The Shining and the Steadicam®: an interview with inventor Garrett Brown

Who can forget the sinister and “supernaturally steady” film shots of The Shining? Watch inventor Garret Brown discuss how those shots were achieved with his newly-invented Steadicam®, patent no. 4,017,168.

In 2013, Brown was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, located at the US Patent and Trademark headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

[CinemaSpecialEffects]

Thank you Garrett and Thanks Nicola Pecorini because Nicola is first Italian man that imported in Italy the steadicam. Sorry for my english.

[iancano]

Awesome interview. I grew up watching movies that used the steadicam and they added so much visually to the storytelling abilities of filmmakers. It's funny though that I assumed the steadicam was invented earlier and used in 2001 (the opening shot following Frank Poole jogging inside the Discovery) and A Clockwork Orange (the home invasion sequences).

Thank you!

[danfuerthgillis]

The biggest thing about this invention is Hollywood kept a grip on it for decades. So basically the mass consumer had to shoot shaky camcorder videos for 30 years. The Steadicam ( a small cut down system) should of been in the hands of the mass consumer with the rise of the VHS camcorders. We now have gimbals available but still expensive, the steadicam system is still not available to the mass consumer market in 2022. If this product had hit the mass consumer in the mid 80's we would be 15 years ahead in gimbal and steadicam tech on the consumer side.

[williampatrick]

Lol, Kubrick caught the shadow in Garrett Brown’s demo, but not the one in the opening of The Shining

[TheTrue]

that camera was so good I couldnt see a single little dot

[DanieleSilva]

O maior génio revolucionário do audiovisual. Viva garrett <3

[NoName-jqtj]

What I don’t follow was is it the cameras stabilisation that grants you a smooth take or it’s because it was small so hence it could be hand held.

[markreynolds]

Sublime.possibly the best film ever made.😈😠👽🤡💀☠️

[raygordonteacheschess]

Love how the girlfriend (now wife) went all-in.

[herzeliedstein]

I love that this is a government funded video