-Jennings I was fortunate to be an instructor on this workshop. In this third and final episode in the series Garrett talks about learning to operate Steadicam, what you learn in Steadicam workshop, and perfecting “The Look”.
Larry McConkey’s shot from “Goodfellas” entering the Copacabana can be viewed at Steadishots.org
Information about Steadicam Workshops worldwide can be found on the Steadicam Operators Association website.
In Australia I conduct 2 day Steadicam Workshops for users of Tiffen’s smaller professional video rigs, Pilot, Scout and Zephyr, more information here
