- In this video, we're going through
some different B roll ideas
when using a gimbal.
And I have a special gimbal with me today.
This is the Zhiyun Crane 2S,
and this gimbal was just released.
So we're gonna dive into what makes this gimbal unique,
and also we're gonna go through a ton of B roll ideas
when using a gimbal.
All right, guys, let's get into it.
(dynamic music)
So these gimbal moves
that we're gonna be talking about in this video
are all for solo creators.
So if you're out by yourself, you have a gimbal,
what are some ways that you can use that gimbal
to be able to get some interesting footage
and not keep getting the same shot over and over and over.
And that's the goal with these B roll idea videos.
I wanna give you guys some different tools
that you can play around with when you're out shooting.
And I wanna say a special thanks to Zhiyun
for sponsoring this video.
I used the Crane 2S for all of these shots,
it's a brand new gimbal that they just released,
and I wanna talk a little bit more about this gimbal
before we get into the B roll ideas.
Now, the original Crane 2 was a super popular gimbal,
and there's a good reason.
It's a simple gimbal, but it works super well.
And so they've basically taken that design
and just added a few extra features to it
and made it much better.
For me, the biggest thing that I noticed
was the ability to really dial in your settings
and you can use big cameras.
So you can use cameras like the Panasonic S1H
or something like the Z CAM,
cameras that are a little bit bigger and heavier
than you would normally use on this size gimbal.
And there's no issues when you balance it,
so the motors worked super well,
and one thing that I noticed
is that you can really dial in your settings.
So if you go in the menu system,
you can put on your dampening, your feathering,
all the different features
that control how much your gimbal moves
when you do a motion.
So if you turn,
you can control how much your gimbal spins
to follow that movement,
so you can make it really slow,
or you can make it really fast.
And I like the fact that on the Crane 2S,
you can really dial in the settings that work best for you
and the way that you like to film.
And because it's a very easy and customizable gimbal,
you never even have to pull up the app
to do any of these setting changes.
So another feature that stands out
is there's a new camera mounting system,
so it makes it easier to lock on your camera
and go whether you're using an Arca-Swiss system
or you're using, you know, a standard Manfrotto system.
And also there's two mounts
so you can do horizontal or vertical.
Now on the gimbal itself, you have a bigger screen,
so it's easier to go through and change your controls.
Now they've also added locks on every one of the motors,
and it's super easy to click them on and off,
so you can lock all the motors down for easy balancing,
and also, when you put this on something
like the outside of a backpack,
it makes it really easy to attach it anywhere.
And what's great is Zhiyun
has been upgrading the entire system,
so they have advanced follow focus
and also image transmission
if you need those in your process.
And I've worked with the image transmission model
in the past, and it works great.
You can just send the image right to your phone.
So this gimbal works super well,
and I'm gonna put some links down in the description
where you guys can go check out more details about that.
So now, let's get into some B roll ideas.
And like I said,
I shot all of this B roll using this gimbal.
One thing I like to do,
especially when I'm, like, entering into a scene,
is sweep past an object to reveal the scene behind.
So what you can do is get yourself super close to an object
and use the gimbal to push towards that object,
and then just as you're about to hit it,
sweep up and past it,
and you get this kind of flying shot
that not only shows this thing right in frame,
but then it goes past it to reveal the scene.
So another thing that you can do with a gimbal
is use it as your point of view.
So there's a couple of ways
that you can play around the point of view.
So you can either use follow all mode
or just tilt lock mode,
so I like to use both,
'cause tilt lock keeps your horizon
at the same point all the time,
whereas follow, you can dip down and up,
and you just have to play around with it
to see what works for the scene that you're in.
So this first one, I'm going up a set of stairs,
I'm using follow all mode,
and then when I'm going around the fire lookout,
I'm using the tilt lock mode.
And the idea is you're getting the perspective
of what you would see.
Now, this other shot, where I pick up the pinecone
and play around with it,
I use the POV mode.
So that allows you to tilt side to side
as well as up, down, left, right, all of that.
And you might think, well, that's kinda chaotic,
why don't I just use handheld?
Well, using POV mode on your gimbal
is gonna make the move fluid
so you don't have a bunch of jitter and shake,
but you still have that feeling
that it is someone's perspective that you're watching.
This shot, I've picked up a pinecone
and played around with it,
you can see that the horizon tilts a little bit
and moves around.
Now, the next shot is flip the camera around
and shoot yourself.
So this is a great combo to use
when you're out filming is film your POV,
and then film yourself.
And I just put it into tilt lock mode
to get these kind of reaction shots.
I hold the gimbal out away
and I try to get shots of me looking just past the gimbal,
and me also looking off to the side, maybe back,
you know, try to play around
with your perspective of your reaction,
and I'll play with looking straight at the camera
and also just looking off,
because you wanna get some different reaction style shots
as you're filming the scene.
A scene reveal is a great tool
to use when you need to pass some time.
So you can use a seamless transition
where you go behind an object
and then come out from behind an object
to show a different scene.
So as you can see here,
the screen is completely black
and then I pan out and now I'm in the forest.
So if you wanna use passage of time,
you would go from a scene into black
and then from black into the next scene,
make a hard cut there,
boom, you can have an easy seamless transition.
One thing you should try to get is detail shots,
so whether you're on a longer lens
or you're getting right up on objects
that are in the scene that you're shooting,
don't always use your gimbal with a wide lens,
just sweeping through a scene, showing everything.
Get really detailed on objects,
so whether it's the tree branches, the tree, the pinecone,
the things that you see in your scene,
grabbing these little detailed shots help you tell the story
and they help paint the picture
of the environment that you're in.
A lot of times when you're out shooting,
especially with a gimbal,
you kinda get in that mode
of always putting on the wide lens
and just walking through a scene.
There are so many little things
that make up this entire environment that you're in,
so use your gimbal, get up close to objects
and explore these details.
Now, this may seem counterintuitive,
but you can use your gimbal as a tripod,
and I did this a lot when I was out filming by myself
because you don't have to always carry an extra tripod
if you use a gimbal.
I just have a little tripod on the bottom of the gimbal,
that's what I use when I'm balancing.
It's a small, lightweight tripod that Zhiyun makes.
You could set your gimbal down,
set up a shot and you can easily have a tripod shot.
And you know it's gonna be smooth
because your motors keep the shot smooth.
It helps you from not actually carrying extra gear with you.
So another shot that might seem kinda boring
when you're using a gimbal is just doing a simple pan,
but I use these all the time in my edits.
I'll just stand in one spot
and rotate my body with the gimbal,
and because it's so smooth,
you get this perfect shot from left to right,
or right to left.
I always try to grab a few of these shots
in every scene that I'm in,
just because it's a good shot to show the environment.
You just get a quick pan from left to right,
and a lot of times when I'm out by myself on these trips,
like if I'm mountain biking,
I'm not gonna bring a heavy duty tripod
to be able to get these smooth pans.
So if you're using just, like, a small photo tripod,
you really can't pan.
So when you're traveling light,
you don't wanna carry a video tripod,
you can use a gimbal like the Zhiyun Crane 2S
in the same way that you would use a tripod.
Now, another one of the shots
that I always like to get when I have a gimbal
is a dolly shot.
So that's when you put it in the lock mode,
you point it at a scene and you move left to right,
whether you're on a vehicle
where you have something like a one wheel,
or you're just walking.
But I love using these shots where you see a scene
and you're drifting through it,
like you're looking out the side window of a car.
You're kinda letting the scene just pass by.
Now, a trick to make this even more interesting,
find places where there's different layers of objects.
So in this scene, for example, there's a bunch of trees.
There's some close, some in the middle and some super far,
and because of the motion moving sideways,
you get all of this parallax effect happening,
and it looks really good when you're using a long lens.
So the next shot is a fun one,
it's faking a drone shot.
So get yourself up high.
In this scene for example, I'm up on top of the peak.
and you can do any of these movements
where you're moving forward, to the side,
but just a little bit of motion
makes it feel like it's a drone up in the air.
Something to keep in your toolkit,
especially when you don't have a drone with you.
When you're out filming and you're by yourself,
try some of these shots and see what kind of footage
that you can get using these different ideas.
And guys, make sure you check out the Zhiyun Crane 2S,
the link will be down in the description,
and make sure to comment,
let me know what your favorite gimbal shot is.
Make sure you check out this video right here.
It's another video that goes through more B roll ideas,
and it's all about handheld footage.
I'll see you over there.