This is my first attempt at DIY camera stabiliser or 'steadicam'. The idea is that it gives a smooth, cinematic feel to your footage and adds production value to any film. While the many of the materials I used are not copied from anyone, the rough design is based around the 'Merlin' and was inspired by various Youtube Channels. I am not claiming to have invented it. 

It is very much cobbled together from bits I found in my Dads shed plus a small number of ebay purchases. The general principles are simple with a multidirectional U-joint acting as a gimbal, with a counter-weighted frame around it. The key part of the design is the gimbal and I used a traxxas 5151 U-joint (primary use is on R/C units) which was around £8 online. To go with this I found an old skateboard bearing to allow panning and secured this into a plumbing pipe coupler for the handle. Once attached to the frame, which is from the legs of a fold out sofa bed, (thank you to Ben Morrison), it was then a case of attaching the camera and counter weights. 

I used a macro-slider rail to mount the camera, again about £10 online, as this gives flexibility when balancing the device. I also purchased a quickrelease plate purely for speed and convenience of attaching the camera. It worked well without this but it is now more efficient to set up. For the counterweights I used large washers on machine bolts and attached them to the frame in various ways, including conduit saddle joints. A lot of trial error went in to working out how many washers I needed to balance the rig with a Canon 5D mark iii on it. Anyway that's enough of me harping on, here is the first test footage, theres more to come as I am using the rig in various upcoming productions.  As you will see I didn't quite have the hang of it during the first outing, but you get the idea!  

This was the rough cut of my 2 minute action sequence as part of the first term assessment on MA Wildlife FIlmmaking. It was all shot on one gloomy day in my flat in Bristol with a Sony FS700 video camera. A lot of slow motion (400fps for techies) was used to capture the speed that the ladybirds walk around, take off and fly.  
All of the ladybird actions actually happened. Originally I'd seen ladybirds walking up to the highest and most southerly point they could find, usually the coffee table, before taking off towards the window. That was what I wanted to show happening, however the ladybird regularly fell off the table before trying again, so I incorporated that into the video. Naturally, to get the right shots the ladybird needed some gentle encouragement, but none of my actors were damaged.