Brad Grimmett

I agree. That would be a nice feature. I may have had some experience with this in the past.....hopefully Alec and Garrett will keep quiet on the issue.

Good idea Michael. I would have looked into that had the job happened. I'll keep it in mind for the next time.

Um, OK. My apologies for trying to be helpful. Hopefully you can convince the "machines" to do EXACTLY what you want all the time, even if you do it wrong.

I believe Jerry Holway mentioned owning one of the first ones in a previous post. And I also believe he's on the east coast. He probably owned one before you.

Thanks Mikael. I totally understand where you're coming from. But this job was one of those secondary jobs that wasn't originally planned when the concert was scheduled. In other words, they're going to do what they're going to do, and we have to work around it. Unfortunately, the job isn't happening in the same capacity as was originally planned. The Producer/Director just got the call today and put in a quote and apparently they balked at the price tag and so now the job is just going to be two local guys on tripods shooting the concert. Heck of a difference between two and five cameras. So anyway, there will be no rig swimming for me, at least not on this one. I was really looking forward to it, but we all know how quickly things change based on budgets. I really appreciate all of the great advice you guys provided. This forum is really re-shaping itself back into what it used to be, and what it should be. Thanks to everyone who contributes and to the moderators, who have had an immediate and important impact in making this board an important place for steadicam operators to gather.

Mikael, The reason is because you're using the wrong reply button. You're replying to a specific message instead of to the whole thread. All the way down at the bottom right of all the messages there is a reply button that you should use. Even if you hit the wrong one all you have to do is delete what is already written.

Dave, That's really funny. It was nice to see laughing as oppossed to screaming after you bumped her.

That's a good tip Frederick. Thanks. I'll definately check on that.

Lots of responses already! And lots of good advice. I just got back from a meeting with the director and I got some more details that were very helpful. First of all, the only people in the water will be me and my spotter. The 1st can pull from a distance. I was worried about having the performers in the water with me for fear of lots of splashing or having people run into me. I feel a lot better knowing that it will only be two of us. If it were lots of people I probably would have said no. Second, the camera is a Varicam and won't be hardwired at all. That was my second biggest worry and I'm happy that it's not an issue. Are there any issues with being in the water with the rig on? I've done jobs on the beach in shallow water before with no issues, but I would be happy to hear if there is anything that I'm not aware of that I should be. I saw a picture of the fountain and where the stage will be. It's basically a large circular fountain and the stage will jut out from the middle of the foutain to the edge and be 2 feet above the water. The fountain is on the top of a 60 story building in Miami. Should make for some cool shots and a nice view. I haven't gotten shoes yet. Anyone have any recommendations? I'm thinking of something like this or this. I assume that the soles are designed to work well in water. I had forgotten about the fact that water lowers your body temperature. I'll certainly keep that in mind and take lots of breaks. There will be four or five cameras, so we should be well covered while I rest. Thanks for all the tips so far. Keep them coming! I think the key to this job, and of course steadicam in general, is being prepared.

I've been asked if I can operate in 2 feet of water for a concert film. My quick answer was yes after finding out that a stage will be built and the water will be consistently 2 feet deep. I leave town tommorrow for the job, so I'd love to hear what you guys think about this situation as quickly as possible, in terms of both safety and practicality. I think I'm going to get a pair of those water shoes that are basically like a sandal but with more support. I don't know what the surface under the water will be like, but I'm assuming it will be pretty smooth since they are building this stage for the concert. I'm trying to think of other concerns that I may have, but I'm drawing a bit of a blank. Any thoughts, tips, or suggestions on what to watch out for or what I may need for this specific situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for posting that screengrab Marc. It's funny that you can actually see that it says Bartech. Is this REALLY the kind of product placement you were looking for Jim?

An interesting light training option is MBT Shoes. There is a lot of technical info about what the shoes do and how they are designed on the website, and there have been a few studies to find out how well the shoes really work. I don't own a pair yet, but I have read and heard a lot about them. They are suppossed to help improve posture while also increasing muscle activity in many parts of the body while you wear them, whether you are just standing or walking. They are pretty expensive at around $250 a pair, but if they do what they are suppossed to the price tag may be well worth it. Has anyone tried these shoes? I'd love to hear some feedback, especially from steadicam operators. DISCLAIMER: A friend of mine owns this company, although I don't work for him or get paid for mentioning the shoes.

Is the U2's compacted post length longer than the original Ultra or Master? It looks a bit long in the pictures I've seen. In that Tiffen group shot the bottom of the sled is almost hitting the ground. Just curious whether they had to lengthen the post due to a decrease in sled weight.

I'm finding that this is VERY true. I had one guy on the phone that kept putting me on hold to find out the answer to a question I had asked, and then he would come back with an answer, then put me on hold again, and then come back with a different answer. When I asked which was actually correct he said, "I'm not sure". Real helpful. The real answer is "I don't care". They act so bothered by the fact that you've called to check on airline rules. It's ridiculous. I'll call again tommorrow and try to get better info, but I'm really just planning on crossing my fingers and being really friendly on the day I fly. Anybody have a semi-reliable # for Delta that has people that have any clue what they're talking about?

Thanks David.

Chas, I've never seen or heard of the bracket you described for the Master. Anyone have any pics?

Thanks for the info fellas. The reason I'm thinking of carrying my arm on the plane is to lower the weight of my vest/arm/follow focus/receiver case. It's a large case to begin with and I figure any weight I can remove from it will be helpful. Plus, if I have my arm with me I don't have to worry about it as much as if it's in the belly of the plane. David...thanks for the tip on a good A.C. They asked me to find someone and then went ahead and hired someone on their own. Go figure....

While talking about this rig with another operator the other day he brought up an interesting point. Why no bracket for follow focus? Sure, velcro works, but how hard would it be to add something for mounting a Preston or BFD?

I have a job coming up in Atlanta and of course I'll be flying. I'm thinking about carrying my arm onto the plane. Has anyone done this lately and have you had any problems with security? Also, I know there will be overweight charges for my cases, but is there a limit? I have one case in particular that's quite heavy and I want to cover my bases before I get stuck at the airport. Any tips or advice would be appreciated. It's been a while since I flew with my gear.

Cool Marc. I thought I remembered you saying you had Netflix. I'm planning to go to the 600 screening on the 8th. Maybe we can make it an informal Guild get together and have a drink afterward? I'm not sure where the Pacific theater is, but I'm sure there's a bar we could find close by to go to afterward. Anyone interested? And anyone know where the Pacific theater is?

Netflix will have it when it comes out on DVD.

The link worked fine for me. Kudos to all of you for doing a good thing. I'm just trying to figure out what the heck you're all looking at in that picture.

Sounds like a cool shot Brant. Can you find somewhere to post it so that we could all have a look?

I've never done a shot in DJ. I've rehearsed in DJ and then decided to do it walking/running backwards a couple times. I've just never felt completely comfortable in DJ. I would guess that if any of us forced ourselves to do DJ whenever possible we could get pretty good at it pretty quickly.

I believe it was Stephen Consentino who handled the Steadicam and "A" camera duties.