With the roaring popularity of the GoPro and other rugged action cameras, it’s becoming increasingly common to see videos of people getting into all kinds of sports-y situations. More often than not, what you’ll see is a shot from someone’s helmet, which lets you see roughly what they’re seeing, but doesn’t feature the person in question in the frame at all. The 3rd Person View is a system that lets you mount your camera on an articulated boom arm, and allows you to include your upper body in the shot. It’s a little bit like you’re playing Grand Theft Auto, or any other game with a 3rd person view, only you’re the star.
Created by Dutch film producer Thijs Vrij, the device consists of three parts – a waterproof adjustable waistband with a carbon sandwich backplate; an alloy adjustable camera pole; and, a locking/release mechanism. The whole thing reportedly weighs less than 950 grams (2 lbs) and fits inside a backpack when disassembled.
The boom arm is adjustable, so you don’t have to place the camera directly behind you, which does give you even more viewing angles. However, we’re not sure just how sturdy the waistband is. It would have to be pretty tight if you want to avoid ridiculous amounts of sway and vibration in the shot; just the kind of thing that’s likely to happen in heavy action footage. Still, if you want to give it a go, it’s £135 (US$214) on Kickstarter to get your own.
[ Project Page ] VIA [ Gizmag ]
