On Wednesday, June 7, Bryn Mawr Film Institute patrons were treated to a fascinating talk by three-time Academy Award winner Garrett Brown: Philadelphia native and renowned inventor of the Steadicam. In a humorous and informative one-hour, video-illustrated talk, Garrett introduced the audience to the origins of Steadicam technology, its implementation in major Hollywood films, and the evolution of the technology as it came to be used for televised sporting events, including the Olympics and the NFL.

In the history of cinema, only a handful of men and women have truly transformed the process of making motion pictures. At the end of the 19 th century, it was Thomas Edison, whose phonograph and kinetoscope became the foundation for modern filmmaking. In the closing years of the 20 th century, it was Garrett Brown, whose Steadicam technology, now almost thirty years old, is recognized as one of the most innovative breakthroughs in the history of the medium.

Garrett began his career in show business not as a cameraman, but as a folksinger. However, an automobile accident prompted him to switch career paths. It was his next position as a copywriter for a Philadelphia-based advertising agency that eventually led to him starting his own film production company, producing everything from commercials for Connecticut Gas to short films for Sesame Street.

Like all great inventions, the Steadicam was born out of a specific need for something that did not exist: a camera that had the same applications as the dolly without its heavy weight and limited directions of movement and breadth of camera field.

In the early 1970’s, tracking camera shots still had to be executed by mounting the camera on a dolly, a weighty and sizeable moving platform typically requiring lengths of long metal track that could weigh up to 800 pounds and was extremely cumbersome to transport from place to place. Not only was this apparatus inconvenient, but it limited the types of tracking shots available to most productions.

The Steadicam consists of a harness, worn by the operator, and an armature that balances the camera with a counterweight. Through some basic principles of physics, the camera becomes stabilized, thereby allowing the camera operator to move freely while still maintaining a steady and stable line of vision for the camera. This development allows for far greater freedom and diversity in shot choice for filmmakers and makes for a more dynamic and detailed moviegoing experience for viewers.

Garrett created the prototype and a demo for the Steadicam that caught the attention of major Hollywood filmmakers almost instantly. In his talk, Garrett showed the audience the first demo footage of Steadicam use. In one demo, Garrett follows his three year old son with the camera as he runs through the grass on a dusky late afternoon. In another, Garrett shoots his wife Ellen as she runs up and down the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum, a shot that director John G. Avildsen chose to replicate in his film Rocky. The Steadicam was used in three major films in 1975—Marathon Man, Bound for Glory, and most memorably, Rocky. Since then, Garrett has contributed to scores of films, including The Shining, Reds, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Philadelphia, and Casino. Throughout the talk, Garrett showed scenes from many of these films, offering brilliant analysis of shot composition, coupled with entertaining anecdotes about some of the most famous directors and actors of our time.

Moreover, the Steadicam has spawned additional camera inventions, all of them based on the original principles of Steadicam technology. Garrett holds 50 patents for camera devices worldwide, including the Skycam, a camera that flies on wires that is best known in its use for NFL games, and the Mobycam, the underwater camera that follows swimmers during Olympic television coverage. Garrett discussed these devices in depth, showing examples of their use in a variety of milieus, ranging from dirt bike races to the Olympic Games.

Garrett has received three Academy Awards for technical excellence—an Award of Merit in 1978 for the invention and development of the Steadicam, a Technical Achievement Award in 1999 for the creation of a Skycam flying platform for Steadicam operators, and a Scientific and Engineering Award this year for the original concept of the Skycam flying camera system. He also received an Emmy Award for the Divecam, which was introduced at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In 1988, he founded the Steadicam Operators Association, which is presently the largest online database used to connect Steadicam operators with motion picture directors and producers.

Garrett’s talk was a delight to all in attendance— he possesses the rare ability to captivate industry, academic, and popular audiences alike. His technical mastery is imposing, but always complemented by his riotously self-deprecating sense of humor. The Bryn Mawr Film Institute thanks him heartily for sharing his insights and his stories with us, and we look forward to continuing our friendship with him.

Juliet J. Goodfriend