Rich Tella Filmography

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Built to Shoot

Back in September 2013 i had just moved in to an apartment with my girlfriend, and as the apartment was empty and we were rather strapped for cash i decided to start making furniture to fill the space.

At the very same time i was in the middle of developing my skills in video production and thought what a perfect way to combine both endeavours. I threw up a blog called MMMDo and began on my merry way.

As i built and documented my various projects it wasn’t long before i started to build equipment to help me get more pro-looking shots of the furniture i was making. This process has stuck with me to this day, partly due to cash constraints but more due to my view that the equipment i needed for filming wasn’t that overly technical to build.

I would start by searching online for the piece of equipment that i needed in order to get the shot i wanted. I would then search for the manual to go with the equipment so i could identify each part i would need to build. From there i would head in to the workshop and try to find the materials i needed in order to build each component. If i was missing something essential to the build, i would head over to the hardware store and search for something i could modify to fit my requirements.

Two pieces of equipment (in my opinion) essential to any film makers arsenal is the shoulder-rig and camera-slider. These two pieces of equipment allow you to capture the shots you need with great flexibility.

Evolution of the Camera-sliders i have built:

BeFunky Collage.jpg

Evolution of the Shoulder-rigs i have built:

1BeFunky Collage.jpg

As you see my early builds started in wood, as wood is a super versatile material and having worked with building furniture up to that point i had a bunch of it lying around the workshop. The images you see to the right show the equipment i use today and are entirely modeled on the consumer level equipment you can buy online.

I get a deep satisfaction from building my own equipment, not only does it save me money, it allows me to get the shots i need in order to create videos with more dynamic camera motion. There is a wealth of information online for young inspiring film makers and video producers, you dont need to be technically minded to build these types of equipment, all you need is the desire to get the shot, and then start working towards how you can achieve it.