Steadi Elvis High

This past weekend the last ever Live Elvis show took place in Memphis, TN at the FedEx Forum on the 30th anniversary of his death. The show consisted of an 8pm act I & II set as well as a midnight set. Both shows sold out. This was my first gig experience where I wasn't approached as one of Bill's students. Although I was there to refine my steadicam skills as a learning opportunity, I was brought onto the gig under the guise of a professional steadicam (we used a glidecam product) operator. This meaning that there was even more pressure than normal for me to conduct myself in the most professional of manner and execute my job with extreme precision and quality to ensure that the client was satisfied.
My main performance piece was to follow Prescilla Presley down the aisles of the main floor arena as she stopped to talk to people and spoke about Elvis and his family. It was a real trial by fire to be able to maintain my shot with people bumping and tripping me the entire way from front of house to the stage. I literally had only inches to correct my footing and find my way (while walking backwards) to the stage. The rest of my job description included getting reaction shots from the crowd during the concert and prior to the concert gathering material that captured the "Buzz" of the event. This event allowed me to be both apart of history and allow me to continue to practice my craft of operating a steadicam.

-Zack Clevenger