Because I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll never be able to afford a proper Steadicam, I've been looking around online for cheap alternatives.
A popular way of getting a similar effect to a Steadicam is to just use a tripod and try to counter-balance the weight of the camera at the top with the tripod itself at the bottom. This means the tripod has to be held at a certain point, and the balance can be adjusted by extending the tripod's legs more or less to account for different camera and lens weights.
This technique is explained more clearly in this video (which can't be embedded here, so I'm posting the link instead):
https://vimeo.com/36206229
And another video (which CAN be embedded):
During the shoot in Grindleford, Poppy brought along her tripod, which she'd attached a weight to to get a similar effect. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet that explain how to build Steadicam-like systems on a budget, and most recommend using a weight to act as the counter-weight (which seems totally illogical...). Poppy used the same technique as is explained in the below video, but just attached the weight to a tripod rather than putting together the rest of the 'Steadicam'.
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