The Glidetrack had been sitting in my office for a while, frustratingly. Each time I thought a subject was coming up that would work, something happened to scupper it.
So when I managed to get hold of the Canon 1DMk4 to test for just a few days, there was a steely determination to shoot something with it. But in February, there was only one subject that I could think of that I’d been wanting to shoot that wasn’t locked away for the winter.
The Infinity Bridge over the River Tees at Stockton is beautifully engineered and even the most casual passer by always comments on the shape. At night it’s illuminated in a variety of interesting ways, but what I guess many people don’t spot right away are the myriad of detail features that go to making it up which I find facinating. The more I study it, the more engineering details I see. I’m a sucker for engineering and architecture, so combine the two and you’ve got my attention.
I shot it over two mornings, but had to scrap the first day, as the conditions were so much nicer on the second day, there was no continuity to it. Even so, we had squally snow showers blasting through every few minutes suspending activities and making consistent exposure a real battle.
It’s the first time I’d used the Glidetrack, other than just fiddling around in the office, but quickly becomes addictive as you start thinking of ways to incorporate short camera moves into your shots. Like all the best ideas, it’s really simple. A bar of extruded aluminium carries a carriage fitted with a standard tripod thread and has attachments to allow fitting to a wide variety of tripods, C stands, light stands etc, or you can sit it on the floor on it’s own feet for low moves.
It’s an easy thing to use and once you’ve mastered getting a consistent speed along the track and it really gives a look to camera moves that you’d have to spend ten times the amount to achieve with a traditional dolly track, plus you lose the fast setup time and portability of it. On really cold days, the metal picks up moisture and can judder, plus the rails are very sensitive to any dirt at all. I found the best way to ensure a smooth move was to carry a small can of WD40 and a clean cloth and give the rail a quick wipe before shooting. It takes just seconds to do and pretty much guarantees a smooth move.
Best of all, once you’re done the whole thing packs away in seconds and sits in the car boot taking hardly any space at all.
The 1D Mk4 with the full manual controls for video is superb and I’ll write more of this, it’s amazing ISO and 10 fps burst rate later.
The time lapse I cut into this was shot at the end of last year on the 5DMk2 and was added because it fits the pace of the music by Vivaldi and because I like it! Overall, I’m happy with my first shot with the Glidetrack. Things I’d change next time all revolve around getting a better tripod. The Manfrotto is OK for the money, but I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on the superb Miller I tried at the Broadcast Expo. And I wouldn’t use the ball and socket head on the Glidetrack, as with a long lens it introduces very small movements that you can see when viewed in full HD. One of the curses of shooting in full HD.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful piece, Neil! The music falls seamlessly with the smooth gliding, excellent job
Thanks, Gu. Glad you liked it. Glidetrack is a great product for the money.