Tips of shooting (and pulling focus) on really tight shots

When I say tight shots, I mean the type you see in wedding video's all the time - shots of the ring on her hand, really tight shots of faces, etc.

It looks like most of these shots are hand-held - is this true?

And would I use a 30 or 50mm lens with a wide apeture?

I have a follow-focus, so I'm ready to go when I figure out how it's done!

I was just digging around and found a pretty cool tutorial on vimeo

vimeo.com/26869155

Where I thought those shots were handheld, they were likely using a monopod...

Thanks for the monopod link, I just searched them on eBay where they're priced even lower than the Canon video's quote.

Generally, the tighter the closeup, the steadier you want the shot. That rule applies to both camera/subject proximity or while using a long lens. Wider shots can handle a bit of movement without jarring the viewer. This all depends on the story & scene, sometimes a bit of shake can convey a lot of extra sensation.

Handheld is definitely en vogue right now, but extreme closeups make any movement appear more like a violent shake, whereas the same amount of movement in a medium 2 shot can be received as just gentle flow. The Canon video on the Manfrotto monopod shows the best of both worlds, you can have some freedom of movement yet still maintain 3 point control, just like when taking a tricky billiards shot. Of course FCPX can also stabilize, but that's going to zoom into the frame even more, reducing resolution & making that closeup even tighter.

Be cautious of monopods. They don't eliminate all movement like a tripod does. I know many shooters, including myself, who early on bought a monopod only to never use it after the first day. If your hand held is not all that steady, you'll most probably get a good bit of side to side movement with a monopod. Look for bipods instead if you need something light and portable. I much more highly recommend them. Personally in my own and many others experience, monopods are a waste of time for video. I've found my Cinesaddles to be more useful than monopods.