Garrett Brown has a resume to impress that includes dozens of major films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Rocky, Xanadu, and, undoubtedly one of the most amazing movies ever made, The Shining. I recently watched the new Blu Ray disc which not only features an amazing HD transfer of Kubrick's horror masterpiece, it also includes a commentary track from Brown, which is how I became an instant admirer of the man. See, not only was he the primary Steadicam operator for every movie that employed one for a couple decades, he invented the thing.
A Steadicam is defined as:
A stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera, which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface.
It revolutionized filmmaking and the essence of its genius can be seen in those famous shots tracking Danny as he wheels around the halls of the Overlook Hotel, though he invented the stabilizing mechanism while shooting Bound for Glory. Brown's commentary on the impressive new Blu Ray edition of the Shining is extremely interesting and informative. Since his initial stroke of genius that earned him a technical Oscar, he has also invented:
FlyCam: A closed loop, stabilized tracking camera system
SkyCam: The first suspended flying camera system.
DiveCam: The first dropping vertical camera system.
GoCam: The ultra-light high speed camera tracking system.
SuperFlyCam: An ultra-light stabilized 35mm wire-borne flying camera.
MobyCam: The first submarine tracking camera system.
MoleCam: Coming Soon to a Field Beneath You!
This man is awesome.
But what do you think?