Peter Abraham

I was honored to be brought in as the second Steadicam Op. Adam Keith, superb Steadicam / Jib / Ped Op is the staff member who does consistently fine work for ABC Network in NYC. We shared the duty, swapping every 90 minutes or so. Adam wound up doing about 60% to my 40% of air time. The Director made use of the multi level aspect of the set, having us hustle up and back to get shots. Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Looking for two. Anodized or not. Needs to fit that gimbal, centerpost and 5.8" arm post. Who's got an old dock or two banging around in a box that they're dying to unload? Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

A word about this feature. ALL of the Tiffen arms afford Ops this benefit. I shoot sometimes for a client who ( amongst other things ) requires that shots be 100% flat and level on both axis at all times and that the nodal point of the lens be at the measured half way point between floor and ceiling. Being able to detune my G-50 arm so that the arm is floating at a point that places the lens exactly where it must be is, well, pretty nifty. I now hold lens height instead of pushing or pulling lens height. The lack of rotation in my right arm/elbow/shoulder/upper spine due to not having to press downwards with several pounds of pressure for every moment is a clear physical benefit. My body is working more efficiently because the arm is working more efficiently. Therefore, there's less to get in the way of fine work. Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

In fact, while for a very short time some different length Zephyr Arm posts did appear on a price sheet, that was a long time ago and the idea did not fly. ( pardon the pun. ) Tiffen does not sell any arm posts for the Zephy except for the one that comes clamped into place. This, from the factory just a few moments ago. As a fan of heartily using but never abusing my gear, let me add this. When you slightly overload any high-end stabilizer, you very likely won't blow the thing to bits in the first 20 seconds. But you might. It seems to me, from way back in the day to today's gear, that things are rated with a certain amount of protection in place. We all know this. So, if you put a 22 pound camera onto a rig rated at 19 pounds, it will not rip the arm and gimbal apart in 20 seconds. But you know what? It might. And as much to the point, you rapidly ramp up the wear and tear by overloading. Bearings, joints, metal components etc.- all don't take kindly to being stressed. If you drastically increase the lever arm of a system by taking out, say, a 6" post and putting in a 12" post, your arm may or may not take kindly to it. ANY brand of arm or gimbal or stage or vest when overloaded will suffer as a result and may fail. Back in the day, my Model I arm was rated for enough to fly an Arri BL-IV. So I thought. I flew one on my very first day of paid work. The camera overloaded the sled ( Model I ) and the arm. The sled? I added weights to it ( which further overloaded the arm ) and the arm bottomed out. The arm hinge took a hairline crack and I learned a lesson. Can one machine longer posts for any arm? Sure. Do so with great respect for the physics of levers and the increase in torque associated with a longer lever arm. Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Updated info. With props to Adam Keith, superb broadcast Steadicam Operator here in NYC, I've settled on a design that's more comprehensive than the single-line Zalex Tally HR. Now the design delivers two tally lights. The first one is run out from the controller box to above the lens. When using an above the lens prompter- very popular at least here in the States- the eyepiece forward-facing tally lights are completely blocked. Now you can accommodate that need by fixing the top led line between lens hood and bottom of prompter panel with some velcro. The second line is connected as described before. A BNC cable is run to an open SD or HDSDI line on the top of your sled. Find the matching connector at the bottom and plug in the second BNC to led line that comes with the Zalex Tally HR. When only using one led for tally, a BNC Terminator is used to close the circuit on the unused BNC jack. Already have customer asking to have them sent to South Africa, Australia and Times Square ! Best, Peter

Is the t shirt one showing your bunny avatar?

Wait, I sent in my deposit for your seminar " Passive Obsequience ". Has that been canceled ??

Remarkably slow.I've held both types~ took pains to drop neither.

What an interesting thread. I've been a Steadicam Workshop Instructor since 1990. Lead Instructor in Rockport for a few years, have taught over 1,200 students in 2, 3 and 6 day workshops. Glad to discuss private training situations. What Charles said, and more. The only thing that makes someone a Steadicam Operator is their work. Spending $$$ on gear and training does not. One can quite easily drop $ 100 - 120K on gear and be a hack. Good comprehensive training coupled with relentless practice makes one an Operator and not just an Owner. You can own a Stradivarius violin and make excreble noises. Or, for example, you can own a Sigmantovich and make soaring music. Peter Abraham, S.O.C. peter@SteadicamProductionServices.com

While this is obvious to more experienced OPs, it is fair to mention a fundamental fact: Flying a 5 pound camera properly with good technique can be done for many many hours- gender and size regardless. Flying a 2 pound camera with bad or no form and no knowledge of proper operational techniques tends to make one incredibly sore after 10 minutes. I have seen this time and time again in the 2 Day Workshops I teach. Lacking proper form, people come in having bought a Pilot or Flyer with serious pain in the back and neck and legs. Get some training into the mind and body of the woman you want to operate for you. This is as much about good techique as it is about a 3 pound difference. Off the top of my head I name a few excellent female Steadicam Operators: Liz Zeigler, Janice Arthur, Sheila Smith, Katerina Kallergis, Wei Pun. This is neither a gender issue nor a body size/ mass issue. It's an issue of learning The Dance. Best, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Torch, you malicious rumormongerer you !! Thanks for the info, I am in the market for two. Best, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Additional key info: the Mini lacked X-Y arm socket adjustments. Before you sweat a few pounds of camera amyloid, try to address this. Lacking the ability to fly the rig wither body and not her hands, your Op will always struggle to some degree. Best, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

Ozzie, any update here?

A muslin Chupah. :D

Now you can have a Tally Light for your rig Originally produced between 2000 and 2006, the Zalex™ Tally Light provided the solution to need for a Broadcast Camera tally light independent of any one sled or wiring design. This system employs an Ultra Bright red led that can be placed anywhere the individual Operator wishes. Over 100 Zalex Tally Lights are already in use around the world. A new production run is in process. Units are going to ship by October 20th, 2012. Two designs are available. One is the Zalex Tally shown in the photo. The other one is the new Zalex- HR Tally. This design makes use of a spare Home Run video line in your sled, running the signal from top to bottom without having the cable exposed. Custom designs are also possible, please email me with your request. For example, one cable news network recently purchased Zalex Tally systems for their hand-held cameramen to use for the upcoming Election Night coverage here in the United States. They all employ a 7" LCD TelePrompter mounted just above the lens. This monitor blocks the regular forward-facing Tally lights from the camera eyepiece. We created a solution and they will be in use for the hand-held crews from now on. In addition to Broadcast use, many Operators make use of the Zalex Tally light to insure that their camera is recording when it should be, and is not recording when it should not be. The Zalex Tally is $ 125.00. The Zalex- HR Tally is $ 175.00 Worldwide Ground shipping included. Any expedited shipping additional. Looking forward to helping out anyone seeking this affordable solution. Best, Peter Abraham, S.O.C. peter@steadicamproductionservices.com

An F bracket is essential. It lowers the lens height roughly 7". It also allows you to switch without risking hitting the camera with the gimbal. As you are learning, it is a balancing act. Use a cage and it alters the equation. A hint: undo the set screws on the side of your F bracket and don't tighten them again. Loose, they allow another pivot point. Best, Peter Abraham, S.O.C.

If you leave him some milk and cookies, he will just leave an Exo under the tree and not awaken you to take measurements.

Fair enough. I surely did not mean to disrespect. Rather to highlight skills opposed to tools. I've already experienced the " shoot the rehearsal " thing. Hell, soaps used to be Block, Rehearse, Tape. Now, it's Tape with a hint of Block. Funny, that... Seems that the tools serve the skills, the skills serve the shots, the shots serve the story, the storytellers serve the popcorn. And, on a separate note, my SD video XMitter used to give boom ops agita. Everyone played together and we got the days work done. In my case, I invested in a few attenuators to slightly suppress the strength. Boom Op adjusted as best as she could.

Please excuse the tone this post is going to take. The resolution is an a.c. Who knows how to pull focus. With their eyes. Which is the only 100% reliable method. The finest assistants I worked with could glance at the lens, glance at the actors ( both moving objects ) and roll the remote focus wheel on th fly because their distance judgement acuity was so finely developed that they nailed it. Every time. When they did not, they knew it. It is a lost art, and the reliance on monitors and sonar cones adds milliseconds of delay in the mental processes. My 2c. Best to all, Peter Abraham, S.O.C. Peter@steadicamproductionservices.com

I've got a few Hedén M26P motors. Work like a champ. However, one has the idler gear bracket but is missing the idler gear itself. Kind of.... not useful ! Anyone have an old Hedén Idler Gear bracket with gear attached? Photo attached, I hope, to show what is missing ! Best to all, Peter Abraham ,S.O.C.

Please regard photo. Bought a motor, works great. However, the all needed idler gear and bracket is missing the gear. It's been ripped out, and I'm not sure I can replace just the gear. Anyone have this older model Heden idler gear and bracket as a the normal single unit? Let me know ! Best Peter Abraham, S.O.C. peter@steadicamproductionservices.com

Knowing you, this glitch was intentional. :)

Old School C.P. J Bracket needed. F bracket or CRB won't fit the bill ( or the arm post !! ) Dig around in your anodized aluminum graveyard and see if you've got one. Reply here or email me directly at: peter@SteadicamProductionServices.com Best, Peter Abraham

Thanks all. Janice Arthur is selling me a set. Looking forward to having and using. Seems a rock solid solution.