Не будь штатива, общий план бы дрожал.

Here не будь X is a compact, somewhat bookish way to mean if there were no X or were it not for X.

So:

• Не будь штатива, ... = If there were no tripod, ...
• More explicitly: Если бы не было штатива, ...

This structure is shorter and more stylistically marked than the full если бы не было version.

Yes, formally it is the imperative singular of быть: будь = be.

But in this sentence it is not being used as a real command. Instead, Russian uses this form in a fixed conditional pattern:

• Не будь дождя, мы бы пошли гулять.
• Не будь тебя, я бы не справился.

So although it looks imperative, functionally it means something like if it were not for...

Because this pattern requires the noun after не будь to be in the genitive.

• штатив = tripod
• штатива = genitive singular

This matches the meaning in the absence of or if there were no something.

Compare:

• Не будь времени, мы бы не закончили.
• Не будь помощи, было бы трудно.

So штатива is not the direct object here; it is genitive because of the construction.

Because Russian expresses there was no tripod as не было штатива, with the noun in the genitive:

• был штатив = there was a tripod
• не было штатива = there was no tripod

The short version не будь штатива follows the same logic.

So the natural full version is:

• Если бы не было штатива, общий план бы дрожал.

Not:

• Если бы не было штатив ❌

In Russian conditional sentences, бы often appears only once, even though English uses if ... would ...-type marking more symmetrically.

Here:

• Не будь штатива, общий план бы дрожал.

The бы marks the whole situation as hypothetical. It does not have to appear in both parts.

A fuller version could be:

• Если бы не было штатива, общий план дрожал бы.

That is also correct. Russian is flexible about where бы goes, but it is often placed in the main clause.

This is a very common Russian pattern: in hypothetical or conditional statements, Russian uses the past tense form + бы to express something like English would.

So:

• дрожал by itself = shook / was shaking
• дрожал бы = would shake / would be shaking

This does not mean the action happened in the past here. It is just how Russian forms the conditional.

Examples:

• Я бы пошёл. = I would go.
• Она бы помогла. = She would help.
• Камера бы дрожала. = The camera would shake.

Общий план is a film/video term. It usually means a wide shot, long shot, or a shot showing the general scene rather than a close-up.

So in this sentence, it is not just any plan in the English sense. It is technical vocabulary from cinematography.

Related terms:

• крупный план = close-up
• средний план = medium shot
• общий план = wide shot / long shot

Because бы usually comes after the word or phrase it attaches to, and it does not normally stand at the very beginning of a clause like that.

Natural options are:

• общий план бы дрожал
• общий план дрожал бы

Both are fine.

But:

• бы общий план дрожал sounds wrong.

So the position of бы is flexible, but not completely free.

Yes. Russian word order is fairly flexible, though different orders may sound more or less natural depending on emphasis.

Possible versions:

• Не будь штатива, общий план бы дрожал.
• Не будь штатива, общий план дрожал бы.
• Общий план бы дрожал, не будь штатива.

The original version is natural and balanced. Putting the conditional phrase first sets up the condition before the result.

It is understandable and natural, but slightly more concise and literary than everyday speech.

A more neutral, explicit version would be:

• Если бы не было штатива, общий план бы дрожал.

So the original sounds a bit more compact, polished, or written. You might see it in narration, reviews, analysis, or more elevated speech.

Yes, other verbs are possible, but they give slightly different nuances.

• дрожал = trembled, shook, wobbled
• тряслся = was shaking more noticeably, perhaps more roughly
• шатался = swayed, was unstable
• дёргался = jerked

For a shot that is visually unsteady because there is no tripod, дрожал works well and sounds fairly natural, especially in a descriptive or analytical context.

Yes, in a sense the sentence is compressed.

Не будь штатива literally resembles were there not a tripod or if there were no tripod. Russian does not need to state an explicit subject like there.

So nothing is really “missing” in Russian grammar; it is just using a compact existential-type construction.

Compare:

• Не будь света, было бы темно. = If there were no light, it would be dark.
• Не будь штатива, общий план бы дрожал.

English often needs there was / there were, but Russian can express the same idea without an equivalent word for there.

The comma separates the conditional part from the main clause:

• Не будь штатива, = if there were no tripod
• общий план бы дрожал. = the wide shot would shake

This is standard Russian punctuation for a conditional relationship, especially when the condition comes first.

So the comma here is exactly what you would expect.