I'm wondering how the pros get relatively smooth handheld video - do they use a very heavy camera maybe?
-tomos
For moving action, in addition to stabilizing systems built into the camera, they'll also either use something called a "steadycam" rig, or they'll roll the camera on a 'dolly' track - or operate it via a boom/crane.
The steadycam is exactly what you suggested. Its a counterweighted mounting system - usually attached to a harness or vest worn by the camera operator. The pro rigs cost a fortune. But DIY versions have become almost a cottage industry. So if you google:" make your own steadycam" you'll get a ton of hits for different versions film students and sites like MAKE and eHow have come up with. Pick one that looks doable and have at it! (Warning: it takes practice to get the best results. Just having a steadycam rig won't make everything smooth by itself. You have to work with it.
Looks like this:
I'm practicing how to make filmsThere's tons more gadgets and gizmos you can make or buy. Just check out making movies or videos on YouTube or Google.
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To really be effective in setting up your shots however, you need to be aware of the visual lexicon movie directors use. These are ways to shoot things that film audiences have learned to understand and expect in a film. In the old days they'd throw obvious visual cues up on the screen (flipping calendars, lines moving on maps, asides to the audience) to let you know how to view the scene.
It's become more subtle today. You have things like "establishing shots" to quickly let the viewer know where and when the scene is taking place. You have foreshadowing shots to give them a subconscious "heads-up" about something coming in a later scene. Extreme tight close-ups sre used to create emotional intensity. Tracking shots to convey space and ''action." It goes on and on.
And you need to know about and how to use them. Not to say you're locked in. Hitchcock and other directors became famous by
introducing new shots into the lexicon rather than breaking with established conventions. That's a subtle but important difference worth thinking about if you're the type that prides yourself on "breaking the rules."
OK. Book time! (Again.) Try to check out some of these:
IMO (and since I'm only an avid film
viewer rather than a
filmmaker, take it for what it's worth
) this is one of the best:
Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen
A complete catalogue of motion picture techniques for filmmakers. It concentrates on the 'storytelling' school of filmmaking, utilizing the work of the great stylists who established the versatile vocabulary of technique that has dominated the movies since 1915. This graphic approach includes comparisons of style by interpreting a 'model script', created for the book, in storyboard form.
This one is another more visual riff on the same topic. The title pretty much says it all:
Master Shots Vol 1, 2nd edition: 100 Advanced Camera Techniques to Get an Expensive Look on Your Low-Budget Movie
Master Shots gives filmmakers the techniques they need to execute complex, original shots on any budget. By using powerful master shots and well-executed moves, directors can develop a strong style and stand out from the crowd. Most low-budget movies look low-budget, because the director is forced to compromise at the last minute. Master Shots gives you so many powerful techniques that you’ll be able to respond, even under pressure, and create knock-out shots. Even when the clock is ticking and the light is fading, the techniques in this book can rescue your film, and make every shot look like it cost a fortune. Each technique is illustrated with samples from great feature films and computer-generated diagrams for absolute clarity.
And then....
For a good rundown on how effective storytelling translates (and gets translated) into an effective film project (Reread McKee's book
Story 
as you work with
this one.)
Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live Action and AnimationFrancis Glebas, a top Disney storyboard artist, teaches artists a structural approach to clearly and dramatically presenting visual stories. They will learn classic visual storytelling techniques such as conveying meaning with images and directing the viewer's eye. Glebas also teaches how to spot potential problems before they cost time and money, and he offers creative solutions on how to solve them.
* Uses the classic story of '1001 Arabian Nights' to show how to storyboard stories that will engage an audience's attention and emotions.
* With 1001 drawings in graphic novel format plus teaching concepts and commentary.
* All of the storyboarding examples have a real project context rather to engage a very visual audience on their own terms and teaches through demonstration.
There's also plenty of film how-tos up on YouTube. Some of it is junk, but much is really quite good. Eventually you'll have enough advice and hands-on experience under your belt to get an idea of who knows what they're talking about - and who doesn't. Which is fine. Because learning to separate the wheat from the chaff (and identify
real resources) is part of what life-learning projects are all about.
