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Balancing question

Discussion in 'MōVI M15' started by dylan bridges, Jun 27, 2018.

  1. dylan bridges

    dylan bridges New Member

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    I understand the concept of balancing the Movi, but there don't seem to be very many videos online to reference.

    My question is if heavy cameras are harder to balance. I am using an Ursa Mini and the it seems so very precise to be able to balance it decently, and very hard to do it perfectly which I have not done.

    I have balanced the tilt successfully but the Roll wont stay idle if I try to put it at different angles and leave it
     
  2. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    OK, I'll take the bait... here's my balancing video:

    I think the Roll won't stay in one spot because there's a little tension from the cable that's built in to the Movi on the Roll Axis, and that causes it to return to center position.

    If your Ursa camera is too long to tilt all the way up or down to get the Tilt Center of Gravity axis without hitting the ring or the Movi batteries, then my video has a tip for a 2nd way to adjust it.

    Any specific questions you have about balancing? I had a better time explaining things in a video than typing about them, so that's why I made the video linked above.
     
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  3. dylan bridges

    dylan bridges New Member

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    great video. quick question: for the roll axis, you dont mention the bolts in the back you can loosen to also change the roll. Do you keep it in the center and never move it, thus only using the 3 clamps as shown in the video?
     
  4. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    Dang, sorry, I should have looked more carefully and seen you were using an M15 and not a Movi Pro. They are slightly different in that respect.

    For the M15, I would typically build everything up and put the camera near the middle of the cage with room to move, and then loosen the three bolts on the Roll Beam and rough-balance it there. Then I'd tighten those bolts and fine-tune the balance with the sliders on the cage. I'd only have to do this at the beginning of a shoot with a new camera setup, and then I would only use the clamps on the cage for the rest of the time.

    The Movi Pro is already mostly pre-set to compensate for the weight of the Tilt Motor, and when I first got it, I thought I'd miss that rough-balance roll-beam adjustment that the M15 has. To be honest, it hasn't really been a problem with Movi Pro, but that's because I don't put a V-lock battery on the side of the camera anymore and there's more side-to-side room. Not sure if the Ursa Mini may need a little more room than an Arri Mini.

    Also, I didn't find that the M15 cables pulled so much on the Roll beam to move it back to center like the Movi Pro does. It would typically stay in one place better. If you're re-centering, your Tilt Center of Gravity axis may be a little low, or maybe you have a cable pushing on it somewhere or shifting.
     

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