The Steadicam® Operator's Handbook

A great walk and talk

Walk and talks are typical long Steadicam shots. We see them all the time in movies, TV shows, industrials, and commercials. It's the bread and butter shot for Steadicam operators, plowing through pages and pages of dialogue, yet often these shots are very unsatisfying or uninteresting. So what makes a good walk and talk shot? They do exist! What makes for a dull one?

Dramatic tension

Earlier in the book we talked about dancing with the Steadicam and maintaining a tension with the rig. It is important to maintain this tension, this relationship, even when the camera is still. It is similar to the tension that must be maintained between the dancers in a tango, even when the dancers pause. The Steadicam's tension is defined ...