Alan Rencher

Brant, I'm not undercutting anybody. Undercutting would mean that I am taking work from other operators because I'm so much cheaper. I haven't taken one job from any of you. Until recently, I've only been doing Student projects and other ultra-low / no-budget projects. I was building experience and building my reel. Now that I have a reel and experience, I've raised my rate. I just graduated from college in December. Can no one understand what it means to work your way up? Are you telling me you never started from scratch with no resources to start with awesome equipment? I have been taking all the great advice I've been getting, but it's hard to find substance in some messages:

I know I'm going to get a lot of flak for this, but Steadicam operators can be some of the pissy-est people sometimes. I didn't think I was making a thread just to defend myself, but hear me out I guess. A Pilot only rents out for about $175/Day, and the types of productions that use it are all the DSLR crowd. It's mostly students, micro-budget and no-budget projects. There is no way that I can swing more than $300-$350 using a pilot. Usually, anyone with a budget bigger than that is shooting Red, F3, or requires all kinds of AKS that will overload me, which puts me out of the game. Most of these productions won't even chip-in the extra $80 to rent a Bartech. They just say that they don't need follow focus. I did think that was good advice about just putting Call/Call, so I went ahead and updated that, thanks. Those were old rates that I was using while working for mostly experience, and should have been updated. I don't know what kind of PA rates you guys are talking about, but most PA's only make about $125 for 12 hours. It sucks, but it's true. I've PA'ed before, and I know a lot of PA's. Of course, I've worked on a couple high-end commercials that were paying PA's $200/Day, but those are commercials. Just to put the record straight, I work just as hard as any of you to hone my craft, and try to get what I deserve. We can't all start off by asking for $1,000/Day. I'm working my way up from nothing, and soon I'll be out of the micro-budget scene, but I have to pay my dues first just like many of you have. You would think that some people would remember how hard it was for them and actually show some empathy. I would like to say thank you to the people who continually give me good advice and actually try to guide me in the right direction as opposed to treating me like a scab. Remember, I'm on your side, but I guess I'll be jaded one day soon when I look on the forum at the next guy like me.

Does anyone have a rig that is capable of flying a Red package available for rent? I own a pilot, but my clients have all been shooting Red lately, and I have been scrambling to buy a Zephyr. In the meantime, I need to find someone to rent from. Let me know your day and weekend rate. Give me a call: 323.213.9427 or email: alanjrencher@gmail.com Website: http://alanrencher.com Steadicam Operators Association: http://www.steadicam-ops.com/database/soaDetailList.php?detailID=927

Why not just get an Anton Bauer Gold mount or a V-mount plate?

I PM'ed you.

Unfortunately, 16x9 no longer services those motors as parts are no longer available. I might have to find a new motor. NAB was fun, I guess I didn't see you though!

This may sound dumb, but I noticed that sometimes if you are using a generic mini to RCA cable, the video channel is sometimes in the red or more often white RCA connector. You may also run into trouble if you are plugging the SD feed from the 5D into an HDSDI port if the monitor is HD. This would explain why the AF100 works (because that's an HDSDI port). Also, don't forget to press the preview button :P

I had a chance to play with it, and ask a few questions. It records uncompressed files in a quicktime wrapper (not pro res). He explained that this enables use on more NLE systems than just final cut. It has an internal rechargeable battery that lasts an hour and a 12v input on the back. It uses SSD drives that the user will buy from somewhere else. I asked the cost and space requirements to which be told me a 500gb drive costs about $1,000 on amazon and would hold 50 minutes of uncompressed video. One thing that I didn't like is that there are no mounting points anywhere on it. It's completely smooth all the way around. I asked him if there was any way of attaching the device to rods, and he told me that they expect 3rd parties to create a sleeve or clamp to use with it. It also doesn't come with any accessories like a dock to off-load SSDs to a pc.

Thanks Jim and Marc!

I have an FMG.6 Motor that will loose calibration and drift to one side of the lens. Some suggested that it might be the potentiometer. My question is: does anyone service or rebuild these motors?

I'm looking to get a motor cable for use with the BFD to FMG.6 Motor, listed as 61125 FMG-6/Heden M21VP on the Bartech website. I have cables to trade for it: - GPI Pro to Bartech - Panavision 2 pin w/24V-16V converter - Arri 435/535/SR3/ ArriCam start/stop - Panivision Platinum start/stop - Panivision Mellenium & Genesis start/stop - Sony HD & Panasonic HD start/stop - Arri BL/SR1-2/35-III

Well, we just got our Sony PMW-F3K at HDPioneers.com. I've got to say, it's pretty awesome. It's bigger and heavier than what I imagined, but I think I might be able to get it onto my Pilot (Bartech is 'iffy', I'll let you know.) Enjoy the quick 'n' dirty! http://vimeo.com/user869766/sony-f3

Thanks for the catalogue, Andrew. William, the catalogue has a very thorough explanation of the naming convention... Having said that, I felt like I was doing ancient Egyptian algebra trying to understand it all.

Thanks Brant. I'll order a catalogue.

Trying to search for anything using this site's "search box" is a nightmare. I'm looking to make some flyer to red power cables, and there are so many Lemo parts that look the same on their site. I thought I would just ask if anyone knows if these are the right part numbers for the connectors. 3-pin from sled: FGG.0K.303.CLAC50 or FGG.1K.303.CLAC40 6-pin RED power: FGG.2B.306.CLAD82 Does anyone have preference toward crimp-on or solder? I have no problem soldering, and it might save me buying an extra tool. Also, does anyone recommend a certain place to buy these from? Thanks.

It seems like Apple gimped the technology to get it out of the door quickly to compete with USB 3.0. For one, they're not using those "tiny" connectors, they're using mini display port (which isn't as small as something like s/pdif that uses optical), and They're starting off with copper, so this whole backwards compatibility thing is questionable. Even if they just add optical into the display port to save legacy devices, we would still be stuck with that same connector. Although I must say that I was impressed by some of the early thunderbolt demos. If they can implement the optical version of thunderbolt in the next couple of years, I would be very happy to see a thunderbolt / SDI hybrid connector... I can dream, can't I?

It might help if you tell people where you are located Im located in Los Angeles. I don't know why I always forget that. Thanks

Thanks for the advice, everybody. Is it possible to check the motor with a multimeter?

Hey all, I have been practicing on my Pilot for about a year now, and I have been having a blast learning how to operate. My goal is to move up to more professional and higher budget stuff this year. That's why I'm excited to say that I may have the opportunity to shoot on 35mm in April. It's a short film that I'll be volunteering on for the sake of experience. I won't be getting paid, but the production will pay the rental fee for the rig if anyone is willing to rent to me. It will be friday, Saturday and Sunday in April (actual dates TBD). The short is going to be shot on an Arri LT, so I'll need something that will support that. I'll need a complete set-up with follow focus, etc. I will greatly appreciate any responses I get! Also, let me know if you will be willing to do a prep day with me to go over your rig. Thanks - Alan Rencher alanjrencher@gmail.com