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As a multi-award-winning videographer in Edinburgh, I love to play around with technology that enables me to do something new that I cannot offer my couples on a wedding day. I shot a short video of my beautiful 3-year-old daughter Anabelle zooming around on her Mini Micro scooter.
Anabelle was the boss in this video. I just had to follow and run after her, recording her, much to her amusement!
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Videographer in Edinburgh test footage
Steadicam footage was shot outside the Scottish Parliament and Dynamic Earth visitor centre at Holyrood in Edinburgh, Scotland.
This footage was shot on a Canon 5DMK2 camera, 16-35mm L USM II lens at 16mm, Rode Videomic Pro and Steadicam Merlin stabiliser.
Why use a gimbal stabiliser?
As an Edinburgh-based videographer and hoping for the best with my brides and grooms, a gimbal is a wedding game-changer for smooth, filmic recording.
It’s a space-age stabilizer that keeps your camera steady, no matter how you move around. If you don’t have a gimbal, a little hand movement creates the effect of shaky video, especially in moving shots like the first dance of the bride and groom or the bride’s walk down the aisle. When you use a gimbal, the motion is fluid and smooth, and your video appears professional and polished.
One of the biggest benefits is flexibility. A gimbal allows you to follow the action smoothly, whether you’re gliding along with the bride and groom, taking in sweeping shots of the venue, or following movement on the dance floor. The smooth motion gives your footage a more dynamic and emotive feel.
One of the advantages is creativity. Most gimbals allow for unique shooting styles, for example, dramatic tracking, tilts, or pan shots, that are not possible with handheld cameras. Imagine circling the couple embracing and capturing a romantic 360-degree shot.
Gimbals also cut down on editing time. Footage that is shaky takes hours to edit out—or, even worse, cannot be used at all. With a gimbal, you have stable footage from the beginning, and you can spend more time on storytelling and less on clean-up.
Most gimbals are easy to use, with straightforward controls and smartphone apps for adjusting more complex settings. They’re also small and light, perfect for those extended wedding shoots.
In short, a gimbal turns wedding videography into film, turning ordinary video into cinematic works of art. It enables you to capture the happiness of the day, the romance, and the thrill in a professional, silky-smooth manner. If you’re an Edinburgh wedding videographer who wants to give couples the best, and you want to impress couples with fantastic, never-to-forget videos, then it’s a no-brainer to have a gimbal.
The gimbal test
I use this equipment to film all of my Scottish weddings.
It was a bit of an exercise trying to keep up with a 3-year-old on a scooter. Going in front of him had the Rode Videomic Pro flapping around in the wind like a sail.
It was my job to hold the Steadicam steady and at the appropriate angle to capture Anabelle in the correct frame. Easier said than done! I’m satisfied with the outcome, though. I’ve tried to say how much fun we had making this little film, and Anabelle’s character is in there.
She’s a mischievous little monkey and so much fun always!
Not bad for a first non-wedding photo shoot. A wedding shoot is easier than attempting to keep up with Anabelle on a Scooter!
And, in my daytime life as a videographer in Edinburgh, I would take the Steadicam out and shoot various parts of the day:
- Bridegroom and wedding party arrival at the wedding venue
- The wedding recessional (newlyweds process down the aisle)
- The grand wedding breakfast entrance of the newlyweds
- The newlyweds’ first dances
The first dance would be the longest shot, where the gimbal camera would capture the dances and the second and third cameras would capture the wedding band and the guests.
This combination of camera angle and shot is much more interesting to watch than static shots when filming with a fixed-position tripod!
**Follow-up: More than a decade after this video was made, Anabelle, the scooter, The Scottish Parliament, and Dynamic Earth are all still going strong!
