Erwin Landau

The Steadicam and there for the operator is a tool in the Tool belt of the DP to get what the Director wants... Primarily. Yes it comes down to the operator and how he uses the equipment... but talking off things I know... Feature Film Production in Hollywood: The problem is to get on the set and one way to do so is have the right rig. (Here dominantly a PRO). It's like trying to get by a bouncer that is guarding the entrance to an exclusive Club... No Tie no admission... It's an admission into an exclusive club... that will cost you. Everybody here had to start somewhere and found a way. See it as a first hurdle to get where you want to go... If everybody was meant to get the money and become a Steadicam operator, everybody would... Will the tie... I mean the rig work once you are in... yes until the AC that worked on 10 features with that DP walks over to him and says I don't like his equipment... it's going to slow me (Us, YOU the DP, Production) down... is it? probably not... but guess what the chance that you will be on that show by the end of the week is drastically put in question. And make no mistake... next time something is delaying a Lens change, a mag change anything guess where the first finger will point??? Charles, Yes you are right and No you are wrong! Check the market where you are at. What is your ultimate goal that you will achieve? If you are looking to get into Features, Music Videos, Episodic TV etc. Buy a unit that will support that effort. And for god sakes buy used... I'm not saying buy the top of the line Ultra with all bells and whistles... no you don't need gyros, super-post, antlers, PRO arm, Canatrans, TB-6, Preston, tilt stage, monster batteries, Klassen Vest, Rickshaw, Hard-mount, etc. ... you need something that will get the job done. For a brand new Glidecam Gold, you can find a very nice used PRO or the like and it will get you further and it's upgradeable with newer better bits... don't buy yourself into a corner, where the only way out is to sell your rig and start TOTALLY from scratch. You spend a little more initially but you will save in the long run. If you are doing Weddings, buy a rig that will support the Camera that is usually used. If you do Live TV there are rigs better suited to do that then the PRO... For a while, before I had my website and still to this day, I get cold calls from PA's or UPM's or Line Producers... (not to talk about that ridiculous question: Do you own a rig?) but do you own a PRO/Preston. That's there quick way to figure out if you where doing it long enough to have the right gear for the right job... and sometimes price. I'm a professional Operator and that is what I do for a living... could I make that shot with a Glidecam, of course I could... But why should I make it harder on myself? Is the BFD good enough to do the job? You bet! But the AC will love me for the Preston, because it makes his life just that bit easier... I don't lose a single thought about my equipment once I step on set. I can commit my entire attention to the DP and the Director to figure out what they want... I walk over to my rig put the camera on, Give the AC my FF, get the shot, pick up my check and go home. No stress, no sweat (at least not about my equipment) and happy clients... I can't count how many time people called me because they didn't had a piece of equipment that they should have bought years ago, but now need to get the shot and keep there job. But at the end it will be up to you on what you can afford and are willing to afford... Just one last story: I was working on 2 features at the same time and one day they over cut by a couple of hours. I told the production that I'm available after 7pm because I was on the first until 6pm. No go they need someone at 5pm... tuff luck. But I told them if they changed there mind, I was available after 7pm. The day arrives no call from the other company... okay lost one. 5:45pm I'm wrapping my gear on my first show and the phone rings, the line producer from the other show calls to ask if I was still available for a 7pm call. I said yes and was wondering what had happened in only 45mins as the had'nd even started rolling yet... Long story short, Late arrival by the op, didn't have the right cables for the camera, send someone to pick them up from a friend... friend brought wrong cables... DP got fed up. He was a goner and they called me back. I'm sure that that op was a capable op but the lack of the right equipment prevented him to ever show of his skills... Just my 2 cents of chibberish, Erwin

Gone...

WIFI Video Transmitter (802.11a / 5.2 GHZ) For Sale: 1 WEVI Cam-Wave Transmitter (Modified with Anton Bauer plates) 1 WEVI Cam-Wave Receiver (Modified with Anton Bauer plates) 4 Antennas 1 Behringer Shark DSP 110 (Deals with the 450 milliseconds of sound delay) AC Power adapter Condition: New. Price: $3000.- Contact: Erwin 818-448-2639 Check: http://www.wevi.tv/ http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...c=2230&st=0

check this topic: http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...?showtopic=6199 And get this: http://www.amazon.com/Steadicam-Techniques...a/dp/0240516079 http://www.filmtools.com/steadtecaess.html Good Luck, Erwin

Hi Chris, Actually Robert Starling used it around NAB for a shoot in Vegas and absolutely loved it. I checked it out in his garage... It was just an aerie deja-vu... I have been walking by several prototypes of the rover for about 2 years at Backstage Studio Equipment... As it turned out they build it and that was it. It all started when I send Colin Hudson to get a decent cart from them and over the next couple of months it developed into something very different... the only thing that stayed from the initial prototype is the Magliner Loading Nose. I guess they resurrected the design after all... BTW: Colin finally when in another direction. Here's what he came up with...

Here a picture of Jeff Mart's Alien-Revolution. With the "3A top stage". Being recipient of AR Number 001, he still has not received his Version 2 nor a beefed up camera stage nor the Gimbal control... Just facts, Erwin

Watch out there Thomas, Firstly: The standard Top stage that MK-V makes are based and virtually are 3A top stages. Look at the picture below that is from the MK-V website and that is the stage that was delivered to the "pioneers" and still used by them. Since then I'm sure that Howard is suggesting a different Camera stage... for extra cash of course. Check with Mike O'Shea, Jeff Mart, etc. they still use that one below... please ask them directly, before you start to sling anything in my direction... And Secondly: The original Alien Prototype IS the XCS Ultimate made by Greg Bubb... and he was deeply involved with the Alien project... way before (10 years) the Revolution or the Nexus rig even existed. What do you think, where did Howard get the idea to the 2 inch post from. (And no the first prototypes of the AR, like the one used on the first set of LA demos, where on an evolution rig with a 1.5 inch post). Oh... see below. I don't know... The XCS looks very sideways to me!!! What Will was referring to was the vibration coming from the plate that connected the camera to the AR cage... and not the cage to the rig. Which both are made by MK-V even on the model that Will owns. Just the facts, Erwin

Here a couple examples:

I found over the years that locks are just designed to delay the crook not to keep him or her out of your stuff... just delay them until they are afraid to be caught or the amount of time it takes to get in, is not worth there time and effort... Just on Locks, Erwin

A funny story... I once again did some pick ups for a movie. It wouldn't be a very interesting story without the fact that I started this Feature almost 5 years ago... (Taj and Michael, yes that one "The Storyteller"). It was one of my first features with my Ultimate Sled and with my Klassen Vest (at that point still a DSD). We are still shooting at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, 1920ies style multi level design. Very narrow corridors and door frames (24 inches). In the past we had the redesign shots because I just couldn't fit through the doors. (One shot: Actor kneeling in a corridor reading a letter. Move starts over head on the letter, pulling out into an over the shoulder and keep on pulling out until a full body of the actor. Problem: the way they wanted me to pull out was going through the 20 inch wide bathroom door... but at that point I was still in a 60 degree angle with the rig as I reach the door. Straight back I was to wide with the vest to fit... extending the arms and putting it in front of me to wide... Again sideways the carbon arm didn't fit etc. I believe they did it in the re-shoots and Taj forced his way through the door with his front mount vest.) This time I had my PRO Vest. Moviecam. Aspect ratio 1:2.40. The shot: Starting half way up a spiral stair case pointing over the banister down to the main entrance door. Enter 3 actors. 2 cops walk up the stairs, I stay in profile until the top of the stairs, I proceed one of the cops into the Living room (90 Degrees turn), through to the pantry (24 inch door) instant 90 degree left turn into kitchen (24 inch door) immediate right and pull back into the space that used to house the oven which we had removed. Now the shot turn into a POV out of the oven as the cop opens the oven door that was installed in front of me while I was pulling into the nuke... 10 takes (mostly for the performance and the door installation timing). No way I could have fit there with my Klassen... But did the walk and talks and the long tracking shots very comfortably with my Klassen Harness. A couple of weeks ago I took the PRO workshop again, for one because I take it every year it's given and second to re-acquaint myself with the Vest that I had worn, the last time on a shoot, 5 years ago. What I found was that my fatigue was kicking in way sooner that I had remembered with my Klassen, which was odd to me i was sweating and tired before I should have been. Since then I have used both vests and must say that I can without big fuzz change from one to the other and the quality of work and comfort are comparable. Just a follow up to the Question "Multiple Vests?"... Hell yah! Erwin

Over the years I have seen the use of the original Steadicam Logo and derivation of it, on business cards, posters, T-shirt's, etc. for personal and steadicam related company use. So it has been done and I'm sure if you are a genuine Steadicam owner/operator and not using it to advertise your non genuine products but would like to stress that brand recognition with the integration of that logo into your own company logo (as an operator)... and ask legally GB and Tiffen that they couldn't have reason to denie it to you. You are a customer and you are advertising there logo for free... I can see that if you don't own a genuine CP/Tiffen Steadicam, they could have issues with granting you the permission, but then again why would you want to use there logo anyways... right? But talk to GB and Tiffen. Erwin

Stupid me... But why don't you just call Tiffen? I'm sure that Kyle Young could answer that question without a biggy. I was at Tiffen last week and they had 2 ProVid's sitting on the bench... Just go to the source. Good Luck, Erwin

Michael, they had and still have some issues with the tolerance of the Focus Rings (That was also the initial delay in delivering the first batch of hand-units) One of my strips has in fact a corrected FF mark. It's buried in my van but next time I pull it out I will check, if it is in fact the C-ring... Doc, the selection of the Camera in the HU-3 menu has only merit if you are using the FX cable for run stop and not the regular run cable, it's used to control the frame rate and the shutter angle. The run will always work because it's based on how the run cable is wired on the MDR side. I had one issue with the run function on the FX cables so far. The FX cable for the Arri 24 Volt cameras (not including the ArriCam's as they have a different interface) worked without problem on the 435 and the SR-3. The 535 being the oldest of that batch sometimes uses a different pull down in the body to run the camera (depending on the software update, the age of the camera and the rental house that owns it) so even as the shutter and the frame rate manipulation work fine, it will not turn over the camera. Again I talked to Howard about that and he is investigating that problem... to find out if he can solve it as a software solution. Also the Preston was designed with Film cameras in mind, the Video market was an after thought and actually Howard was surprised about the amount of Video guys that were and still are buying his system. He doesn't have that much experience with specific Video equipment and he is more than thankful for any serious input on his product. I had to point out that there was no file for Fujinon or Fuji Prime lenses, because nobody had told him... etc. So keep that in mind and if you have trouble call him and he will take care of it. All of the issues that are coming up were not malicious but things that he was not aware of. The Software came a long way since December with I believe 6 official and in-official revisions. That's one a months guys... that is telling me that the guys at Preston are hard at work on pleasing as many owners as possible. About turning off the lens mapping... Everybody that used to be one of the first to own the BFD will remember how we had to teach the AC to calibrate the lens, and I know to this day a bunch of ops that still do the lens calibration them self. If the AC is not familiar with the calibration proceeder I will do it as I show it to him or I will do it my self because I'm faster then any AC as I have had to do it hundreds of times before. Once they had to do it a couple of times they usually just do it the next time and it takes not longer then sharping it onto the ring. Again once you had every lens on the camera you don't have to do it ever again on that show unless the FF motor position changes drastically. I had an AC that just on principle refused to use the lens mapping and on top of that insisted of using tape and new tape everytime there after... that's how he was doing it since he started and that's how he is going to do it. The lens changes where so long that even the Director started to ask why it took so long and I had to fend off accusations that the new Preston was delaying us... I was pissed to say the least. I'm getting the AC the latest piece of equipment with all kinds of toys like the Cinetape interface etc., to make his life easier and he is blaming me for delays do to that equipment because he was to lazy to read the PDF manual that I had e-mailed him a week earlier.... (BTW: You can get a full size manual from Preston in PDF format. I send it to all my AC's that I usually work with and most of them actually read it). Sometimes I was asking myself why I bought it (The most expensive piece of equipment I never touch) but the reality is that if I don't, I will have to work harder by doing redundant takes because of bad focus... it doesn't matter how good the performance was or how perfect you nailed that whip pan if it's out of focus you will have to do it again... So if I can help the AC to nail it as often as possible... that makes it worth every penny I spend on it! Sorry for the rant, Erwin

Hey Dan, I was asked to be present at the customs inspection in the past at what point I was allowed to lock my cases after everybody was satisfied. I'm not sure if that still applies. I was at the end of my nerves as i was not allowed to touch anything but had to explain to the TSA agent how exactly to repack my cases... and what that black long gun like thing was (Antlers)... be early at the airport that can take easily an hour or more on top of the 3 that they say you have to be earlier... On the last flight I actually found more of these TSA fliers in my cases AFTER they had screened it with me present... i had to tape a key on the outside of the cases... de-feeds the purpose of a lock doesn't it... Also my contact cleaner, canned air and the Goof-off as well as my Arri oil where all gone! Erwin

Hi Brooks, The mostly used ring is usually the C-ring. The only difference between the A, B, C, D and E ring is the close focus that differs from 9" up to 6', Ring Number 6 is blank for special lenses or special needs AC's. Unless you are doing close ups you never need to change the ring that you chose at the beginning of the day. It will be different depending on the model Lens you use. For example the Cooke S4 are going as close as 9 inches... as the AC if he ever will get that close and chose a ring based on that. The part that takes up the most time is naming the individual lenses. I pre-named mine (that takes up aaaaa lot of time, but once done, it saves a ton) for example: Zeiss Super Speed 12mm --- in the Zeiss file: SS-12mm Zeiss Ultra Prime 35mm --- in Zeiss file: UP-35mm Arri/Zeiss Master Prime.... And so on... it cuts down on time. As the Lens Barrels will be different 5 out of 6 times (The Lens Manufacturer like Zeiss, use 6 pre-marked barrels and lines them up as close as possible) you just go to the lens you want to calibrate or re-calibrate and press edit (Don't forget to reset the lens by pressing the red button on the MDR, I can't tell you how many time the AC came over and said, it doesn't line up, just to admit that he forgot to reset the lens..) at what point you are re-calibrating the lens by finding 6 reference points. Once you have punched in the reference points (by finding the closest witness mark on the Lens Barrel) the lens is calibrated and will line up, every time the same lens is selected. I raced every AC that said it was to complicated and I was faster every single time. It will take a little longer the first time the AC does it and until all the lenses are dialed in, but once you had all the lenses on the camera that you are using for that day the reprograming takes 15 seconds and by that time the Follow Focus Motor has not even reset it self... At least it doesn't take longer then if the AC had to do all the lenses at the beginning of the day by marking the rings individually... I found that if you decide to change from one ring to the next, the marks do not always line up and a re-calibrating of that lens is necessary. That's due to the fact that the company that printed the Strips seams to have used the wrong tolerances... Howard is aware of that and is looking currently into that problem to make sure that it is not a software problem but in fact a Hardware issue... I had issues but at the same time I know of a couple guys that don't. I hope that helps... it's late, so if you need clarification, give me a call. Erwin PS: I know that Howard has received a lot of input over the last couple of months what led to a couple of software revisions... So make sure if you have issues with your unit that you in fact have the latest firmware on your Unit... it makes a huge difference. Also most of the earlier units do not have the CineTape and PanaTape or Sniper interface update. If you want to be able to read the focus distance on your hand-unit display... you need the latest software AND the interface cable of course.

SOLD! Thank you.

For Sale: A Bracket to make your life easier... If you need to mount your MDR directly to a Camera Body. Change over is Tool-less. You can use your PAM arms from Jerry Hill (Via the rosetta) and it will attach the Motor Driver via the PRO Dovetail plate (Dovetail adapter included, for BFD use). One off custom piece. I bought a different MDR bracket that makes this bracket useless to me. Condition: New. Price: $200.- Erwin 818-448-2639

I'm still baffled that so many newer manufacturer (and some old ones) still haven't figure out how to mount a Motor Driver to there equipment. And sorry but No, Velcro is not a valuable alternative to a fixed bracket... I don't know about you, but 99% of my jobs require Follow Focus capability, at what point I don't know why the mounting should be an after thought. My Motor Driver is basically permanently mounted to my Sled but can be taken off within seconds if required. What if you have to exchange your camera plate? Then you also have to remount your MDR as well... Since PRO started, there is a standardized hole pattern that pretty much everybody has copied. It requires 2 holes in the Camera or upper Junction Box (Below is my Camera stage with 3 holes) and the resulting holes in the bracket mate up with all (professional) MDR Brackets on the market... for Preston, BFD, Scorpio, Fox, Genio, etc Below is my new MDR Bracket. The nice thing is that the L-bracket comes with 10 holes for positioning on the Sled and with 3 holes to find the hight that you like. And it puts the MDR out of the way of the Lens Motors and future tilt plates... And it's rigid. Just my thoughts... Erwin

Your easiest and fastest way to get better side to side balance is to get a camera plate that will accommodate you with side to side slots. The old school way find the CG of the camera with a focus rod or the like, mark it and screw it to the plate... so you are already balanced before you even put the Camera on the rig... and just fine tune it once it's on the sled. Below is an example by XCS. I'm sure that Markus can make you something like that with side slots... Erwin

Oh yeah... I would love a copy as a PDF. E-mail is on my website. Thank You, Sincerely, Erwin

That sounds like the 4 part series in the ASC magazine... not sure about the year it was running. There are a couple of great readings from Ted that where available over the years like the following: - "The Steadicam Operators Manual" by J.D.C. The Cine Tech Series (1979) looks like a pocket version of the Universal model 1 manual - "Steadicam With Style" by J.D.C. The Cine Tech Series (1980) Also known as "The Operator's Manual of Style" - "Steadicam Class Outline" (1982) - "Steadicam/Panaglide Assistant: A Career Alternative" (1985) - "Requirements For Steadicam Assistants" (1986) - "Steadicam Technical Features: Traps, Tricks & Tips" (1987) - "Steadicam Class" (1988) - "Steadicam Instructor's Class" (1988) - "Steadicam Operating Hints" (1989) - "PRO, Paddock Radical Options, Owner's Manual" Churchill Graphics (1993) And of course: "Light Years" by Tom McDonough. Grove Press, New York (1987 First edition, 1989 Reprint) ISBN 0-8021-3153-0 There is a complete 'How to teach a Steadicam Class' manuscript floating around with over 100 pages... unfortunately the person that I saw it with will not allow that any copies are made... Enjoy the reading... If you can find them. Erwin

Katie's gone... sorry guys. I was talking with a couple of guys that tried the knock-off's... and there findings were, that they look like the real deal but don't fill nor perform anywhere close to the real thing... As always in our business you get what you pay for... period. Erwin

Good Bye Beaker.... meee mee meee.... mmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee <Bang!> R.I.P.

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