there's a ton of videos on YouTube about gimbal vs handheld this one's different I'm not going
to tell you which one is better or which one I prefer because both are equally important instead
I'm going to explain the when and why behind Gimbal and handheld filming so that you can
make an intentional choice about using the right tool in the right scenario we'll do a comparison
by shooting the same scene with both and explain the motivation behind it My Philosophy towards
gimbals is pretty much the same as My Philosophy towards slow motion if you overuse it or use it
without motivation it distracts more than anything I always opt for natural frame rates first and
only use slow motion when properly motivated but we're not here to talk about frame rates
with handouts it's exactly the same I naturally go for handheld first until I can justify a reason
for using the gimbal what are these reasons I make decisions based on two factors feeling
and camera movement camera movement can be broken down into two broad categories motivated movement
an unmotivated movement motivated movement is when the camera has a reason to move our subject is
moving from the door to the couch and the only way to keep up is to move the camera in a way that she
stays in frame an unmotivated movement is when the camera moves beyond the movement of the subject
and this is either for dynamic effect or to reveal something like in this case a pullback shows where
the model is going any motivated movement that covers a significant distance generally works
better on a gimbal because it takes attention away from the camera moving and focuses more
on the movement of the subject it's important to nail the movement and framing because if you miss
a beat it immediately becomes a distraction in this case I framed the subject leaving space for
her to move in the opposite direction and only when she settles to be correct more to the rule
of thirds a good example is the sideways tracking shot of the hurdles the golf cart wasn't able to
keep up with the speed of the athlete so there's only a small we know of usable footage because
the moment we fall behind the attention is on the camera that can't give up this shot would
be super shaky handout and they are isolated cases where it would not be a distraction but
more about that later if there's any need to track a subject over a distance a gimbal is a
strong consideration but where does handheld fit in handheld works great for Motivated movement if
the camera doesn't have to move over distance but rather track an object or Movement by tilting or
panning tracking objects or body movements are much easier to capture handout especially on
close-ups these are still considered as motivated movements because the camera has to keep up with
what's important in the frame with unmotivated movement my choice is largely influenced by the
type of project and ultimately feeling but first let's focus on the type of project consider these
two shots one shot handout and one on a gimbal the gimbal one can easily go for a marketing
video selling a product the clean movement has a commercial feel to it the handheld shot although
the same movement pushing forward feels completely different and would be much better suited for
story based content like a short film or documentary for marketing based content I
prefer to do most of my unmotivated movements on a gimbal because it's clean and neutral and doesn't
communicate a feeling other than Dynamic movement which can be pleasing to look at for story based
content handheld is the winner because it has the ability to communicate in motion with more
accuracy which brings me to the most important factor feeling take this example from a short
film I DP'd on with Reilin Joey in the beginning of the story we're using a gimbal to track the
character as he hears something at the door we're still not sure who or what it is so the
gimbal shot is neutral and clean and allows us to track him all the way as he gets closer
what our characters see scares them so much that he immediately looks for a weapon on the floor
and here shooting handheld creates the feeling of tension and angst the rapid shaky camera enhances
the feeling in this moment something that would have been impossible with a gimbal in the same
way we established the second character with the gimbal which makes her come across calm
and clinical upon arrival but when she leaves at the end she's filled with emotion and regret again
the handheld shot is motivated to complement her feelings going back to this handheld shot in the
kitchen instead of the normal happy commercial shot our subject has an emotional response bad
news perhaps either way the imperfect movement of shooting handout complements her emotion a
lot better than a smooth gimbal shot what can we learn from this shooting handheld has the ability
to communicate certain emotions like tension or uneasiness it can also give the viewer a more
immersive experience almost as if they're right there in a moment observing this is a product of
camera breathing or as some will say the handheld look now before I carry on I want to take a moment
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or handheld my decision is based on feeling and movement but feeling carries more weight
and can still Trump my reasoning about gimbals shooting handheld can create a lot more energy
especially in this context where the workouts feel more intense as we have the rugged and
Rapid handheld movements in this shot instead of a perfect gimbal push forward I chose a skateboard
shooting handheld because the camera Shake creates more energy than a perfectly steady gimbal shot
instead of a steady push with a gimbal up the stairs I went for a shaky handheld shot because
the feeling is intense and complements the energy of that specific film yet in the same form for the
opening scene I used the gimbal the music hasn't started yet and we're just hearing Ambient sound
the gimbal is the perfect choice for the shot because of the smooth movement we're focusing
on what's around the corner where a shaky camera would distract once the Music Drops majority
of the shots in the film are all handheld some tracking movements and a few unmotivated movements
yet the moment we get to the hurdles the gimbal was the only option looking at these two factors
I'm playing them against each other with feeling always being more important feeling is dictated
by the following story emotion music and pace if you want to immerse your audience into a scene go
hand out and let the camera breathe if you want to create more emotion handout will translate
easier than a gimbal energetic music Fast Cuts handheld is the way on the flip side if you want
to make sure the camera movement doesn't distract in any way go for a gimbal or a slider or any tool
that will allow you to put a focus on a subject movement unless on the camera this all sounds like
a lot of thinking but really only takes a few seconds to figure out when planning your shots
with all this being said sometimes I don't make my choice based on any of these factors but only
around agility when time is an issue and you're working with limited resources going handheld is
always the winner because it can frame your shots much quicker and capturing a great moment is much
better than creating a cool movement let me say that again my moments always trump movement I've
done my fair share of documentary work and when you're telling a story capturing the emotion in
an authentic moment is much more valuable than a cool movement without any substance behind it
gimbals can take time to set up and also draw extra attention to yourself if this resonates
with your project leave the gimbal at home and go for handheld and sacrifice those big
tracking shots if you want bigger movements at least use something to give you more stability
than your feet like a skateboard or shooting from a car gimbals are pretty amazing and when
used in the right context it has the ability to add a lot of extra production value if you use
it the whole time without any motivation your edits will become stale over time but more than
anything it still comes down to the project and your own creative choice as long as your
choice is motivated by reason if you have any questions let me know in the comments below
and I'll do my best to answer thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one