Erwin Landau

Peter, Why so defenssive? Let's leave it at this... Price wise. I thought you read the whole post. I was not aware that I had to specify and round up the post. Unless of course the post was to long and went of topic, my apologies for that... The dicussion, thanks to you, went into a fight "BFD versus Preston" and how much they cost. I think everybody is aware how expensive our Profession is. And that was the originator of this Post. Why do you have to replace a perfectly working unit with another perfectly working unit? (And we agree that boths units work perfectly... right?) Just because of a different name? I didn't shush anybody... Isn't an argument there to be argued? Then argue and reply to the rest of the post and don't get offended by one (trying to end the post) closing line... If it offends you that much, I will delete it (let me know). Trully your, Erwin"Stop hitting me!"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Hi Tim, I received a bundle of E-mails generated on and send from this Forum. There is no reply posibility, how am I supposed to answer these mails? Could there be reply possibility added, or could there be just the e-mail address included in the mail, we even could make it volantairy... but that starts to be a joke... In the old forum you could just pres the name and it would creat a mail in your E-mail browser, and it would show the return address... If somebody doesn't want to receive e-mails from the board, he wouldn't e-mail me in the first place...right? Please come up with a solution... Thank you. PS: To everybody that send me e-mails. Please include a means to reply. Also it will take me longer to reply as the e-mail goes to a different Computer, My Computer that handles the e-mails is not quick enough to handle the Forum... Sorry and Thank you. Erwin Landau, SOC Steadicam 818-769-0293 818-448-2639: Cell www.landaucamera.com steadicam@landaucamera.com

Hi Tim, I tried to create a poll after I posted it, it did not look like it should, so I tried to modify it but it did not work. And I could not deled it either to start from scratch. (What vest are you using? in Vest/Arms/Sled) Also it was miss spelled... Also, If you check the poll results first, before you vote, it sees you as if you voted already... Any suggestions? Thanks.

Hi Jamie, Its interesting that the Batteries that are about to be discontinued always get such bad reps... The ProPac's I mean. A/B is moving away from NiCad's and people are starting to complain. Could that be that they stop to support the older batteries or that just the hip made by the Dealers helps to get rid of the old and roll in the new... bye,bye NiCad... hello Hytron's??? Just wondering... About Airplanes: I believe that a missunderstanding/mix up, is the reason for that rumor. A/B makes batteries for Broadcast, these people are constantly flying somewhere. So they are safe and okay to take along. It's the Lithium Ion's that have restrictions because of the not so stable lithium in this batteries that could explode. I think it's limited to 6(?) per person... You can take along more but they have to be in special containers and you need a special permit... Most of the time a hassle for the passenger... One reason they came out with the Dionic 90 and bearied the Dionic 160. Check again with A/B, it's the Lithium's not the NiMeH Batteries... Good Flying... Erwin Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Oh one more... The BFD is great as you can buy individual Channels. Check your Math... Let's compare apples with apples: (Shall we?) A 2 motor system from Bartech will top the scale at almost $10'000.- A 2 motor system from Preston depending where you buy it from tops at about $15'000,- A 3 motor system from Bartech raffly $15'000.- A 3 motor system from Preston about $20'000.- The question is, do you want or can afford the additional $5000.-???? (of course it will vary apone your AKS and Cables, with both systems...) Or can you just afford one channel and 6 months later a second one... guess what you will most likely buy the BFD... Right? Erwin"check the numbers"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Hi Peter, Not everybody is Mark O'Kane, and even he only owns two 3 channel systems... It's very admairable that you are lobbying for Jim Bartell, BFD, Best system for that price out there, hands down. (Does that get me a T-shirt, Jim?). But don't trash other systems because of the price... You still get what you pay for. (Jim went out to replace the now almost useless and unreliable units like the Seitz, WRC-4 and LC-3, for a great and fair price. Now with the M-1 out there it's a great system... Jim succeded.) Yes, you could have a Back up MDR ($3450.-) a Back up Microwave Link ($3300.-) and even a Second Hand unit ($2950.-) but all of that does not add up to $45'000.- I couldn't afford that and I'm sure most of the operators Worldwide could not either... But the fact is that you most of the time don't have to. How often did you have to exchance the compleat system? Most of the time it's a Cable, or maybe a dropped Motor, maybe even the Microwave, you still own a Hardwire? Right? It's your personal decision what kind of FF system you own or can afford. My original post was about how people are forced into buying certain Equipment, Again it's your choice to buy the Equipment they ask you for or not to take the job. My choice to buy the Preston was guided by the enviroment I'm working in, the people I'm working with and the track record that comes with owning a Preston. And at the time there was no good new Motor available, the Heden sucked and got me a couple of times into trouble... (Not Bartech's mistake but it was one of the reasons I went with the Preston). Did a BFD ever fail on set? Yes it did when I used to use one, did my Preston ever fail? Yes it did once. Boths times with both Units (Preston and Bartech) I received great Customer Service/Support. Will my Preston let me down fewer times then my BFD? Time will tell... If your FF system fails, it doesn't matter what system, it turns into a hunk of metal, it's just how often and how quickly can you get back up. The fact is that the Preston ALMOST never fails, That most AC's prefer it over any other FF system, That many AC' s also love the BFD. Let's leave it to the individual Operator to decide... Let's leave it at this... Erwin landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Count me in...

Not the way I wanted it... How Can you modify your Poll? I wanted to delete the poll as it was not displayed, as I wanted it to... Have to try a new one...

What Vest are you using? I Was just wondering what Vests where out there and which one is the favored one used for Film use. Just a start, do your own poll if you want.

Just wondering.... Found it!!! Erwin"Smarter Then I Look" Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Just wondering: I was thaught to have the rig on the left and operate with the left hand, during the first workshop one of my Instructors suggested, after I was not able to takle a shot, to turn the rig around, rig on the right operating with the right (Goofy). I did the take without a hitch... so Actually I was a better operator as Goofy foot. Over the years as I had to borrow equipment and usually it was a hassle to change over the Socket on the Vest and the Arm, I became a regular mode operator... How many do operate Goofy versus Regular, Anybody operates boths sides all the time... Actually would be a great poll... (If I could figure out how to do that). Any thoughts? Erwin"Yes I'm bored"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

That is a great Tape. Even though it's 10 years old it's still basically up to date and universaly useable. All the basics still apply, you still mount the Camera the same way, you still balance it the same way, you still operate the same way... Very much worth owning and making it a part of your Steadicam Collection... Does Tiffen still sell/give them out? Would be a great Idea to update it to a DVD and put all the Masters Takes etc on that one, The ultimate Steadican Course on a Tape... Whatever happend to the Ted Churchill short: "One day in the life of a Steadicam Operator" or something like that? Erwin"I have one, Thanks Garrett"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Producers... Yes, as long as a producer is willing to pay 20 or 30 or what is it already up to 40 Million for a single Actor, but will safe on the crew he will also look for the cheapest place to shot. Why should somebody make 20 Million for 3 months worth of work? Okay usually there name will attract and put butts in the Movie theaters. But were is the money coming from? From Below the Line... or anywhere else. I shot on a Feature where 40% of the budget went to a single Actor for six 6 hour days. There is a Feature about to start where 2/3 of the total budget goes to a single actor... come on!!!! I'm fighting for a couple of 100 bucks for my rental, the same day the main actor get's a Porsche as a gift as "a token of apprechiation" from the Studio... Shouldn't there be a cap for Actor salaries? SAG is fighting all the time for better wages, yes because 90% of the SAG Actors just barely make the month... like us. But at the same time the 1% of the 20 Million a movie guy are also the problem. There is nothing sweeter as when a big budget, big name Feature tanks at the box office... because the story was crap and it proves that names alone don't make for a good movie. Also "Our" Union didn't do much to impove the situation but give in into ever dwingling "minimum wages"... And of course if you pay 20 Millions of your 30 Million Budget to an actor you have to shoot in Canada, because you can pay the crew less, the rentals will be less, etc. Just Imagine how many people's salaries could be better if the Hotel room for the star wouldn't be $1200 a night... How about slapping the Producers Hand for a change then slicing each others throught? Sorry for the rambling... Erwin"How about $300 for 14 on a 7 day/week and no rental"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

See "Arms for SK2" in General Discussions...

The best way to be sure if it works is to try it out. Many people could answer and tell you compleat opposite versions of the story. It has to work for you and you alone. Go to your next store that carries them and bring your Camera along. But: Call Tiffen and talk to them, or: You can get most prosumer Steadicam models like the JR or Mini through B&H in New York. They have a 30 day return policy. Order it and try it, if it does not work send it back. So you will have a couple of days to experiment. Just a thought. Erwin Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

To my knowleadge, these days you can mix and match parts from Tiffen. How much heavier do you want to go? The SK comes with a single articulated isoilastic arm, range: ~9 to 19 lbs. But you can also use the ProVid arm which is virtually the same style arm, just with 2 articulated sections, range: ~15 - 26 lbs. Also you can order the Arm and the Vest with the standard Socket block versus the wired pin... It just comes down to the fact: CAN you balance the heavier Camera on your rig as the Center post does not telescope, DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH BOTTOM WEIGHT. I'm not sure if you can adapt the ProVid or the ProVid2 Post to your SK... At which point it could actually be cheaper to just go to the higher/next model... I would give Tiffen a call and talk to a tech, to figure out what you actually need, Go to one of there show rooms and try it out or contact a more experienced Operator that either also uses the same rig or the next one up... Just an idea. Erwin Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Phil, That is the old school style set up: "One Battery system" with about 4 to 6 batteries and one (quick) charger. On a feature were the pace is quite moderate, that is more then enough. In the beginning when there were only the older style cells available and used, it would help to have a second one for cold days... to make sure not to run out. Later with the introduction of the "3 Battery System" it became standard to own at least 2 chargers to maintain enough charged batteries over the lenghts of the day. It's only lately where there are multiple simultanious chargers available. I used a single battery system in the past and actually never run out of batteries as long as they had one on charge... The only time I get worried is on quick pace, multiple, no rehearsal, highspeed takes... with the 435... where it get's sometimes tight. With my current 2 battery system, I own 2 A/B quad chargers (one being a simultaniuos) and 10 A/B Batteries (actually nice, I can charge almost all of my batteries over night at the same time). The Simultanious quad is always plugged in on set and usually I leave the set with only 2 uncharged Batteries (usually the ones off the sled). So one charger is usually enough, 2 is better for your personal sanity and peace of mind. Just my 2 cents, Erwin"Missing the Point?" landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

There is a nice article in the "American Cinematographer" (June 1987, page 84): Steadicam Goes Creative on Low Budget Jim Muro was the Director and Steadicam Operator on that one. He shot it with a BL and a 2C (on Steadicam) with his Model 2. Check it out. Erwin"I knew, I had that somewhere" Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

From the top of my head... - The Walk through the Police station in "Raising Cain" (Larry McConkey) - The Central Station in "Carlito's Way" (Larry McConkey) - The Loading Dock scene in "Hoffa" (Larry McConkey) - A couple of great running shots in "Out of Time" (Chris Haarhoff) - The Bus scene "Fight Club" (Chris Haarhoff) - The Cable car step off in "Mighty Quinn" (Jimmy Muro) - The running shot on the Football field "Any Given Sunday" (Jimmy Muro) - Long shoots on the base in "The Abyss" (Jimmy Muro) - The Restaurant Scene in "Kill Bill" (Larry McConkey) - The walk to the prision cell in "Murder in the First" (Kirk Gardner) - Running shots in "Point Break" (Jimmy Muro) - Long shots following Ed Norton in"American History X" Charles Papert - Opening scene in "Snake Eyes" (Larry McConkey) - a couple of grat shots in "Arlington Road" (Jim McConkey) - Titles and credits in "School of Rock" (Jim McConkey) - Opening plus many more in "Boogie Nights" (Andy Shuttleworth) - Time square and many more in "Vanilla Sky" (Chris Haarhoff/Larry McConkey) - Credits by Garrett in "After Hours" (Garrett/Larry McConkey) - A couple of scenes in "Philadelphia" (Garrett) - Whole film shot on steadi "Bulworth" (Garrett/Johnathan Brown/Dan Kneece) - Again whole film shot on steadi "The Cooler" (Colin Hudson) And many, many more... Erwin "Yes, I actually do more then just watch movies" Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Hi Phil, When I had the issues with my vest I thought that that was true that only manufacturer interen parts would,should,could fit... I tried 50 (yes 50) combinations of Vests and Arms, and concluded the following: All Steadicam Socket Blocks (Arm or Vest) are interchangeable starting with the Steadicam Model 2 up to the future Ultra replacement, due to the fact that they still use the same basic drawings with the same tolerances. (Protoypes and Model 1 had to be maschined to fit as they were one off's). All other's could/would possibily (not) fit due to the fact that ALL of the other manufacturer had only a "in use" piece to go from to copy and make there own piece... - All PRO Arms will fit all Steadicam Vests (as they are either size, or after 2000 under size). - All PRO Arms made before 2000 and all Steadicam Arms will not fit into a PRO Vest made between 2000 and mid 2002. (Vest Socket is under size). On all other stabilizers... Try the Socket before you buy as the might just not fit... actually always try first. (Knowleadge gethered through borrowing Arms and Vest and trying them...) ALL ARM should fit ALL VESTS as the are knock off of the Steadicam design, if the dealer says that that is not a fact, he is lying... and his manufacturing is just not up to the requirements... Erwin"Been there, Done that" Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Hi Job, You sure you want me to answer that? Good, here we go... The Glidecam Arm as well as the Sachtler or the SteadicamCenter Arm or any Arm based on the Good Old "6 extension Spring/Cables design" like the Steadicam Arms: models 35 through 3A, will have the similar if not same advantages and disadvantages... it's virtually the same arm... Just the use of materials and the amount of (additional) R&D will result in the amount of friction in the particular arm. Most will not spend much, some like Rig Engineering will spend a lot... still at the end of the day it's a good old 3A. It's an old design which was already abonded by the original Steadicam designers them self. What does that tell you? All of these arms still lock up on the highest and lowest point. Still suffer from the not quite right Geometry, exponential effort increase to hold the arm on the high or low point and the resulting bounce in the frame... fly one of them and you know what I mean, etc. If you are used to work with a 3A style arm, you will have no problem to adapt to any of them, including the Gold Arm (The manufacturer does impliment that you have to go through a "break in" or for use "Fly in" periode with this arm). It still needs the same amount of efford to keep a nice frame etc. If you are looking for price, that is the Arm for you... It's cheaper to purchase as there was little or non R&D necessary as the patents have expiered and anybody can put one out and they do (everybody lately it seams), as the 48 manufacturers do prove... You pay less, but you pay for a designe that (Oh man!!!) will celebrate it's 30iest birthday this year... Again, you get what you pay for. Is it good enough... of course. But what is good enough these days? Ask your DP or Director... (Unfortunately...These days you can get away with a lot...) Erwin"Used to own and love my 3A arm"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

One of them would be me... I bought a PRO Vest and I was using then my 3A arm. When I received my vest I was not able to use my arm on the Vest... After a lot of research I discovered that older Socket blocks worked fine, just the newest parts had some issues... I didn't mean to trash a manufacturer, it was just a funny story. Imagine you being on set and not been able to loose/disconnect the arm... at least for the beginning and then it would have turned into plain horror... Anyhow... The only reason that we are still using that ancient design of the Socket Block is that all the parts and systems are compatible, right? So the manufacturer should make sure that that stays true... Or start from scratch... Erwin"Just a little stuck"Landau, SOC www.landaucamera.com

Kirk Gardner (PR0 Workshop 2000)

Chris Haarhoff, Jim Muro (PRO Workshop 2000)

David Emmerichs (PRO Workshop 2001)