Nice shot, part 8: First use of the Steadicam

For those of you not familiar with this, a Steadicam is a camera rig that straps to you, using a vest-like harness, and enables you to walk with the camera and achieve almost no camera-shake whatsoever in the shot. This is accomplished by using a complicated set of weights and measures, which basically makes the camera entirely independent of your body and body movement. It was revolutionary in part because you could film smooth tracking shots in places you never could before, like stairs, where you would not be able to place dolly tracks.

Rocky
Well, this is the first Steadicam shot ever committed to film... The creator of the Steadicam, Garrett Brown, was operating the camera in this shot. Brown had just built the first Steadicam prototype prior to this film (the prototype was in such an early state that it ran on a car battery (!). Obviously it doesn't appear too spectacular now, but that shot was amazing back in 1976... no one had ever done a shot that smooth without using a dolly.
Click on the picture below to watch the scene. (2 MB, Windows Media Player required)


The Shining
By 1980, the Steadicam system had been improved upon many times. Just witness the clips below to see how much smoother the camera really is. The Shining is famous for being one of the first movies that really utilized the Steadicam for what it could do: Kubrick was fascinated by this new invention and used it dozens of times in the film for different shots.
Click on the picture below to watch the scene. (3 MB, Windows Media Player required)

Click on the picture below to watch the scene. (2 MB, Windows Media Player required)