Filming in a canoe

As part of a project I'm working on, I'll have an opportunity later this month to shoot some footage while in a birchbark canoe on a river. No whitewater, but there may be some small waves. My plan is to be in or near the bow, with a paddler in the stern. There are no seats on these traditional canoes; you kneel and lean against a thwart.

I'm posting here because I'm trying to figure out my best options for stabilization. I have two cameras: an original Pocket Cinema Camera (in a cage with battery and monitor mounts) and a more fully rigged Micro Cinema Camera on rails (which could be converted to a shoulder rig if necessary).

The options available to me for stabilization are:

1. Handheld using a lens with OIS (I have a Panasonic 12-35mm)
2. Manfrotto monopod with their "fluidtech" base and feet (which would allow me to hold the monopod level vertically while the canoe rocks underneath it, minimizing any side-to-side or front-to-back motion, but not up-and-down motion)
3. Tripod (doesn't seem like a good option in this case)
4. Setting up a shoulder rig for the Micro Cinema Camera.

If necessary I could buy a gimbal (I'd use my SLR Magic 10mm cine lens with that) but I wouldn't have a lot of time between now and the end of the month to learn how to set it up and practice.

I'm leaning toward handheld with the monopod as backup, but would love to hear suggestions--especially from anyone who's shot footage on boats. I'm mostly going to be shooting the bow of the canoe as we move through the river; it'll be used with a voiceover description of a historical journey.

Does it really need to be stabilized? I think the current trend of perfectly stabilized shots is overrated. An involving story, great angles and good editing work wonders, even if the footage has lots of organic movement. Often I prefer it. Of course that’s not what you asked... but 12-35 would work well in this setting at the wide end with a few short shots of details at the longer end.

I’d go hand held don’t think a tripod will work in a canoe.

Does it really need to be stabilized? I think the current trend of perfectly stabilized shots is overrated.

Oh, I agree in general (I'm a big fan of the Irish filmmaker Myles O'Reilly, who shots a lot handheld and I feel like it adds a more human touch), but the canoe's going to be rocking a bit with each stroke so I'd like to at least keep viewers from feeling seasick. Canoes of this type tend to have weak initial stability but strong final stability, which means they wiggle a lot in response to internal movements, but you have to work hard to capsize them.

Yeah... I think for that you're going to need a gimble. OIS really deals with micro jitters well, but won't help to keep horizon steady, and I think you'll be moving with the canoe so ideally you want the camera disconnected from your body, so I don't believe a shoulder mount is going to help much. But I'm sure there are people here much more qualified to give proper advice.

Yeah... I think for that you're going to need a gimble. OIS really deals with micro jitters well, but won't help to keep horizon steady, and I think you'll be moving with the canoe so ideally you want the camera disconnected from your body

Thanks -- that's why I'm thinking the monopod might work, since I can hold it level while the canoe rocks underneath; the bottom has a fluid ball joint. It just won't help with up-and-down motion but I suppose that's okay if there are waves, otherwise it would look unrealistically smooth. There is of course no way to predict the weather or water conditions in advance...

FWIW, I just bought a gimbal and being static but steady is the easiest thing to master, along with slow pans and up and down moves.
Walking smoothly is what takes practice.

Brad if you have time before the shoot, practice with the monopod on any very small craft where there are ocean waves. I have my doubts that the footage will be as pleasant as a gimbal that would be my first choice. But you need to “shoot first and ask questions later” after you’ve seen your test footage. Of course you could just hold the camera truly handheld, if there are no other options, but even shooting 4K UHD to salvage HD in post will be a challenge to stabilize enough. A perfectly stable gimbal, if it’s possible in a canoe, might be boring, so some rockiness is a good thing to put the viewer in the scene.

We would love to see your canoe footage!


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Thanks, Rick! I agree that a gimbal might be best, but not really in my budget for now and it's likely only going to be around 30 seconds of footage. It might be in relatively quiet water, which would make everything easier. There aren't many makers of birchbark canoes today, but this guy has made a bunch of them, including some long voyageur-style river canoes which is what we want to show. We're still working out dates and details for our shoot, which will involve a 3-hour drive to the location and an overnight stay so we can be out in the river at daybreak.

Sounds like it’s going to be beautiful. Maybe go with the handheld option but shooting 4K to gently stabilize to HD in post. You don’t want it to look solid like there’s a 400’ crane taking the shot, so that’s why I say gently stabilize. If you’re shooting clips with a maximum 30 seconds duration, you may get some great stuff




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