Project 4-SP-1 Skills Practice: Handheld Camera Steadiness Project Accomplish a steady hold, tracking shot, hold, walking so smoothly past a brick wallthat the camera could be on a dolly. This takes a lot of practice.

Goalsa) Handhold a camera at 45 degrees to a brick wall, about 3 feet distant while walking b) Produce a stable image that neither bobs nor sways c) Anticipate changes in the surface as you walk d) Use your non-viewfinder eye to see ahead or around. Steps Production a)Hold for 5 seconds on wall, then make a smooth start to your tracking shot b)Try to make the camera a solid part unit with your head and shoulders c)Walk with knees a little bent so you can glide, not bob d)Make your footsteps fall in a straight line, so you dont sway e)Transfer your weight smoothly from one foot to the other with no pounding action. f)Slide leading foot over the surface ahead so it can deal with irregularities as it encounters them. g)Check composition and open your other eye occasionally to see where you are going. This is nauseating until you get used to it. h)After a 20-second track, make a smooth stop i)Hold your composition steady for 5 seconds, then cut the camera.

Creative Limitationsa) b) c) d) The smaller and lighter the camera, the more difficult this is The closer you are to the wall, the more noticeably unsteady your movement The wider the angle lens, the less your irregularity shows With a walking person in the foreground, our eye is less aware of motion irregularities (try it!)

Notes Using the wide-angle end of your zoom, stand at 45 degrees to a brick wall and at 3feet distance. Hold a static shot for 5 seconds, then move forward maintaining distance and angle. The bricks should slide past, neither bobbing up and down nor swaying nearer to and further from camera. Come to a smooth stop, hold for 5 seconds. See your work on a goodsized screen.