Scotty AirFlo Duo User Manual Download

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Getting Started with your 4th Axis Stabilizer

Let’s get your new Stabilizer out!

Attaching the gimbal mount to your gimbal

Now for a quick once over

Variable Bounce Damping Controllers

Balancing Your Payload

Preparation

2. Initial Payload Adjustment

3. Support Arm Angle

4. Even Out the Payload

Holding your stabilizer with a soft touch

Testing

Payload -> Shoot, Analyse, Adjust, Repeat

Variable Damping System

Damping Settings:

Damping -> Shoot, Analyse, Adjust, Repeat

Common Rig Configurations

Re-Tuning AKA Troubleshooting

Some common problem sounds include the following:-

Knocking spring adjuster

Scratching or scraping around the spring adjuster

User Guide - AirFlo Duo - 4th Axis Stabilizer - 20181209 ScottyMakesStuff.com

Summary of Contents for AirFlo Duo

Page 1: ...airflo duo 4th Axis Stabilizer User Guide ...

Page 2: ...the Payload 11 Holding your stabilizer with a soft touch 12 Testing 15 Payload Shoot Analyse Adjust Repeat 15 Variable Damping System 17 Damping Settings 18 Damping Shoot Analyse Adjust Repeat 19 Common Rig Configurations 21 Upright Mode 21 High Mode 21 Mid Mode 22 Low Mode 22 Rigid Mode 23 Advanced Usage 24 Semi Rigid Mode 24 Re Tuning AKA Troubleshooting 25 Some common problem sounds include the...

Page 3: ...he gimbal mount 26 General Care 27 Temperature range 27 Rain Dust and moisture 27 Cleaning Maintenance Care and Precautions 27 OK that s it Congratulations 28 2 User Guide AirFlo Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20181209 ScottyMakesStuff com ...

Page 4: ... to jumping around like crazy The best steadicam support arm operators usually take years before they truly master their trade but with our 4th Axis Stabilizers and a handheld gimbal the learning curve is vastly quicker to get smooth results You might be a natural right out of the box but most of us will need to dedicate time to getting your technique and settings right for each shooting scenario ...

Page 5: ...ss Note Your stabilizer is fully tuned out of the box so don t be tempted to go and tighten everything before you start or else you ll have to go over the re tuning process unessesarily The only parts you ll normally be adjusting are the handles payload adjusters fluid damping adjusters and stabilizer arm attachments which are all tool less The re tuning section near the end of this guide is helpf...

Page 6: ...for even higher shots or when inverted for even lower shooting positions 1 Take your mount halves the bolts that came with the mount and the M4 allen key the largest allen key 2 Place both sides of the mount clamp around the handle and line them up so that the top sides sit level with each other 3 While holding the clamp in position with one hand use your free hand to start to screw the bolts in b...

Page 7: ...ocking down the locking lever until it locks down horizontally 6 Now you finally test the holding power of the gimbal clamp by gripping the gimbal firmly and trying to rotate the 4th axis handle If the gimbal rotates inside the clamp then tighten the clamp bolts another quarter turn and try again and repeat until it won t move easily 6 User Guide AirFlo Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20181209 ScottyMakes...

Page 8: ... energy or bounce is lost in the system via friction That bounce can be reduced and absorbed in the bounce damping system by setting the damping knob turn it anti clockwise to increase the strength of the damping and clockwise to lighten the damping There is a bit more to it than that and it s a concept that s easy to misunderstand so please read the more detailed explanation about this in the Bou...

Page 9: ... to the handles via the rosette mount The main purpose though is to adjust the spring tension so that you can balance your rig properly The spring adjustment knob turns anti clockwise to increase the spring tension and the bolt runner moves closer to the top This will support an increased payload weight while at the same time decreasing the iso elasticity Turn it clockwise and the bolt runner move...

Page 10: ...a bung knee can do it then you can too Think of it in the same way that car suspension smooths out a bumpy road So too our suspension system does the same to your bumps Now consider the difference between the super soft suspension of a luxury limo and the very rigid suspension of an off roader In a luxury limo you barely feel any bumps and this is Iso Elastic suspension With the stiff suspension o...

Page 11: ...osen the Rosette Knobs until the handles can be rotated I prefer my handles pointing out at around a 10 degree angle but this is just my preference so whatever angle you re comfortable with Some people like the handles rotated in slightly as it narrows the width for a narrower grip and more compact form Once both sides are at the same angle just tighten up the Rosette knobs making sure that the ro...

Page 12: ...port Arm Angle When you hold the stabilizer with the rig loaded you ll notice that the support arms either point up towards the centre or down The most common use is for typical walking shots and the angle of the support arms is not as important as the setting for the most optimal smoothing as the vertical movement tends to be small As long as your stabilizer doesn t bottom out during your shot th...

Page 13: ...ur Duo is a truly dynamic system and what you want to do is eliminate any inward or outward pressure on this dynamic system It may be hard to un learn the techniques you ve learnt but the silky smooth footage you get will be worth it 1 The first step is to hold your Duo and place your hands so that the slight lip at the top of the handles sits on your hand 2 Now feel the rig in your hands You shou...

Page 14: ...on of the gimbal This will vary by whether the arms are pointing up or down This is the motion you re attempting to avoid 4 Finally drop your hands to make the gimbal bounce without any inwards or outwards pressure 13 User Guide AirFlo Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20181209 ScottyMakesStuff com ...

Page 15: ... can get a feel for it fairly quickly It might remind you of that weird jerking exercise gadget on tv but bouncing the arms up and down repetitively will quickly teach you whether you are doing it right or not The aim is to bounce the hands while keeping the gimbal as steady as possible At first you ll find it may be hard to keep it steady but not before too you ll get the hang of it 14 User Guide...

Page 16: ... Payload Spring Adjusters set all the way to the bottom make sure you stop when you feel the resistance at the bottom 2 Set both damping adjustment knobs so that they re turned off Fully tighten the knobs at first and then loosen them 5 revolutions to turn off the damping This may give you some uncontrolled bouncing during the test but that will be fixed in the next section when we adjust the vari...

Page 17: ... right side to even it up with the left When your gimbal bounces straight up you re all set to start your test shot 5 Let s be optimistic and start at this low setting Film the movement with this setting and if possible look at the results on a monitor to see 1 how well bounce was controlled and 2 if you lost your framing or not If you re not there yet then increase both Payload Spring Adjustment ...

Page 18: ...amping knob 5 full rotations will give you zero damping Each clockwise rotation increases the damping by 20 There is a black line on the top and a red line on the bottom of each damping knob so that you can count every 20 increase using the black line and use the red line to count the odd settings i e 10 30 50 70 90 To zero the damping first tighten the damping knobs to 100 each and then loosen th...

Page 19: ...hru to walking down stairs will be smoothed out but any harder or softer motion won t be smoothed out Damping Settings To give you an idea of where to set the damping here s a range of filming movements with the level of fluid damping that I use for each This uses the single black line in the white gauge The most gentle camera movement for this I tend to use from 0 damping up to 20 damping e g slo...

Page 20: ...oth damping cartridges are set the same As the payload springs are already adjusted you just do the bounce test with the loaded stabilizer If say the gimbal bounce leans towards the right side then the right has more damping than the left and you need to increase the left side damping adjustment or decrease the right side adjuster Damping Shoot Analyse Adjust Repeat This process is useful to do in...

Page 21: ...a If the first shot was best then keep a note of the first setting b If the new shot was better then increase the damping again and keep testing until you find the footage smoothing declines 7 Once you have your soft motion settings nailed down then keep the damping at the last ideal setting and start the process again but this time up the intensity to the next movement with gentle walking 8 Next ...

Page 22: ...head to waist shots over shoulder high to low shots and all the common moves such as push ins out outs High Mode From Upright Mode if you invert the handles you get the High Mode This is useful for a range of high shots and can give some interesting faux crane shots Its higher centre of gravity makes it harder to control than the other modes 21 User Guide AirFlo Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20181209 Sc...

Page 23: ... lower objects such as cars railings plants that s great for B roll It s also a good height for capturing smaller children Low Mode Now with the gimbal in the Mid Mode you turn the handles upright to get to Low Mode also called Briefcase Mode It s great for those dog s eye view of the world shots and the toe to head shot tilting up or a following behind legs or feet shots Of all the stabilizer pos...

Page 24: ...ond First make sure your handles are straight up or angled outwards as the next step can pinch your hand if they re angled inwards It s actually really easy and all you do is bounce down on the gimbal and on the up stroke push inwards on the handles and Hey Presto you re in Rigid Mode You can also go to Rigid Mode from all other Modes as well 23 User Guide AirFlo Duo 4th Axis Stabilizer 20181209 S...

Page 25: ...t goes from soft suspension to Rigid Mode as the locking motion will give an obvious jolt in the footage You might find that there are times when you want this transition so what you can do is rather than fully locking the arms just apply enough inward pressure on the handles to lift or lower the gimbal so that the majority of the suspension is mostly locked and you can do your controlled rapid mo...

Page 26: ...s that are mostly fine but if there s an odd sound that pipes up then try and work out where that is Some common problem sounds include the following Knocking around the spring adjuster Scratching or scraping around the spring adjuster Scratching or scraping around the gimbal mount I run through every one of the following adjustments when I m tuning the stabilizers You may pick and choose what you...

Page 27: ...3 bolts and test to see if the noise is gone Scratching or scraping around the gimbal mount The bottom attachment bolt with the spring attached to it is rubbing somewhere Firstly you ll make sure that the nut on the front side lines up with the end of the bolt If not take your socket and allen key and adjust it Then take your stabilizer and look thru to that bolt with a light above you so you can ...

Page 28: ...Precautions After any use where your stabilizer is subjected to dust or moisture you should wipe with a dry or slightly moist cloth When you store your stabilizer for extended periods to minimise the stress on the stabilizer you should adjust both of the spring adjusters to the minimum position The lubricated bearings are sealed so no lubrication is required to the bearings or any other part of th...

Page 29: ...hoot You might be a complete natural but I generally suggest you dedicate at least a few hours shooting and reviewing footage to find the right settings for you Then you can go out with confidence and make all your very own silky smooth footage And one last thing if you post some footage online then we d love to see it so please shoot me off a link Thanks again Scotty McPherson 28 User Guide AirFl...

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