Though it was initially intended for movies, not sports, cinematographer Garrett Brown invented the Steadicam in the 1970s. For a proof-of-concept reel, Garrett used his prototype to shoot footage of his girlfriend running up the steps of Philadelphia's Art Museum. The director John Avildson, who was about to make Rocky, saw the footage and subsequently incorporated the sequence--and Garrett's rig--into the film. The scene has since become so iconic it has its own Wikipedia page, and if you poke around YouTube you'll see it's practically a rite of passage for Philadelphia-visiting tourists to re-enact the scene.

The Steadicam was also famously used to record the "speeder bike" sequences from Return of the Jedi. Garrett recorded the footage on foot, walking, and the steadiness of his contraption meant the footage could be sped up and still appear smooth.

Brown, an immensely creative tinkerer, didn't stop there; after perfecting the Steadicam he went on to develop the Skycam we mentioned in an earlier entry.

Below, the Discovery Channel takes a closer look at the Skycam and Garrett in his workshop. (Be sure to check out the articulating arm at 4:25--it looks like the inspiration for the Marines' machine-gun mounts in James Cameron's Aliens.)