I like the production value of CNN’s Parts Unknowns documentary style as well as the content. So I checked out CNN’s new series The Wonder List which is similar but you travel the world to see exotic locations without a focus on cuisine. It turned out to be a very informative and well shot show.

But what really got my attention was how 99% of the show’s content was shot with a stabilizer. High shots, low shots and aerial shots, even transitions from high to low in a single shot. In an industry that is obsessed with stable shots, this was subtly unsettling. Documentary shows are known to have alot of handheld shots for the unplanned, in the moment, uncontrived look. Everything seemed to be artificially smooth where you would expect some camera shake, dip or tilt associated with handheld shots. It really brought attention to the importance and appropriate choice of a handheld, dolly or stabilized shot to convey or accentuate the scene’s terrain. For example, the camera always floated over uneven terrain while the people were wobbling to balance while walking on them and the smooth shot removed that effect. It was like watching a video game or a video game movie intercut with live action & green screen where the camera moves like it’s on a track on any given axis. CG camera POVs are actually executed on a smoothed out virtual motion path using keyframes. This is one reason I can’t watch CG movies because a camera just can’t actually move through space like that.

As a Steadicam-type body rig operator, another thing that caught my attention was when the operator stopped any moving shot, he didn’t taper, feather or ramp the stop by walking into the rig. He stopped, then subtly pulled the rig back towards him from any direction it was traveling. It was like post-pan or tilt drifting when operating a jib, dipping the frame’s horizon or overpanning when on sticks. I just can’t stand it when I see that happen, especially on shows at that level. Of course, it doesn’t help that his actual arm is used as the rig’s support and is probably worn out after a long move or multiple takes. What’s funny is that a body vest with outriggers has already been developed to suspend these stabilized halo rigs, similar to the Marzpak. There’s a good reason that orginal body rigs have an articulated arm. The human arm can only lift so much for so long. For us body rig users, it’s our backs that pay the price.

I could understand using it often but for an entire show? We may have to retrain our minds to accept these unnatural moves because producers & DPs are going to use them just because they exist. What do you think of the extensive use of stabilized shots?