Ok, so I'm in Home Depot today getting pvc for my frugal filmmaker light stand and I see a young guy with items for a frugal filmmaker jib, great joB frugal filmmaker! I think your DIY's are the best! Thank you for sharing you knowledge and clear instructions.

Re: Stabilizing Tilt... Forget pulley ratios and friction! One to One rotation gives perfect reference to camera angle and you can add a protractor and stops to calibrate shot points. LOSE one sided PVC CRANK! Install long metal pipe centered on pulley's center. Length and mass along with ability to adjust grip to the center of rotation will give all the leverage you want or don't on the fly! This is a brilliant design! You killed a ton of over priced professional jib sales. I love you!

I am now a subscriber to this person. Excellent teacher, good videos, easy to understand teaching, and extremely expensive camera equipment price gougers are a thing of the past.

Many thanks for this DIY project that you have shared with us. I am now inspired to build/construct my own crane camera/jib. What I like is the modifications you have made to the camera crane. All I have to do now is to obtain the parts required for the project and get to work.

@francisbailey3831

10 жыл бұрын

Camera Crane/Jib is my next video project.

Hello from Bonn, Germany. Your Video was the first that I've seen 5 month before, and it inspired me to build an own crane. Now I'm ready and I have introduced it on youtube now for other enthusiasts in building own things. I have to thank you, it was a great time for me to create the crane and to get a positive result for myself.

OK... I have watched both of your jib/crane videos multiple times, and finally many years later, I am ready to finally make a similar version, though it will cost considerably more than $50... I plan to make a video showing how it's assembled, and will link your video as my inspiration! Thanks for sharing!

I've copied your techniques pretty much to the letter so far. I finally made the pulleys from 1/4"Masonite and mounted the arm bearing the camera with its pivot located at the center of the pulley rather than the outside edge. This eliminated the touchiness of the camera movement. Thank you for all the great ideas. It's not making me a great filmmaker but it is providing me with ideas to tinker with.

I Found that the "L" brackets from your "cage" tutorial work well for this bracket. Its already painted and the shape you needed. Also has the non skip mat where the camera mounts. So no need for cutting any metal for me! Also used skateboard wheel bearing instead of just the nuts for spacers for the pulleys. Thanks.for your great DIYs

I've assembled the arm with pulley system already since the end of last year, but never got around to finishing the head mount. thanks for updating, i would've been SOL with my DSLR!

@thefrugalfilmmaker I added a foam disc to the bolts between the pulley and the boom to create the desired friction to make the tilt handle and pulleys less touchy. The effect is amazing. It also allows you to mount a front or rear heavy camera and not have to hold it to keep it from flopping forwards or backwards. Also, I have added a clamp and wing-bolt to the lower pulley to enable an angle lockdown. If you want I can post a video or pictures...

Thanks for the great plan! I made mine today. It seems to me that if the tilt handle is longer it will lengthen the arc of travel and so reduce the sensitivity issue without trying to fit a larger drive pulley.

Great presentation of a gear project. No wasted blab. Good views of the materials. Thanks.

i watch your videos to the end to see what new cut scenes you have posted and i love them!!!

I don't think he had any equipment we didn't see in the footage. The jib was max elevated, top of the jib oriented away from the tree, but the camera was mounted to look at the tree, essentially, backwards. When he rotated the jib clockwise, it looked like a pan because the camera was rotating on almost the same axis as the tripod head below. In effect, he rotated the cam into the tree as the jib arm pivoted. It closed the distance between the cam & tree while turning the view to the right.

just built one with a few changes. I used an aluminum pool pole and clamped it on a dedicated tripod with c mounts used for conduit. this allows for me to slide the handle back for instant weight balancing adjustments. it's so much lighter than the chain link fence pole as well. the second pulley was installed right into my tripod very easily once I took the swivel adjustment knob off and simply bolted in my pulley with no drilling for that. although I have to practice more, the jib works great.

If you check the original designs in frugalcrane 1.0, you'll find that it's made from two nested parts, so it's reasonably easy to transport in most vehicles [I know from experience you can fit 6'3" of pipe into a mini]. The point of this is that something is better than nothing, rather than anyone actually expecting it to serve in place of pro-gear.

This is the best jib DiY I've seen. Your attendtion to detail and practical parts makes this a great solution. I wonder if version 3 willl incorporate another garage bearing into the mount for the jib's up/down motion. Thank you for your excellent video.

Incredible invention, as everything you do. You are an inspiration for people with a small budget. I made the stabilizer and I try to do the "frugal crane 2.0". Thanks for the inspiration.

Adding a larger pulley to the front would do this. I'm looking for one myself, that should appear in a future upgrade episode.

Love this design, it seems to be the easiest of the cranes that I reviewed. I will try the larger diameter wheel on the upper part of the jib as you recommended in your suggested improvements. Thanks again second project of yours I'm doing this week.

I was watching this video and it was getting closer to the end and i was hoping you would mention the wire cable and you did. I screamed like a little schoolgirl because of this. LoL

i love it when you put in one of your bad takes in the end.. it's funny. LOVE IT SCOTT!!!

Hey Frug, Nice jib design and, as always, excellent, helpful video. To deal with the “over-sensitivity” issue that you mentioned, you might want to consider any a several ways to induce some adjustable drag/friction on either of your garage pulleys. One way would be to drill holes through you main beam/fence pole, and insert a nylon bolt through the holes, so that is could be adjusted to rub on the inside of your pulley. Probably the best way to do that would be to use a thread tap, to thread the holes in the beam so that they would engage the nylon bolt, making it adjustable. But you would have to buy the tap, if you don’t have one. So that may violate your standards on either cost or simplicity. But there are probably at least 5 other ways to induce drag on those pulleys to slow them down/stiffen them up/control them. Another may be just wrapping some foam on the fence pole, between the pole and the pulley, to create some soft friction. Anyway - - - Thanks for an very nice design. I am probably going to try it. Dan L.

@frugalfilmmaker

9 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips, Dan! I've been working on a redesign for awhile and your ideas are solid. I'll see what I can do to implement them.

Coolie! Now make an aditional episode and demonstrate it in action. Those few shots from this video were aweinspiring! Could you concoct a primitive gear system of some sorts so you avoid use of bigger wheel under the lever for 3.0? That would give you aditional control and gear variation for a smoother control. Great episode!

It's a Raynox 6600, a great wide angle lens with little distortion.

Amazing. I can't believe you can make this thing for such little money. Thank you for sharing your videos.

The nice thing about this tutorial is, I will never junk my old mini dv tape camcorder, I will use it as a monitor. Thank you so mcuh for this amazing idea you've shared. I will make one.

@frugalfilmmaker

9 жыл бұрын

+Mohalidin Suga Good luck!

Great ! I built - the camera table dolly for 18 euro came very well, I use it with my reflex. I hope to build even this camera crane, your projects are very beautiful and also simple to build enough for me that I have no manual dexterity !

Good question. You bring down audio because if you do have sound in any crane shots you want then you can sync up the clap noise you make at the beginning of your take, so that the words or noises from both audio clips match the video when editing. Then you can delete the audio recorded on crane if its no good. But sometimes even audio from your camera is good. I used audio from my 60D when I threw up in a film and the sound was raw. I layered it slightly off my other audio and it worked well.

Hay, I just finished building my own DIY crane, incorporating your Idea of the garage door opener system. I did put a ref and credit to your channel too. I hope you okay about that. your channel ref is located at 18:23 of my "How to Make a Homemade Camera Crane - DIY Part-2" video. Thanks for all you do. Love your work.

Very nice!!! I have been looking for a pulley just like this one. By the way the 3 RCA cables are not all necessary, all you need is the yellow one, the other ones are for sound, so I guess you could take them out, making life easier.

WOW! this is so much better! Wish i could find these materials easily here in Philippines.

built this one its woks fairly well... thinking of adding a hole at the top rail coupler on a 90deg. and drilling another hole on the handle and adding a bolt with smaller pvc for a 360 effect.....thanks for the build.. will send video soon... also painted it all flat black to have a more professional look if a client ever comes into play...

Fantastic build/update!! I know this is old but, to fix the "touchy" problem you could first try shrinking the lever handle down. For example, if you cut the length of the handle from the end (or where ever you hold it) to the centerline of the bearing you'll cut the torque being applied in half! (Y)

I might be wrong, but I think it's quite easy. Look at 10:14 where the camera is pointing "backwards" towards the crane. Now, instead of exactly that, point the camera horizontally instead of looking downwards, and change the movement from counter-clockwise to clockwise, about 180º or a bit less. I think that's it, and it shows how easy ideas can get good results.

that was awesome. maybe a spring between the turn buckle and the clothesline would lessen sensitivity. like a shock absorber. love the stepdown pully idea though.

Nice upgrade. I made a smaller version that I can break down to fit in a backpack so I can take it on my motorcycle during motovlogs. Will do a vid on it when the weather breaks. Thanks for the inspiration.

I recently finished my frugal crane 2.0, and am very happy with it despite my less than ideal tri-pod. I also added a permanent platform for A monitor. I plan on getting a better tri-pod soon, and then it'll be perfect.

The only issue I could see with having one pulley bigger than the other, is the rig would tilt on it's own as you move the crane up and down. You would have to compensate to keep it level. But you could do two large pulleys, equal size, for the main cable. And then somehow rig a smaller pulley to the large back pulley as a means for slower tilting, but the large wheel could also be used for more rapid tilting and keeping the camera platform level as you boom up and down.

I don't, I just shoot wide. If you need to, you'll need some kind of remote control for your camera so one person can operate the arms, while the other pulls focus.

I would like to thank you for posting this video. It was a great help I've finished building my crane it works perfectly. I shoot with the A Canon 7D and a Nikon D 7000 And the weight of those cameras were no problem

Just bought my 600D, and I'm ready to make this sucker in a few days. Wish me luck.

one other change I will make in mine is an optional free hanging steady can mount to keep my shots more level from heavy swings. it will only provide level shots, but that's why it will connect optionally. check out my last video for my first try with the jib. see half way through the rett syndrome story video.

Oh, you're a king, thanks for the input. The take advantage because the video and photography are my passion. (Excuse my bad English)

of course it is. I figured it out. the jib must have been almost vertical as it rotated, because there's barely any lateral arch

Just so you know from an engineering standpoint the "depth" of the structural element is the most important. Round and square tubing will never be as strong in bending as oval or rectangular (with the same surface and wall thickness dimensions). However, round is probably cheaper. For instance by equation a 2x3 is 5x stronger than a 2x2 in bending (which is the most critical for a jib design). A possible alternative would be to screw 2 pieces of 3-5/8" metal stud framing track together.

The camera is probably turned towards the tripod, along the crane. (the picture was turn upside down afterwards) So it is shooting in the direction of the centre of the circle, that it is making, while turning on the crane. A picture would have made it clearer))))) Extremely creative idea, by the way. Unfortunately, you can't turn down after making such a turn. That's why the real cranes have 2 or 3 moving segments, which alllow to organize any possible movement of the camera.

You could easily attach a weight to the lower pully's arm, so it's always pointed down, so, you would get a continuous leveling stabilisation for the camera. I mean you could do an up/down/up shot whitout having the problem of manually trying to hold the camera at a given angle.

The monitor is plugged into an extension cord. The internal battery died pretty fast. I have to get an aftermarket battery if I want to power it remotely.

I love my HFS100! it is a couple of years old now, but the video quality is still amazing compared to the new cameras

You could use a top pulley with no center bearing and mount it on your bolt shaft with washers an coil springs to adjust the tension. This will create the friction you need to reduce the 'touchy' problem. You could also put a swivel handle on the bottom pulley so it is operated like a fishing pole and smooth to rotate.

Rather than cutting the truss bracket off, drill the hole big enough to go entirely over the axle bolt of the wheel (about 5/8"). Then use a smaller hole above, and a smaller hole below, the axle to anchor the bracket. Stronger connection this way, and more importantly, puts the center of the Camera closer to "on-line" with the wheel axle which makes a much better balanced load for the wheel/winch to manage. (Shorter "arm" if you are familiar with weight & balance jargon).

Worked on it today, actually. If my super-simple gimbal idea works out, it could be ready this month. I'm guessing it won't, however, which will set me back a month or two.

this is IDENTICAL the the Jib i built after you're original design :) YAAAY ENGINEERING!

All you need is a good stiff angle bracket between the speaker mounting plate and the jib mount. That would use the pole as a crude swing joint. A better solution would be a lazy suzan swivel on top of the speaker flange, and mount the angle bracket to that.

@thefrugalfilmmaker very nicely done. If I owuldnt have bought an 8ft advanced digital for 200.00, But I may still have to make this for the thrill.

This is some great stuff man, going to build this soon.

wow the previous one was awesome, now its just epic

Excellent improvements, sir!

In addition to adding friction, try using a larger pulley up front, and a small pulley in the rear. A reduced ratio will allow smoother adjustments, but you may need to add a revolving handle to your adjuster arm, much like a bicycle pedal.

Your options would be a) getting a T4i or GH3 with continuous focus while shooting, b) using a camcorder with autofocus, c) get a follow focus and really long whip [not a great option] or d) you could check out designs for lego powered follow focuses; these last ones work surprisingly well...

Yes it does look shaky on the tilt. Add a side bar to lock the rear pulley so you can go up and down and it stays level. You cannot change the size of the pulley to make a different ratio because then your going up won't stay level.

If you can drill a horizontal hole near the top, you should be able to mount it there. I think.

Larger wheel at the top (smaller at the bottom) will give you finer control. If I heard right you had it backwards. But I'm very impressed with how concise this design is. Much more straight forward design than pretty much any other I've seen. How about a v3.0 with tilt and pan?

This is a really slick idea

I like the design. I agree a larger pulley up top would help. Also how about adding a 5# barbell weight to the pulley with the arm on it to act as a flywheel to help smooth out the rotation. It would also act as a smooth start stop helper when tilting. Nice job overall!

Regarding all the comments on the last shot... notice with the back facing camera, you're shooting through the axis of rotation. This is what gives it that stomach churning spin too. This move must be done extremely slow to minimize the vertigo. Notice the top and the bottom as well as the left and right of the frame are moving in opposite directions. Another thing that makes this shot impractical, is the jib and operator are in the shot... Only useful for jib demo footage.

In the video, I am running an extension cord from my apartment, but I have since purchased a very nice 12v battery that keeps the monitor going for over four hours. I made a video about it called "Tip: External SD Monitor Battery".

That's what I did. I used aircraft cable, 1/16 in. It works great!

GREAT MOTION!!!! This thang (that's ethnic) is getting better and better..!! Peace out..! (this makes me more hip-hop-esque)

I haven't as of yet, been pretty busy (family, school, projects), but you could try to add some kind of friction that would slow things down. That bearing is nice, but very touchy.

Ever think of adding a side handle to the rear lever? Like a bike pedal, or scissor jack handle, it would allow you to turn it while keeping your hand in the same position. It might help to control the 'touchyness'. This is purely speculative and theoretical, btw - I haven't done this! Though I'm seriously considering building some of your great designs. And now that I've subscribed, I'll be back for more!

I can plug it into an AC outlet or use a 12v battery. Check my channel for "Tip: External SD Monitor Battery" for more info.

Thanks for the idea and implementation flaws. Get updates crane. They are given to test it out. Thank you again.

You could probably fill the bearings with a thick grease. That would slow the movements down considerably if they use a liquid or thin grease.

Not really. Tilting is much more of a necessity in my opinion. I've never needed the panning option (yet).

Hey James. Are you asking if there is a way to operate the crane if you are using a walker?

Thank you very much Mr frugal, could u upload some shots where a stabilizer is used so i can see the difference from a stabilized version and the shaky version. I noticed it is very jittery, but i know its a work in progress. Keep up the very best DIY'S!

Oh sweet... how did I miss this video!?

Have you thought of changing out the back lever to a weighted system? you could have the lever instead hang straight down with 2.5lbs-5lbs or so to stabilize and adjust your turnbuckle so this position has your camera pointing straight forward. The weight should help with the twitchyness as well as let you use the crane without having to manually tilt as you move the camera up and down

I am not sure on the D5000, but many of the DSLR's do not have live view available from the mini-hdmi. They have playback mode. Also, Magic Lantern for many of the Cannons have a way to actually play live view in HD. Almost all of the external monitors may not work on initial connection and may need to just be replugged in for the camera to make the connection function.

Motion makes sense, and it would seem like a lot of work to try and pull off what he did with a dolly and a crane.

Amazon. Check in the description for the link.

Seems like most other designs LOCK the tilt motion in place. I like the tilt/pulley idea, but the sensitivity of the pulley system seems like an issue. Perhaps a design that includes a second tube to "lock" the camera plate with the pulley system still mounted. This would still allow the ability to tilt, but give both options. Basically a normal design jib with a pulley mounted on the side.

There was another video showing how to remove pan jitter using a heavy rubber band as a 'shock absorber' between the hand and the handle. I don't know how that would work here, but the principle might be useful

Yes. I've tested it with a Canon 60D.

I'm just getting into filming and these are really helpful. Thanks

Version 2.1 - Spray paint it all black for that professional appearance.

Concur! Rotating on same axis as tripod head gives the illusion it was a pan. I'm slow. TBI. PTSD. Y'know.... the usual.

Dude, this kicks ass!

your so amazing because u respond to your coments and u make it cheap fun and easy for my friends to make movies thank you so much this is one of the best diy channles out the your as good as or better than indy mogle used to be(because its over)and film riot dont stop makeing videos

another EXCELLENT video. Now i just have to get around to making the damn thing

Excellent HeLP thanks for the BIG CLUE

you should also do a 3.0 version with the second pulley (horizontal) so the camera can also move sideways...

It does, but it quickly died. I have to plug it into the wall, or get an external battery (which I plan to).

I'm sure it could work, though I'm not a fan of the extra weight.

Thanks again man! Going to 'the Depot' to get my materials for my dslr jib! I'll let you know how it goes!

I built your crane and you're right about that back pulley! Have you found a resource for a larger pulley? I have not. I used an extra stage light stand that I have for my base and the crane is bolted the top pole. Works great!

The camera must have been mounted in the reverse position (like earlier in the video while it was facing him from up high) He then just swung the Jib around from facing the trees to in the trees facing the apartment. If that makes sense :)

Yes you can!