Who Invented Steadicam? Get to Know Garrett Brown

An Oscar-winning inventor, National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee Garrett Brown is best known for creating the Steadicam^® camera stabilizer. This invention shaped the future of filmmaking, allowing directors and cinematographers to capture previously impossible sequences.

You’ve seen Brown’s invention at work in countless movies and television shows – but what do you know about the man behind the technology? Keep reading to learn more of his story.

Exploring Diverse Interests

Brown was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1942, and he grew up in Havertown, Pennsylvania. At a young age, Brown was confined to bed for six months with nephritis, and became a voracious reader. Hoping to become a naturalist, he studied the guppies in his fish tank and closely observed squirrels outside, but the blinds were soon closed. “Too much activity!” But somehow he was permitted to read all 19 heavy volumes of the World Book encyclopedia.

Discussing his childhood, Brown said, “There was an atmosphere of scientific interest in our house.” His mother was an English teacher and his father, a chemist at DuPont, had invented “hot-melt” adhesives for holding together magazines and paperback books, and talked up inventing, but the newsreels and comics of the day made fun of inventors and Garrett was more interested in music.

Brown attended Tufts University on a U.S. Navy scholarship, but when he and fellow Tufts student Al Dana formed the folk duo “Brown & Dana,” he decided to leave college and take their act on the road. In 1963, they released their first album. Brown said he had “the most fun you could ever imagine” performing at more than 100 colleges and folk clubs over the next three years.

After a car crash derailed his music career, Brown worked as a Volkswagen salesman, published a short story and taught himself filmmaking at the Philly Free Library. When no film company would hire him, he became an award-winning copywriter at an ad agency, before once again trying again to crack the movie business.

Making Film History

Brown and friends started the Moving & Talking Picture Co. (of “New York, London and Gradyville”), shooting commercials and early films for “Sesame Street.” Brown immediately confronted two related challenges: their traditional camera dolly was frustratingly bulky, and they were unable to capture steady, moving shots on foot.

These problems at last ignited Brown’s inventive spirit. Beginning a two-year struggle to find a solution, his first prototype was a weighted T-bar pole made of plumbing pipe and lead ingots and his fourth try was the winner, with six degrees of isolation between his 35mm movie camera and his ever-moving human self.

Brown’s body-mounted stabilization device made it possible for camera operators to make dolly-smooth shots while walking, running or climbing stairs. It requires four components: expanded camera equipment, a gimbal at the center of mass, an iso-elastic arm and vest, and remote viewfinding with a video monitor. The resulting patent, for what became known as Steadicam, was quickly licensed to a Hollywood camera manufacturer—and the rest is motion-picture history!

You can see early examples of Brown’s Steadicam footage in films including “Bound for Glory” and “Rocky,” both released in 1976, “The Shining” in 1980 and “Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi” in 1983. The Steadicam has since been used in countless movie and television productions worldwide. Explaining the appeal of the Steadicam, Brown said, “As delightful as it is to handhold a camera, the results are so un-human, so inevitably shaky that it’s a problem for everyone in the industry. Storytelling shots are less annoying and far more effective if they are smooth.”

Of course, Brown didn’t stop at Steadicam. He invented the Emmy-winning Skycam camera system, which moves along wires over sporting events; MobyCam that tracks swimmers underwater; DiveCam, which drops alongside divers; FlyCam for overhead filming of linear events like skiing; and the Emmy-winning Steadicam Volt^™, which electronically augments Steadicam operators’ skills.

Brown holds more than 120 patents, has worked on nearly 100 films and has won many awards. These include the 1978 Academy Award of Merit for Steadicam, the 2006 Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Skycam, and the Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award, presented in 2015 at the Television Academy’s 67th Engineering Emmy Awards.

Supporting Greater Mobility

Continuing to invent, Brown also led the development of Zeen^®. This innovative mobility device is designed to allow users to transition from seated to standing positions and easily walk or coast, without the risk of falling.

Always a practical problem solver, Brown was inspired to create Zeen as his father aged, and he saw his mobility decline. His device helps users enjoy greater freedom of movement, access to daily activities and social inclusion.

Brown’s winding and fascinating journey toward invention continues to inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers. Discussing the future of American innovation, Brown said, “It's so urgent that our population, our kids understand that inventing is something that anyone can and should do.”

Sharing His Story

To hear Brown tell his story in his own words, watch this video, created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Shot at locations including the barn where Brown initially developed his ideas for Zeen and on the waters of the Chester River and Chesapeake Bay, this video will give you a unique look into his life and work – and you might even spot some sequences filmed with Steadicam!

To explore more of Brown’s story, and to discover even more groundbreaking inventors, visit our website.