Building my own Jib Arm

P-Worm · Mar 12, 2008

Well, I'm building my own jib arm. I'm currently a mechanical engineering student and I decided that it would be a fun project to design a custom jib arm, choose the materials, and machine the whole thing out.

Today I chose my material and it's on the way and I should be able to get started building the thing soon.

I thought that some of you might be interested in my design (I could post some blueprints), the building process of the rig, or how it comes out (including some shots taken with the camera mounted on the rig) so I started this thread. If no one is interested in my little project, this can just be wastelanded.

P-Worm

Artofilm · Mar 12, 2008

Good stuff!
I hope your project goes well and you get what you want out of the jib you are making.

I, also, homemade a jib arm, i didn't have access to any crazy machines or materials so I used materials anyone could get from a store like Home Depot.

Here is my jib:

Stuipdboy1000 · Mar 12, 2008

Artofilm said:
Good stuff!
I hope your project goes well and you get what you want out of the jib you are making.

I, also, homemade a jib arm, i didn't have access to any crazy machines or materials so I used materials anyone could get from a store like Home Depot.

Here is my jib:

Shmexi.

Really need to get round to making one of these.

Artofilm · Mar 12, 2008

Stuipdboy1000 said:
Shmexi. Really need to get round to making one of these.

It cost about $100 in materials to make, and about a day worth of time to design and put together.

If you watch my last year's film; Distance, the very last shot in the film was done with the jib in the picture, just to give you an idea what a homemade jib is capable of.

Here is the link:
http://www.inblacklight.com/indiefilmdistance.html

P-Worm · Mar 12, 2008

That looks very good. How well does your tripod hold the arm and allow you to rotate it? Also, how long is your arm?

P-Worm

Artofilm · Mar 12, 2008

P-Worm said:
That looks very good. How well does your tripod hold the arm and allow you to rotate it? Also, how long is your arm?

P-Worm

The tripod holds the arm with no issues at all, I just have to make sure to mount it so that the tripod tilt mechanism is not running with the arm, so that the tripod does not "tilt" the jib arm like it would a camera.

I can rotate the jib just like I would a camera. I created the jib, so that the bottom of the jib is mounted by the same way a camera is into the tripod head. Once I pop in the arm, I have the same controls on the tripod head.

As far as the length of the arm goes...I don't entirely remember what the measurements were... 60" comes to mind, but Im not sure.

SPG · Mar 13, 2008

Arto, NICE! Huge fan of DIY solutions, and yours looks like it gets the job done, and more importantly you actually did it...the real test of a DIY success.

P-Worm, love to see what you come up with. Is it going to have controllable camera tilt and swivel on the end of the jib arm?

P-Worm · Mar 13, 2008

The rig has a lever as part of the four bar linkage that allows tile control while the camera is being moved around in a circular motion. The camera can point in multiple directions, but not during the shot, it has to be mounted that way.

One thing of note is that I have the rig set up so that the camera can be pointed backwards without the rig coming into the camera's field of view. I am going to have two bottom attachments so I can keep the pivot of the arm close to the ground and spin the camera in a smooth circular path around a character if needed.

Also, I have a broken portable DVD player where the screen still works and I'm going to hook that up to it so the controller can see through the camera at the base.

I built a dolly a little while ago that I am quite proud of, but I couldn't be more excited when this project is done.

P-Worm

Artofilm · Mar 13, 2008

Sweet!
I love homemade film equipment, it cut costs sooo much!
I also made a dolly as well, I used it in that Distance film as well. They are great!

I just can't wait to do a dolly/jib shot, that would be crazy!

Good luck on your jib arm, send some pictures when you've finished it!

P-Worm · Mar 13, 2008

Will do. I'll post plenty of pictures as well as the complete cost. One of my goals for this is to make it for as little as possible, but I have to admit, it's going to be pretty difficult beating your jib-in-a-day for under $100.

P-Worm

Artofilm · Mar 14, 2008

P-Worm said:
Will do. I'll post plenty of pictures as well as the complete cost. One of my goals for this is to make it for as little as possible, but I have to admit, it's going to be pretty difficult beating your jib-in-a-day for under $100.

P-Worm

lol, jib-in-a-day, wow, I should have documented what I bought and how I did it, it sounds like a product!

Anyways, you may not be able to get a jib in one day, but Im sure your jib will look awesome, especially since you have access to good machines and materials.

Dr. Rengers · Mar 15, 2008

I've been thinking of making a DIY Jib for quite some time. Only thing is that I wanted a camera mount that could both pan and tilt with mechanical control. My final design incorporated the brake wires used in bikes to control the head.

But, I've never got around to building one for real

Did you design for a pan + tilt head? Or just one of them?
I'm looking forward to see your designs and progress!

vegasfilmer · Jul 25, 2009

My name is Nate Wooldridge. I currently work for a Production company called MOSTIC INC. For about a year I have been filming with the Panasonic HVX200. My business partner and I have been trying to find plans to build a jib arm. Is there any way that you can post plans for the jib arm that you built?
P-Worm[/QUOTE]

acearchie · Jul 26, 2009

Im also interested in how the project turned out. Im not quite onto a jib yet but I will be attempting the £9.50 steadicam!

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Building my own Jib Arm

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