Sometimes when watching great movies we see the characters being photographed by what feels like a floating camera. It moves at the same pace the actors are traveling and there are no bumps or jerkiness in the flow of the camera’s forward progression, so it seems to be magically floating in the air. The whole process is one of extraordinary smoothness. Those results are what filmmakers get when they hire Eric Catelan as a Steadicam operator. A tech-genius, craftsman and artis, he is one of the highest rated Steadicam operators in the world.
Eric Catelan has been a Steadicam operator for over twenty-five years. Such experience is backed up by extensive professional training, which allows him to serve as a Steadicam Master Instructor with Garrett Brown, the inventor of Steadicam. Eric has worked with some of the biggest stars and directors in the business. He’s worked on almost one hundred movies and commercials for international companies such as, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Pinterest, among many others. One of Eric Catelan’s most impressive commercial credits is the 2018 Budweiser Super Bowl commercial starring Charlize Theron, directed by Romain Gavras. A very short list of some of Catelan’s film credits include: The Da Vinci Code, The Red Siren, Samurai, Winged Migration, My Wife is an Actress, Brotherhood of the Wolf, The Nest, Kiss of the Dragon, Once Upon an Angel, Secret Agents, Anthony Zimmer, Night Squad (TV series), Renegade, The Statement, Loser Takes All!, Adrift, Coco, 8, Meserine: Public Enemy No. 1, My Very Best Friend, The Skin of Tomorrow, Back is King, and most recently, two films that are in post-production: Keyhole Garden and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
One of Eric Catean’s notable projects in recent years is Black is King, the exciting and beautiful visual musical album that was written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé. Based on Disney’s The Lion King, Beyoncé also stars in the film. Black is King was one of the top streamed films of 2020 and it won numerous awards and universal acclaim from critics for its overall look, visuals, music and cultural relevance.
Originally from France and now working with all of the major studios in Hollywood, Eric Catelan is one of the busiest Steadicam and camera operators working today and he and Steadicam are both integral parts of the motion picture industry. One can’t work without the other, so to speak, and when they are together, they are greater than the sum of their individual parts.
