One of the easiest ways to improve the quality of your video production is to make sure that your camera work is either rock solid (i.e. use a tripod), or that your camera movements are fluid and smooth.
There are software plugins (e.g. Stabilizer in iMovie ’09 and newer, or SmoothCam in Final Cut Pro) that allow you to fix shaky video clips. But, we all know it is better to shoot properly in the first place, so you don’t have to spend time fixing your shots later.
There are numerous commercially available ‘SteadiCam’ units, but these tend to be rather expensive. I am always looking out for DIY ways to cut down production costs, so I was pleased to find… the $14 camera stabilizer.
Johnny Chung Lee has a great website with plans, demo videos, and general good advice for making your own camera stabilizer. It may not look as nice as the commercial units, but whatever gets the job done is just fine!