As many of you know, I have been putting together my own Jib system for quite a while.
I wanted a Jib with a remote head that I could put together very quickly, speed was the key to my Jib ambitions. AGrip is a cinematography equipment provider that is well rounded, I have all of the equipment that you will need to achieve an amazing broadcast quality product. The Jib that I have built allows me to set it up super fast so that if need be I can go ahead and set up lighting as well.
At 10' the jib is a decent size and the remote head can be over or under slung which makes a big difference on the heights that this Jib can achieve. Also, the speed rail mitchell riser is adjustable and can be used to raise the jibs fulcrum which gives you even more height. The crane consists of, a 4-wheel steering cheeseplate dolly, an adjustable speedrail mitchell riser, an Intel-a-Jib and a Jimmy Jib Lite remote head. I have put together a couple custom parts to make this work, the entire system can be set up in 5 minutes; to put that in perspective, an 18' Jimmy Jib takes most operators over an hour to set up... That means that I can bring this jib out, set it up, get the shots, then move on to another location. Also, since this jib uses a 4-wheel steering dolly as the platform, it can easily be moved to different spots in your location. Jibs without electronic remote heads are still cool but I think that a good remote head puts you in a completely different world and the remote head that I have for my jib is totally awesome. This remote head is ideal for DSLR cameras however it definately can handle larger cameras. Depending on what lenses you are using, I am preparing this remote head to work with Red Epic cameras.
I just love this jib and I know that it is going to make a great visual impact on many of your videos.
In order to inspire some ideas about what kinds of shots that you can do with this piece of equipment, I have provided links to some cool jib shots in music videos. Check it out:
J. Cole video for Work Out. The very first shot in this video is a Jib shot. This location where J. Cole is performing infront of the chain link fence is intercut with lots of other footage from the video. My Jib is ideal for these shots. The shots that are being intercut with the Jib shots, you can get with my Steadicam. Skip to 1:13 to see some cool Jib shots looking down on J. Cole and his girl, they are sitting in lawn chairs. This was a great way to utilize the location that they were at. All they needed for this cool shot was lawn chairs, an ice chest, a boombox and the Jib. Colorful drawings on the ground give this downward looking shot even more character. As you can see the Jib was the key to this video.
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg video for "Ain't Nuthin but a G Thang": Skip to :24 seconds to see a great jib shot that I call the "party arrival car roll up, camera jibs down" Also, Skip to 3:32 to see a subtle but classic jib shot that I call "The dazed morning after the party jib down on the car roll up"
This next video is "Still D.R.E." by Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg.. One of the main pieces of equipment that is used throughout this video is a Jib just like mine. The entire video is an example. There is a lot of car footage that you see in this video, some of it is shot from a vehicle that has a jib crane mounted on it, and other footage is shot most likely from a vehicle that is filming with a Steadicam. For the footage filmed from a vehicle with a jib mounted on it... AGrip has this underway, I already have the mounts installed in my truck and though I haven't tested this out yet, I am capable of doing these shots. However we are going to need permits and insurance to use this equipment in the locations that you see in these videos. As far as the steadicam stuff... I have a steadicam that you can use for those shots. I also have Car mounts, and night time lights w/a generator to rig into the car. AGrip can literally be your one stop source to make a video JUST LIKE THIS ONE and I ain't playin witchoo: (note: if you make a video exactly like this video, you might be a biter, its cool though, we all copy what we love to some degree):
This next video is, "California Love" by D.R.E. and Tupac. Skip to 1:23 to see a great Jib shot, I call this the "Jib down on a sign that is the entrance to the party." Also in this same video, if you Skip to 1:43 you will see a variation of this classic shot that I call the: "Jib down on a sign that is the entrance to a party with hot babes walking by and throwing their hands up cus they ready to party".
This next video is "Ice Cream" by the Wu Tang Clan. If you start at the beggining of this video, soon you will see a lot of great jib shots. Skip to 2:03 and keep watching for about 10 seconds and you will see one of the most creative music video jib shots around. I call it the: "Jib down from a guy performing on top of a ice cream truck to a crowd and then another guy walks out and performs and you film him performing too." Daaaaayuum this shit is creative! This is a great way to go vertical with your video, and have two layers that you can seemlessly flow together without making a cut. Claaaassiiic. (hire aaaagrrrrriiippp if you wanna be faaamouuus)
Next video is Snoop Doggy Dogg - Who Am I (Whats My Name) This is another video that has quite a bit of Jib shots in it. Skip to 1:15 to see a great shot of Snoop Dogg performing on the roof. Watch this entire video and you will see that they got great performance shots of Snoop by incorporating Jib shots of Snoop on the roof, from a couple different angles. In some of the shots, they have the crane on the ground and they film up at snoop, in other shots, it looks like they may have moved the crane itself up to the roof where they get other angles; in editing they combined it all and it is a very dynamic performance. This type of roof top performance filmed from a Jib is its own thing; I call it the "Dude performing on a roof filmed from a Jib". Also, they did some Jib shots in this video with a crane that has a "Dutch Roll" kit on the remote head. You can see an example of a dutch roll shot if you Skip to 1:32. I call this shot the "Guys performing infront of a car filmed by a Jib that has a Dutch Roll kit on it." At AGrip, I do not currently own the Dutch Roll kit, oh but I will. If you hire, I might just buy it for your video.
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On an un-jib-related note: Skip to 2:33 to see a creative shot that simulates the POV of dogs running, this was filmed with a Steadicam in "low-mode".. I have a steadicam so I can do this shot too.
Arrested Development - Tennessee. All time classic music video. Skip to 3:01 for a shot that I call the "Jib up from the guy on the porch to the kids chillin on the roof". Damn thats intense. Also Skip to 3:01 for a cool Jib shot that I call the "God's view from Heaven", although the technical term for this shot is "Jib up on a lady singing".
Gym Class Heroes: Stereo Hearts ft. Adam Levine: This video has lots of jib performance shots in the street mixed with other footage, they are using the dutch roll head on the jib and getting creative with shadows:
Adele - Chasing Pavement: This video has a couple shots in the beggining from a high angle that may have been done with the jib locked in place, the high angle helps to frame the scene with the car in the background and the people. Skip to :51 to see the first great Jib shot.. What you see is the Jib arm getting a high angle view looking down on the people laying on the sidewalk. Dirty in the frame you see leaves from the trees; these trees are important to the shot because they give the shot a dynamic element as the camera slides over to the left, if the trees were not there then the shot would not have been as good. To achieve this shot, I have tree branch holders that can be attached to C-Stands and put tree branches, fake or real in place. I also have track and channel wheels that I can put the entire Jib set up on, I can lock the jib in place and then do that subtle dolly move in order to get this wonderful shot. This video has a lot of subtle but great Jib moves. Skip to 2:33 to see another example. Skip to 3:29 for another great Jib shot that was effectively used to bring this video to an end with a nice cadence.
Busta Rymes - Look at me now: This video is not a very Jib intensive video, however Skip to 1:35 to see a really cool string of interesting shots that utilize a Jib. Is that not awesome how they made Busta Rymes intro even more awesome then it would have been! I love it!
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On an un-jib related note: The fog that you see in this part is a mixture of fox machines, 1 of the fog machines is a regular fog machine and I have that, the other one is using a "fog chiller" for the heavy fog that is flowing down the stairs with Busta, I have that too. Infact I have everything you need to make this video.
If you have any favorite music videos that have cool Jib shots, please share them with me. Email me at: adamunruh1@gmail.com or talk to me on Facebook.
Heres some links to a few more cool Jib shots:
Cool shot of some babes, this could be good music video footage to cut in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7oJCxzRrqM&feature=related#t=00m23s
This trailer has a lot of jib shots:
http://vimeo.com/9856236
This has a cool shot of the car going down the street then turning and coming back at the jib:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0elbsnRGVZM&feature=related
This crane probably has a dutch roll head on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8CVG3lN3NM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr_XVyt393s&NR=1
