I decided to build a camera rig for my DSLR as I will need my camera and had at all times and, due to the fast-paced nature of this trip, I may not have time to set up a tripod all of the time. A more dynamic and moving, hand held-camera effect will be effective in my trailer too.
My original idea was to simply buy a Cam Caddie rig. These are particular quick to setup and use, and are very lightweight. However it requires you to hold it from above which would prove limiting if I required an over-head shot. The rig itself doesn't suplly much horizontal wobble resistance either.
After further research I stumbled upon the Manfrotto Fig Rig. With Manfrotto being famous for their tripods and other stablisation camera equipment, it is no surprise they have used an intuitive design. Whilst the circular rim supplies a large amount of stability (as moving one hand forwards 1cm to emulate wobble only moves the camera sensor ~2mm) Manfrotto have priced the Fig Rig at around £200. Without much budget at all I decided to make my own.
Many people have posted on the internet guides as to how to make your own rig like Manfrotto's. However the designs tend to be flimsy and do not look particularly practical or protective for the camera. Here is the most common example of DIY rigs; using PVC tubing.
To save as much money as possible I used as many of my own items as I could. After some experimentation I found the rim of the floor toms for my drum kit had the perfect radius for a comfortable and effective rig.
A stable camera mounting method was using a small tripod head to attach the camera to the rig. I tried mounting the camera using a tripod head but later found the camera sat too high compared to the centre of the rig, causing awkward muscle strains in order to keep the rig upright when filming. Finally I disassembled the tripod head and used the top two elements of it to as a mount. The bolt size is 3/8" (9.525cm) with 16 threads, and cannot be bought in any local hardware store. Fortunately the tripod head included a 3/8-16 bolt which I could use.
I heated and bent the ends of a thick aluminium ruler and bolted the ruler into the rig to create a platform across the diameter of the rig. Here we can see the two elements of the tripod I used: the mount and the quick-release plate. The two elements of the tripod head were bolted onto the ruler - I added super glue to ensure not vibrations or slight movements occur.
Finally I used insulation and packaging material to create ergonomic grips that were the same size as the gap created when I curl my hands as if I am grabbing something and my thumbs and fingers can only just touch each other. This size of grip means holding the rig is not streneous at all. An additional grip was added to the top of the rig for shots when I may hold the rig from above such as when skateboarding or leaning out of a car window. A scooter hand grip was used here as it supplies great friction. Zip ties were used to fasten the grips down and the ends of the zip ties that stuck out were burnt off to add comfort to the grips.
Finally I added a green removable velcro bag-tie to the top of the rig so camera straps can be secured out of the way of the lens.
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