ScottyMakesStuff Glider Pro 3 Duo, User Manual

Page 1: ...Glider Pro 3 Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer User Guide ...

Page 2: ... 12 So what s the optimal position 13 It s all about control and how much you can do without 13 Holding your stabilizer with a soft touch 14 Testing 17 Payload Shoot Analyse Adjust Repeat 17 Variable Fluid Damping 18 Adjusting Damping 20 Damping Settings 20 Fluid Damping Shoot Analyse Adjust Repeat 21 Common Rig Configurations 23 Upright Mode 23 High Mode 23 Mid Mode 24 Low Mode 25 Rigid Mode 25 A...

Page 3: ...8 Scratching or scraping around the spring adjuster 29 Scratching or scraping around the gimbal mount 29 General Care 30 Temperature range 30 Rain Dust and moisture 30 Cleaning Maintenance and Care 31 OK that s it Congratulations 31 2 User Guide Glider Pro 3 Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20180917 ScottyMakesStuff com ...

Page 4: ... to jumping around like crazy The best steadicam support arm operators usually take years before they truly master their trade but with our 4th Axis Stabilizers and a handheld gimbal the learning curve is vastly quicker to get smooth results You might be a natural right out of the box but most of us will need to dedicate time to getting your technique and settings right for each shooting scenario ...

Page 5: ...s Note Your stabilizer is fully tuned out of the box so don t be tempted to go and tighten everything before you start or else you ll have to go over the re tuning process unessesarily The only parts you ll normally be adjusting are the handles payload adjusters fluid damping adjusters and stabilizer arm attachments which are all tool less The re tuning section near the end of this guide is helpfu...

Page 6: ...ttach high on the handle but occasionally you may wish to change the position to lower down the handle for even higher shots or when inverted for even lower shooting positions 1 Take your mount halves the bolts that come with the mount and the M4 allen key the middle size allen key 2 Place both sides of the mount clamp around the handle and line them up so that the top sides sit level with each ot...

Page 7: ...l a Open the locking lever up b Slide module along mounting rail c Hold module firmly while locking down the locking lever until it lines up with the line 6 Now you finally test the holding power of the gimbal clamp by gripping the gimbal firmly and trying to rotate the 4th axis handle If the gimbal rotates inside the clamp then tighten the clamp bolts another quarter turn and try again and repeat...

Page 8: ...via friction That bounce can be reduced and absorbed in the fluid damping cartridge by setting the damping knob turn it towards the to increase the strength of the damping and towards the to lighten the damping The white indicating gauge on the top indicates the relative range for the amount of damping This a concept that s easy to misunderstand so please read the more detailed explanation about t...

Page 9: ...s to adjust the spring tension so that you can balance your rig properly The spring adjustment knob turns towards the to increase the spring tension and the scale on the side moves towards the Max This will support an increased payload weight while at the same time decreasing the iso elasticity Turning the other way towards the and the scale on the side moves towards the Min This will decrease the...

Page 10: ...s more Elastic or springy suspension Handles They may just look like the things you hold onto but there s a bit more to them than that For starters they are offset slightly towards the rear so as to give a slight forward lean to aid in reducing forward aft wobbles Secondly there s a lip at the top of the handles that aids in supporting the load Thirdly there s 4 brass 20 attachment points on the h...

Page 11: ...ated I prefer my handles pointing out at around a 10 degree angle but this is just my preference so whatever angle you re comfortable with Some people like the handles rotated in slightly as it narrows the width for a narrower grip and more compact form Once both sides are at the same angle just tighten up the Rosette knobs making sure that the rosette teeth are meshed together and locked in place...

Page 12: ...rt arms be when loaded When you hold the stabilizer with the rig loaded you ll notice that the support arms either point up towards the centre or down The most common use is for typical walking shots and the angle of the support arms is not as important as the setting for the most optimal smoothing Typically the best angle to have your support arms is the angle that removes most of the bobbing fro...

Page 13: ...pension and above that is Elastic suspension which goes up to the Max Of course in reality there is really a gradual change between the two It s all about control and how much you can do without Typically I operate in the purple zone where at the firm end I have most control and at the softest end I have the least control 12 User Guide Glider Pro 3 Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20180917 ScottyMakesStuff...

Page 14: ...fect your grip technique Many of us that come from using rigid dual handles are used to operating with the dual handle power grip of death The biggest key to transitioning to the Glider Pro 3 Duo 4th axis is to relax that strong grip and start using soft hands instead There s an art to soft hands so please read on The reason this is so important is that your Duo is truly a dynamic system and what ...

Page 15: ...ility 3 Now try pushing inwards and outwards to see what effect it has on the vertical position of the gimbal This will vary by whether the arms are pointing up or down This is the motion you re attempting to avoid 4 Finally drop your hands to make the gimbal bounce without any inwards or outwards pressure 14 User Guide Glider Pro 3 Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20180917 ScottyMakesStuff com ...

Page 16: ...you can get a feel for it fairly quickly It might remind you of that weird jerking exercise gadget but bouncing the arms up and down repetitively will quickly teach you whether you are doing it right or not The aim is to bounce the hands while keeping the gimbal as steady as possible At first you ll find it may be hard to keep it steady but not before too you ll get the hang of it 15 User Guide Gl...

Page 17: ...ce such as that found on a lawn 1 Start with both Payload Spring Adjusters set all the way to the Min 2 Set the fluid damping adjustment as before so that the top of the white range indicator lines up with 50 3 Rotate in full revolutions both Payload Spring Adjusters the same number of revolutions until they re high enough not to bottom out on your practise shoot This is now the minimum setting fo...

Page 18: ...l set to start your test shot 5 Let s be optimistic and start at this low setting Film the movement with this setting and if possible look at the results on a monitor to see 1 how well bounce was controlled and 2 if you lost your framing or not If you re not there yet then increase both Payload Spring Adjustment Knobs exactly the same quantity of revolutions towards the positive check with a Bounc...

Page 19: ...riment to find what suits you Understanding how to set the damping When you set the damping to a certain level you are actually setting the dampening range i e Setting the fluid damping to 100 Max will not dampen out all vertical motion Max damping will only dampen the most extreme vertical motion and light to medium motion will not be damped out You need to think of this setting more as a range b...

Page 20: ... Take Care when near the ends of the damping gauge 0 and 100 as overtightening past when you meet firm resistance may permanently damage the damping cartridge 3 The maximum damping setting will vary in position slightly from the coldest to the hottest year round temperatures When turning the knobs use the increase in the resistance as an indicator being just past the maximum minimum damping 4 Ther...

Page 21: ...ction 20 40 For walking backwards or light jogging follow Lead or walking down stairs 30 45 For medium pace jogging 30 60 For running pace to hard running 40 70 For jumping about or with very hard action on uneven surfaces 60 100 Note As with the spring adjusters you should do a similar style of Bounce Test to make sure both damping cartridges are set the same First set the Payload Spring Adjuster...

Page 22: ...r soft motion shot and examine footage 5 Next turn both Fluid Damping Knobs the exact number of whole rotations to get to around say 10 Damping and do the bounce test again adjust if necessary 6 Do your soft motion shot again and examine the footage and compare it to the first footage a If the first shot was best then keep a note of the first setting b If the new shot was better then increase the ...

Page 23: ...imbal moves such as push in pull out follow lead orbits etc Common Rig Configurations Upright Mode The most common is the Upright Mode which gives the viewer the persons eye view that they re already very familiar with I tend to use it 80 of the time e g walking head shots or head to waist shots over shoulder high to low shots and all the common moves such as push ins out outs 22 User Guide Glider...

Page 24: ... in the correct orientation This takes you to the inverted gimbal Mid Mode If you re not yet silky smooth with Upright Mode then this will be an easier mode to get smooth shots as it s almost the same height as Upright Mode You can get some interesting creative angles such as tilted up Child s eye view or moving along lower objects such as cars railings plants that s great for B roll It s also a g...

Page 25: ...ight find that there are times when you want to do a controlled motion such as a whip pan or a tilt without having to attach rigid handles This is how you turn your Duo into rigid handles in just a second First make sure your handles are straight up or angled outwards as the next step can pinch your hand if they re angled inwards It s actually really easy and all you do is bounce down on the gimba...

Page 26: ...his transition so what you can do is rather than fully locking the arms just apply enough inward pressure on the handles to lift or lower the gimbal so that the majority of the suspension is mostly locked and you can do your controlled rapid movement This takes a bit of practice but if you do these transitions like whip pans regularly then it s well worth the practice to get it right Pro Rig Setup...

Page 27: ... you an idea of what you can do do a stop motion orbit with the gimbal rotating Monitor left and gimbal remote right Audio right top Deluxe Gimbal Extender light on top right Audio on Gimbal Extender front with magic arm Load Support If you find you re struggling on shoots holding up your gimbal then a Ready Rig style load carrier system can be used like the dual arm one pictured to connect to the...

Page 28: ...t are mostly fine but if there s an odd sound that pipes up then try and work out where that is Some common problem sounds include the following Knocking around the spring adjuster Scratching or scraping around the spring adjuster Scratching or scraping around the gimbal mount I run through every one of the following adjustments when I m tuning the stabilizers You may pick and choose what you want...

Page 29: ...n mean one of two things 1 The bottom attachment bolt with the spring attached to it is rubbing somewhere Firstly you ll make sure that the nut on the front side lines up with the end of the bolt If not take your socket and allen key and adjust it like so Then take your stabilizer and look thru to that bolt and look for light on either side of the two mating mounts If one side shows a light gap an...

Page 30: ...u should keep your stabilizer under 80 C 180 F as some of the polymers will begin to soften after this point and potentially warp out of shape Don t leave it in a car on a hot day Think of it like any camera gear as you wouldn t leave your expensive camera gear in a hot car The minimum operating temperature is 10 C 14 F This is due to the damping gel hardening past this temperature and operating y...

Page 31: ... causing catastrophic failure This is especially important during autonomous use where the stabilizer is mounted to an object such as a car In these types of scenarios it s important to protect your rig with a safety line in the event of a catastrophic failure OK that s it Congratulations Now you have all the knowledge you need to get started Just remember that at first you will need to practise t...