Jess Haas SOC

That is an awesome picture. Talk about a quick switch from steadicam to dolly. Thanks for the offers to swing by and borrow one. I am out of town until Sunday evening. Now that I think of it the catgriller looks like an even better option than what I was wanting. The only problem is that I need it starting on tuesday for a little over three weeks. There isn't any place in town that sells them is there? Or anyone who wants to sell one? ~Jess

I just heard that Arri will be showing a new HD video tap for the Arricams and 435 at NAB. Soon you might need that downconverter for film jobs too if your sled doesn't do HD.... ~Jess

I just want to be able to mount the camera using standard tripod screws. Like say if you wanted to put the lightweight on a tripod, a jib or anything else that didn't use steadicam dovetail plates. ~Jess

a 7" Hoodman might work for you: http://www.hoodmanusa.com/prodinfo.asp?number=H%2D700 Or you can make something out of coroplast, metal or any of millions of other materials. ~Jess

It isn't going to have threaded holes in it though is it?

yes

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=8106

On a show I worked on before an AC had a plate to adapt the lightweights holes to standard 3/8" camera screws but it looked like a custom job. Does anyone know if Panavision has anything like this on hand? They are closed until Monday or I would just ask them. Anyone have something like this laying around? Tom Gleason said he could make something like this for me if necessary, but he is rather busy so won't have him do it unless absolutely necessary. ~Jess

Bebob makes a zoom controller that does both LANC and panasonic which means it should work with sony, panasonic and I think canon. With the panasonic it only does zoom and start/stop but with the others I believe it also has some focus and iris functionality. The panasonic varizoom works well if you want all functions on the panasonic. ENG cameras and the sony EX1/3 are going to need a broadcast style zoom controller as already mentioned. ~Jess

The unfortunate thing about this system is that it means the pictures in many old posts no longer work.

For the directors monitor and receiver you can also go with trimpacs. They weigh a bit more which isn't necessarily a bad thing, are a little bit cheaper and will last much longer. Runtime is just a hair under the hytron 50s. ~Jess

So you shouldn't loan out your wife? I learn something new every day.... ;-)

So what exactly does this bracket look like? Does it just have a regular iris rod or is it something preston specific? Is it 15mm, 19mm, 5/8" or what? If I only need to mount one focus motor do I need anything besides what Panavision can supply or should I really be using a hill pana bracket? Why? Last time I dealt with the LW the AC had his own preston and all the bracketry. Now I need to rig it up with my bartec and make sure I have all the right toys. ~Jess

Guy lines seem like the best practical method for stabilizing things. 3 ropes attached to the top can do a lot to stop the swaying. ~Jess

The paint does come off very easily. After only two days of use there are a number of spots of bare metal.... I may try some Corrosion-X or something on certain points to try to keep it from rusting. I wonder what it would take to get a hot dipped galvanized stand..... I also noticed that the wheels don't really lock all that well. Taking a hammer or something to bend the breaks down would probably fix it..... ~Jess

Wow Sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Right up there with that one craigslist post where they were looking for a camera operator to hang out of a 15 story window with a roofers harness and cheap plastic rope.... ~Jess

Just wait for the 15 pages on which size wheels to get.... ~Jess

yep

I never thought I would hear Erwin say that $20 is much more expensive.... I was thinking about other sizes of wheels but it seems to me that with smaller wheels you will still have just as much trouble fitting through doorways and such so I don't see much point unless you want it to be lighter. The 8" seem perfect for the gig I have tomorrow. As far as front boxes and stuff goes I have an old laptop bag that seems to work really well. It has backpack straps that I can cross to strap it to the legs and multiple compartments for tools and cables and such. I also am hanging a climbing chalk bag which I already had from my grip/electric days to use as a BFD handset holder. The knuckle from the second riser is actually a great place to hang it. We will see how well I actually like all this stuff after the next few days. ~Jess

I was going to get the single stage but they talked me into the 2 stage while I was there. The single stage should be plenty high enough for most work unless your ridiculously tall. When fully extended and on the ground the single riser is about the same height as a regular unextended c-stand. There have been a few occasions where raising my cstand was convenient for various reasons so I figured having the extra riser might be as well. Also the extra riser allows me to keep the docking bracket securely tightened to the stand while easily spinning the bracket around for balancing. The 2 riser is only like $20 more and only about 2 pounds heavier. While I was at Backstage I also took a look at one of their carts based off of Erwins idea of having the steadicam in over the base. It is designed like the aluminum carts in that it breaks down into its own shipping case. Looked to be well made. I would want to throw my rig on there to try it out before buying one. They said it was about 2 grand but that didn't include a vest holder or any of that, just the cart, post and steadicam bumper. The one they had right now was a mini cart which was much shorter than a JR. If I lived in NYC I would seriously consider that size. ~Jess

Just did a little research and it looks like in california the sales tax exemption only applies to post production equipment. ~Jess

Two sizes of pneumatic wheels? I thought I had this all figured out! Jerry- The backstage setup is just pneumatic wheels and other accessories for the american steadicam stand. I am getting the LS30 (http://www.americangrip.com/baby.asp). American quoted me a 35% discount for picking it up there. With tax it ends up being around $200. You can see a picture of the whole setup and wheel prices here: http://www.backstageweb.com/New Products.htm The backstage wheels are fing expensive but I don't really see any other good option so I will be stopping by to buy a pair today. Are yall paying sales tax on equipment purchases in california or is there some sort of form you can fill out for an exemption like there was in Texas? ~Jess

So I now have a gig starting Thurdsay running around a fare ground where I will definitely need to be on wheels. So speak now about the stand and wheels or I will have to buy them new tomorrow. I believe going directly to American is my best bet for the stand. Do they still have a discount for picking it up direct? Can you just stop by? What about wheels? I assume I will be stopping by backstage and hoping that they have them in stock. Is everything list price with them or is there a discount or someplace better to buy them? ~Jess

I am probably going to just run over to American to get the stand, but thought I would check first to see if anyone had an extra one sitting around that they would let go for cheap. I am also looking for wheels for said stand, and whatever fun accessories people might have lieing around. Don't have a cart yet so this will temporarily be my mobile workstation, and eventually be my second setup. ~Jess

Maybe the holes line up with some HD camera somewhere and then you add velcro? Or more likely they are an extra or mismade part of one of their products that someone decided to throw in as a freebee because then they wouldn't have to throw it away..... ~Jess