How to Get Cinematic Results From Your Gimbal

Along with improvements in resolution and dynamic range, one of the biggest changes witnessed in the world of videography in recent years is how easy it has become to add movement to a shot. A gimbal can open a world of possibilities, and this short video gives an excellent introduction.

A few aesthetics passed over from Hollywood give us a feeling that we’re watching something artistic and high quality: one is lots of differential focus (sharp foreground object, pleasantly blurry background). A second is subtle camera movements that, until recently, were the domain of camera crews and significantly larger budgets. This is where the gimbal comes in.

Hybrid shooter Jason Vong spends a lot of time on the road and loves to travel light. Here, he puts together a neat summary of what effects can be achieved in your filmmaking to give it a slightly more professional touch. With a gimbal, this can all be achieved with a single lightweight piece of gear that’s admittedly a lot more expensive than a top handle or an entry-level tripod, but it's still not going to break the bank.

Helpfully, Vong has included the lens choice, the camera's focusing mode, and the gimbal mode to give you some shortcuts for getting started. If you've any further tips, be sure to leave them in the comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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5 Comments

We started using a Weebill on our last trip. We couldn't have bee more disappointed. On any camera that doesn't already have stabilization, it simply doesn't work. Foot strike on the slowest walks was so pronounced that the footage wasn't useful.

I'm by no means an expert with cinema, but, I'm starting to think that the current crop of gimbals doesn't add much to shooting if you're already using a cam with in body stabilization. And, if you don't have it, the gimbal isn't going elevate the footage to cinematic footage.

I'd love to hear from some experts on my theory.

I'd actually love to hear, too, since this is the first time I've heard this.

We did. Yeah. We tried several different variations of walking, tilting to engage different motors, even tried a weight to create a steadicam effect. All to NO avail.
I've been in contact with the distributor and will provide an update.