Peter Abraham

Indianapolis area workshop Two Day Steadicam Flyer Workshop in Carmel, Indiana. August 18 & 19 (Saturday/ Sunday) Hosted by The Tiffen Company, presented by Duncan Video. They are located at 702 Adams St., Carmel IN. 46032. (317) 815-6300. Demonstrations of the Steadicam Flyer, Pilot and Merlin arm/vest system will be given on Friday, August 17th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Duncan. Group limit: 9 students. Tuition: $ 500.00 prepaid to reserve your spot. This workshop will be instructed by Peter Abraham. With any questions or concerns regarding the workshop or Steadicam systems, contact him at : pabraham@tiffen.com or (917) 453-1219. To reserve a spot and learn more about the Steadicam Workshops program, visit The Steadicam Workshops web site.

Tiffen's Eastern Classic Steadicam Workshop. December 2-8, 2007. This 6-day Steadicam Workshop is being held in beautiful Historic Banning Mills south of Atlanta, Georgia. Nestled in the woods around an immense gorge and rolling waters of a river, this locale offers a rich combination of outdoor terrain and first-class accomodations. Lead Instructor is Jerry Holway. The class is limited to 16 students. There will be 5 Instructors. To reserve your spot, fill out the Registration Form and send in a deposit of $ 500.00. The balance of the tuition is due by September 15th. You have the option of paying the tuition all at once when you register. For detailed information on our Workshops program and to obtain the required registration forms, visit our Steadicam Workshops Website at: http://www.thesteadicamworkshops.com Any questions or concerns should be directed to Peter Abraham at pabraham@tiffen.com or (917) 453-1219. =====================================

Hi folks, I am searching for a selection of vehicle mount stills to show to someone. They are NOT going to be used for publication or web reproduction or anything of that ilk. I just need to get ahold of some good clear stills showing a Steadicam mounted on a golf cart. Anyone have stills of this set-up, I will be grateful if you can contact me either here in this thread or off-boards by email and send them along to me. email: peter@thesteadicamworkshops.com Best, Peter Abraham New York

Hi folks. Two reasons I no longer sell those Peace Of Mind posts. ( P.O.M. ). 1. I am now the Director of Technical Services for The Tiffen Company and work in the Steadicam area. So, no side-jobbing ! 2. I ran out a while back. We sell the part Jerry Holway described. It's identical to what my machinist used to make. Best to all, Peter Abraham New York

God that's good, Jay. I'd tried long rolls of metal screening used for screen doors, but that has the limitation of being quite narrow a strip. Nice.

Hosted by the well-known local Brighthouse Networks, this two-day Steadicam Flyer Workshop is being held on Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, 2007. This location is quite close to the Birmingham Airport and downtown. Lead Instructor is Peter Abraham, and tuition is $ 500.00, pre-paid to reserve your spot. To register and learn all about the workshops program, visit our website at The Steadicam Workshops. With any questions about our Steadicam Workshops program or Steadicam systems in general, contact Peter Abraham at : pabraham@tiffen.com Best to all, Peter Abraham

Hi, Here's a chance to train with the Steadicam Flyer in the Boston area. This workshop is hosted by The Camera Company of Norwood, Mass. One day is at a local hotel in a large room with plenty of-run around space, the second day is IN their facility. The group is limited to 9 students and the tuition is $ 500.00, pre-paid. Lead Instructor is Peter Abraham. To register for this event and reserve your slot, visit The Steadicam Workshops. Any questions about our workshops or Steadicam systems, contact Peter Abraham at: pabraham@tiffen.com Hope to see a lot of you there ! Best, Peter Abraham Director of Technical Services The Tiffen Company

Both Flyers are now sold. As a Tiffen person, I can guide folks towards new or demo units. Contact me for details, we always have some Demo Flyers around ! Best, Peter

Opposed to "boba-fetting" which involces an angry bounty hunter and his emotionally unavailable son who has profound personality disorders because there are over 400,000 Dads running around? Have you tried recording a pass without touching the arm at all? What does that shot look like? Is there bobbing going on? If so, then your arm has a slight rise and fall. If not, then it is your arm hand grasping the handle and moving the arm up and down in a barely perceptible manner. Either way, dammit, cut it out ! :lol: With practice you can dial this out. When I bought my Master Series rig, my first job post-purchase was a nightmare. My headroom was all over the place. I went to Philly and got a bit of a tutorial from GB. Turns out that I was SO used to pulling up a few pounds of constant pressure on my old IIIA arm ( which was truly the way to get the best performance out of that era arm ), I was overhandling the arm. A much lighter touch was required and in time, and with serious practice, I was able to control the new design arm without manhandling it. Whatever the characteristics are of your particular arm, you will have to dial out the hand to arm interface pressures so that you exert the least influence. One cannot underestimate the value of a Tastykake Junior in this regard. ;) Best, Peter Abraham

That's certainly how I interpret what Charles says. ;) When doing a linear tracking shot where the lens is moving perpendicular to the line of the shot I tend to move the handle away from my body a wee bit because the centerpost sits directly in front of the vest center spar. There is no compelling reason to ever do a shot like this with the centerpost flying off the left hip as it does when we work front or back view. The reason I move my right hand/handle away a smidgen is that if I maintain the identical angle, my hand will press against the vest a bit. Think about it. When we do missionary or don juan, our torso has been slightly rotated to the left to achieve a decent flying posture. When I do a linear tracking shot and have the monitor and lens aimed off to the left and the battery off to the right, my body is - for once- facing dead forwards. There is no reason to rotate my torso slightly because ALL of the very good reasons we do that have been removed. 1. Clearance of battery/magazine. Not an issue when aiming to the side. 2. Good view of monitor. Ditto. 3. Ease of right hand reaching the handle of the yoke without undue stress. No longer an issue. 4. Good "flying posture" because the weight and placement- in front slightly and to the left- predicate a posture leaning back a smidgen and off to the right. When flying aimed to the side, I don't have to lean to the right at all because I've drawn the mass right in front of my vest's center spar. I do not know the exact angle but I do know that if I maintain a comfortable right arm and relaxed straight forearm/wrist position when grasping the handle, in that position it isn't 45 degrees. More like... 30 perhaps? This shifts moment to moment, of course, because as we operate our way through shots we are constantly switching around in modes. It is valid to say that there are some Steadicam Operators whose entire weeks are filled ( more than 90% ) with only this type of linear tracking shot. These are Ops working on live t.v. in a studio setting with anchors/hosts/guests siting around a set or desk. The typical layout involves several pedestal cameras, aimed at each talent as a single shot. The Steadicam is used for bumps in, bumps out, and slow arc shots that show the group as the camera moves around. I spent years doing these on live events. Walk forward, camera aimed off to the left. When moving back the other way, I would not switch because it would make the monitor live under the arm sections. Instead, I back up. Even in a cable-festooned studio setting, backing up is simple work. There is one other aspect of the linear tracking shot that is worth considering and it addresses the comment that Matt made in his OP. When we start and stop we use our hand grip to control the head room problem. Almost all of us have some kind of drop time, and so starting and stopping involves removing the pendular effect, right? When aimed to the side, the headroom is no longer an issue- horizon is the issue. The same fixes that work for headroom when starting and stopping work to control horizon when doing that type of a shot. To me, headroom deserves the same care as horizon so which way the lens is pointed is irrelevant- the shot must be controlled throughout. Best, Peter Abraham

It's okay. We like you anyway. ;) Length does matter ! One degree of arc, drawn with a pencil and protractor on a sheet of paper is a narrow slice. One degree of arc, at forty million miles, is STILL one degree of arc but of course is a very different kettle of fish. ( to mix metaphors ! ) That whole Big Steadicam Law- DM=DM is in play here. The distance times the mass equals the distance times the mass when finding zero G. The longer the distances involved, the greater the apparent mass- even though the true weight/mass remains a constant ( assuming the rig is not altered with lens changes, etc. ) I have always felt this is why when using a lighter broadcast camera on a heavier rig, and the gimbal is 14-16 inches from the specific center of gravity of the camera, I feel less "in control" than I do when flying say, an Arri BL III where the gimbal is perhaps 6 inches from the specific c.g. of the camera body. Peter Abraham

That is the tube that keeps the shot in focus, silly. :P

As one might expect, I have a terrific feeling about Bill's remarkable effort. Bill, after all of these years I am So glad we got to meet and I'm quite grateful you spent the time and effort up at Arrowhead Lake lending your thoughts and guidance to the students. The drive we feel is frequently difficult to articulate sometimes. It's huge- this craft, this art, this addiction, passion, career, what-have-you. Being a part of it is a rare gift, and I for one am happy that Bill is stepping back into the flow of things, bringing considerable skills with him. Fly long. Best to all, Peter Abraham

Morning folks. I am starting this thread out of respect for the squirrels who tread tirelessly to keep Tim's servers going and out of a desire for efficiency. I will continue to add to it and post new workshops. Because each listing is small, I will re-run the listings as new workshops are added. These are the popular Two-Day Steadicam Flyer Workshops that have been gaining more and more interest for the last few years. New events are being scheduled and as they emerge from the bubbling cauldron of scheduling, I will post them here. Feel free to peruse the website that is the one-stop shop for all Steadicam Workshops. It is: The Steadicam Workshops. This web link brings you to pages that will allow you to examine all of our programs as well as download the Registration Form needed to reserve a slot. The hours are usually set at 8:00 am - 5:30 pm both days. Tuition is $ 500.00 and includes a Steadicam T-Shirt, Certification and informational documents. Upcoming Flyer Workshops: June 2 & 3 ( Sat and Sun ) New York City. Hosted by T.C.S. June 24 & 25 ( Sun and Mon ) Glendale, CA. ( L.A. area ) The Tiffen facility in Glendale, CA. July 14 & 15. ( Sat and Sun ). Norwood, Mass. Hosted by The Camera Company. July 20 & 21 ( Fri and Sat ) Birmingham, AL. Hosted by Bright House Networks. August 4 & 5 ( Fri and Sat ) Minneapolis, MN. Hosted by Cinequipt. Email me with any questions or concerns regarding our Steadicam Workshops Program. Best to all, Peter Abraham Director of Technical Services The Tiffen Company Peter's email address

Morning Folks, We will be hosting a Steadicam Flyer Workshop at the Tiffen Glendale facility in late June, JUST after the CineGEAR show. The dates are Sunday and Monday, June 24 and 25, 2007. To maximize rig time, the group is limited to 9 students. Tuition is $ 500.00, pre-paid. We will have 3 Flyer systems on hand. I will be the Instructor. I've been a Steadicam Operator for 20 years, and a Workshops Instructor for 17. To learn more about the Steadicam Workshops program and to reserve your slot in this and all other Tiffen-hosted Steadicam Workshops, please visit the website: http://www.TheSteadicamWorkshops.com Anyone with any questions is free to contact me at : peter@TheSteadicamWorkshops.com Keep an eye out here as well as on the Workshops website- Steadicam Flyer Workshops are being scheduled across the United States and Canada for the coming year. My best to all, Peter Abraham Director of Technical Services The Tiffen Company Steadicam Owner/Operator/Instructor

Morning all, Just another head's up. TCS in midtown Manhattan is hosting a Steadicam Flyer Workshop. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, June 2 and 3. I will be the Instructor, and the group is limited to 9 students. We will have 3 Flyer systems on hand. I've been a Steadicam Operator for 20 years, and a Workshops Instructor for 17. To learn more about the Steadicam Workshops program and to reserve your slot in this and all other Tiffen-hosted Steadicam Workshops, please visit the website: http://www.TheSteadicamWorkshops.com Anyone with any questions is free to contact me at : peter@TheSteadicamWorkshops.com Keep an eye out here as well as on the Workshops website- Steadicam Flyer Workshops are being scheduled across the United States and Canada for the coming year. My best to all, Peter Abraham Director of Technical Services The Tiffen Company Steadicam Owner/Operator/Instructor

Hi all, Having been Brant's Instructor in 1992 when he took his Steadicam Workshop, I can attest to the fact that the man loves his Steadicam J.R. :blink: ( Upon Preview, it is incumbent upon me to add that in the ensuing years, Brant moved on from his J.R. and is now delivering Steadicam work of effortless grace and elegance. He still cannot find his Helga. ) Otherwise, I would say this. The Workshops experience is very much a " what you get out of it is what you put into it " kind of event. Whether it's a two-day Flyer workshop or a three day or five day workshop, this holds true. Those folks who come at this event with enormous energy, positive attitude and ability to fall into a good group dynamic typically come out with a terrific workshop experience. It is fair to say that lots of folks remain in contact with some of their fellow students on and off throughout their careers. It is an endless source of creativity for all involved, instructors included. I've taught over 30 Steadicam Workshops, from Rockport to the SOA in Yellow Springs to Malibu, Arrowhead Lake, South Korea, NYC, Atlanta, Tupelo, Boulder, Oregon, LA and points in between. Each event is a pleasure, and frequently new ideas and methods and inventions arise from a workshop. Peter Abraham Steadicam Instructor / Owner / Operator Dir. of Technical Services The Tiffen Company

Agreed. First of all, my thanks to the many Operators who joined us last Monday evening, and who stopped by during the week to enjoy the fellowship at the Tiffen booth and check out the new Steadicam systems. It was great to see everyone ! The day before Steve put it up, I went down there with the Archer system. ( Top camera payload: 23 pounds). The prototype they gave to us was non-functioning but we wanted to see how it would do. We put up the body, a large prime and a clip-on mattebox. They let me hold the Hard Drive in it's housing. Very light, almost inconsequential in terms of a larger rig. As Steve said, what IS of consequence was the modularity of the system, and how the battery and HD could be configured differently around the body. Excellently thought out. It was nifty to be the second person to fly the Red on a Steadicam ( and, Steve the third ! ). The images I saw in the screening were indescribable. We have witnessed a real shift in the paradigm. Very cool !! Peter Abraham

Oh- I forgot- PLEASE get some photos taken of you shooting this if you do go for the "off-axis" approach.

An interesting idea, actually. Most folks are more flattering looking when photographed from an angle. Flying the rig properly affords you this angle. Were I to plan such a project, I would take the HVX-200 and mount it NOT in line with the sled, but angled straight at my face. That is to say that the camera body itself was sitting crooked on the sled. So what? It should balance up okay that way, we just never DO it that way. Then, you have your monitor to look down at now and again. Remember, the flip-out LCD will be mostly hidden by the lens if you do this. You will need to simply rely upon aiming the sled straight ahead to keep yourself in the shot, and use the Flyer monitor when you can glance down. A few experimental tries will yield an angle of mounting the camera that will give you a good shot of your face, as you do this walking tour and will allow you to operate the sled properly. Try that !! Best, Peter Abraham Director of Technical Services The Tiffen Company New York

Hi again ! Okay- please join us at: BALLY'S CASINO/HOTEL SUITE 1861-A NORTH TOWER From 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Best to all, Peter Abraham

Good morning, On behalf of Tiffen I'd like to invite everyone to come and enjoy our annual Steadicam Operator's Evening at the N.A.B. show that begins tomorrow. We will be hosting it at Bally's, and it will begin somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00 pm. The exact start time and number of the Suite we will be hosting in will be given to me today. Come back to this thread for the details. I will post them in later today when I am given the notify. Last year's evening was great fun and a chance to spend time with our excellent group from Tiffen as well as your fellow Operators from around the world. Enjoy the show, and we hope to see all of you on Monday evening. Best Wishes, Peter Abraham The Tiffen Company

I wonder what kind of kit Britney has........... This is a great move forward. I would suggest that Afton's offer is the best one. Instead of slowing down Tim's servers by having folks poke through our individual profiles here, let's make a quick and easily browsed bit of database. Very cool. The cellular phone access thing would make this IDEAL. OTOH, if it were both an online database AND an Excel sheet one could download, then we could have it on laptop/ PDA/ cell phone with Documents To Go or Windows on it, etc. Peter Abraham

Here's the price differential: G-70 arm: $ 17,600.00 USD G-50 arm: $ 10, 600.00 USD Best, Peter Abraham New York

Evening folks. We would like to open the Arrowhead Lake Classic Steadicam Workshop to our Steadicam friends in the area. We'd be delighted to have you come up to have dinner and an evening of fellowship with the group and the instructors. Jerry Holway is Lead Instructor, with Charles Papert, myself, Jerry Jacob and Jim Wells. We're holding the workshop this coming week, and would like to have folks up on Wednesday evening, March 28th. We're at the UCLA Conference Center at Arrowhead Lake. If you would like to come up, please RSVP by NO LATER than this Friday, March 23rd at 10:00 am. We need to give the folks there a firm number so they can make accomodations. Email me at the address below. We'd love to see you !!! Best wishes to all, Peter Abraham pabraham@tiffen.com