Peter Abraham

I will try to shoot a new one tomorrow and post it on the Internet for all to see, and add a link to it here !

Best

Peter

Let us give props wherever possible. The Steadicam Operator on Outbreak was Mark Emery Moore.

Ahhhh, reality catches up. I started in Steadicam 18 years ago. My uncle, who shall remain nameless, informed me many many years ago that a client of his developed this technology for the US Government. He wouldn't name the client. He did, however, describe in great detail just what Jim is now sharing.

Long time coming. It will render current displays utterly obsolete. Can't wait to see one on a rig !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter " I love my LCD " Abraham

New York

Now, look. The tilting head stage is a Patented item. Going to an engineering student to "take a look at" that is a dirty trick and not one bit respectful of the inventors and their protection under law. You wanna machine something? Go for it. He wants to machine something? He can go for it. Encouraging this fellow- whose intent seems very honorable- to do something completely dishonrable smacks of the kind of disrespect rarely seen in our corner of the industry.

I decry it. Let the fellow apply a fresh set of eyes and new point of view to what we do, he might well have some neat ideas.

And, to do an end-run around the predictable retorts I am talking about honor and respect for intellectual property here, not which countries are covered by the Patents for the Tilting Head Stage. It's unfair to try to drag someone new into the theft of intellectual ideas and designs battle.

Peter Abraham

New York

There are a few things to work on if this is your first serious endurace day in the rig. ( Thanks for the props on the Tally Light, gents ! :) ).

Wil's words are gold. The largest show I've done in terms of time in the rig without docking at all was the Atlanta Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Others who have done Olympics can attest to what a pull this gig is. I wore my rig without docking for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I was either shooting or hustling from one shot to the next.

Having said that, you are in for a treat. Rest up, and train yourself to wear the rig for longer periods of time. Not to say you are shooting a 25 minute take, but you are wearing it almost nonstop. Borrow a second docking bracket and have a dock hidden offstage on both sides, or offstage and down in the pit/audience/theatre aisle. Between songs you may have a chance to drop the sled a bit. If not, use your focus puller or at least hoist it up into "rest position", laying the post onto your shoulder. It takes a ton of strain off the spine ( not the legs, of course..... )

Wear the rig around the house. Shoot some shots, hoist it up, shoot some shots, hoist it up. Build up to where you have the rig on for more than 30-45 minutes and don't even think about it. I'm a pudgy guy, always have been. Knowing Atlanta was coming in August, I got on the bicycle the second I got the gig in...March? April? I biked every single day I could, until I was rocking through 6-8 miles at a go. Not Triathelete stuff but it built up the legs considerably in a way that Steadicam does not. It really did help.

The hydration remark is key. Hide bottles of your favorite repleneshment drink around the stage, so your assistant can hand you sips on the go.

A program monitor that is lightweight, as Wil said, is a must. To be very honest I rarely used one on multi-camera live shows and got my ass fried or twice. Rare, but it did happen. Then I made sure I wore one and life was beautiful. I fly a 6.5" LCD anyway, and so used my backup as a Program Monitor. Not only can you stay clear of other cameras and shots but you are aforded the ability to blend in better in terms of speed and framing. Nothing worse than not knowing how fast the last guy is panning or zooming, when they come to you. YOUR work may be nice, but it doesn't stand alone in these gigs. Blending in to the rest of the shots makes you shine in a big way. People- Production people- remember that stuff.

Wear "Show Blacks". Long sleeved black t shirt and black pants, socks and sneaks. You truly want to blend in. Likely that you will be in somebody's wide shot anyway, no sense standing out. Keep a total spare set with you- if there is a break in the set, nothing will make you happier than changing all your clothing and sucking back a bottle of your favorite drink.

Stages are not terribly safe places for Steadicam Operators. Talent loves to screw with us, there are cables, amps, footpedal sets, guitar racks, etc. If you can during rehearsal ( and I pray you get rehearsals ), walk around and see what areas you are going to selling the most. Rare to be able to move anything, at least you can map out where stuff is that is most likely to A) screw with your shot, or B) impede your nice moves physically. Now and then a stagehand will become a pal by nudging over an amp or somesuch a foot or so. Don't count on it, but ask. Protect yourself as best as you can.

If it is a concert where there is likely to be extreme crowd activity ( read:violence ), make sure Production has someone near you to protect you. I shot the Limp Bizkit video entitled "Nookie". Was sent out into the crowd of 3,000 fans to shoot up at the stage. Nobody went with me but my focus puller. Didn't do my shots or frame of mind much good when some dimwit started punching me. Hard. While rolling film. :huh:

Stretch. Before and after. Post-gig your body will be a teeming cesspool of lactic acid. ( believe it or not, many folks find that quinine reduces lactic acid pains especially in leg muscles, so suck up some tonic water or find quinine pills...works for me . ). Might pay to arrange for a professional massage the day before.

This will likely be a great fun gig, just plan ahead and make sure your gear is nothing to worry over. Map out your best areas to shoot in, and those that are dangerous, and have a blast !! Make sure you let us know how it goes, ok?

Best,

Peter Abraham

New York

A bump and reminder that the Zalex Tally Light for Steadicam systems if shipping. In the last few weeks I've sold to Canada and Great Britain. They're in New Zealand, Australia, Finland, all over, The Phillipines, etc.

It is a self-powering unit, and provides extremely bright red LED tally light for the Operator. The unit has the red LED at the end of a 6 foot cable- long enough to reach from the camera body, down to the monitor even if you are telescoped out a ways !

They sell for $ 100.00 within the US, and $ 110.00 overseas to cover shipping. Email me at :

visualist@frontiernet.net

for orders.

Best to all,

Peter Abraham

New York

yes I went to see Jeff Mart on the set of "House" yesterday - and he is using his new MK-V Nexus and loving it. (and showing off some of the new MK-V toys - inc focus system)

Jeff has been doing some very interesting stuff with his new set up - inc. flying the Panavision lightweight with the 10:1 zoom! - it was great to watch him work.

And this had.........................what to do with the topic of this thread? Advertisements are best handled in the Classifieds. :)

Chris Haarhoff's work in A.I. was spectacularly clean. I also admire what Liz Ziegler did in Eyes Wide Shut.

That was you, Charles?????? :D

Peter Abraham

New York

It has to be a DVD-R (or at least a fake).  Some how I don't think C.P. or Tiffen would release a training video that pictures a PRO on the cover!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<---------laughing very hard here. Yes, indeed. The brilliant irony of that system being shown on the cover, and anybody having the chutzpah to sweat theft of that image......my god. I love it.

:)

Peter Abraham

Something else to laud here. It was a hot muggy August afternoon in the big city......and that guy was chugging along fast.

The Letterman Show keeps the Ed Sullivan Theatre at roughly 50 degrees. Seriously. WITH a breeze from the air conditioners and blowers. It's what He prefers apparently. I did a "48 Hours" shoot a few years ago in there during the summertime. We walked in from doing the exteriors and all the moisture on my body made a fast get-away.

Bet your vest was cool and dry by the time you finished the take, Claus.

Way to go Claus !!!!!

A gentleman and a good Op. :)

( Just never try to arm wrestle the fellow................. :blink: )

Peter Abraham

Okay. I was a wise-ass. Nothing new there.

I'm with TJ and others, find a local guy. Drive out one day, drop the stuff off, have some breakfast at the diner, whatever. You live where I live. Use my guy. They're very very good. They do contract work and custom design for the US Gummint. their welding is clean and tight, their soldering lovely. Nice shrinkwrapping on the cel packs.

They do work all over the country and world, but heck if you live in NYC, drive out the LIE and do the gig yerself.

Plainview Battery.

Hytron 50 will only last 3 years, and will only power a 435 for 2 years.

Heh. Heh heh. You made a deal with Satan. Now you can drive a 435 for two years with a Hytron 50.

Sure, I'm impressed. But my god, Sergei......at what cost, man? At what cost?

:P

Peter Abraham

Hey thanks, Jay !! I was afraid you wouldn't even FIND the vest bag tucked up into that big pile. :D One does what one can.

The biggest alteration I do to older vests isn't replacing the plastics and straps, although I do a lot of that. I re-work the chest strap system totally to one I came up with. It leaves you with a single strap, and can be tightened down as hard as you can stand it but released quickly and easily.

Peter

No thank you. That's a generous offer, but this is prototype construction and not really material suitable for posting onto the Internet. Surely you understand.

Peter

No, I do not.

Besides, the writer of this thread asked how to balance a Steadicam Mini- and by design association, the Steadicam Flyer. If I can find a way to link in a photo of the Flyer sled so people will see the parts I am talking about, I will be glad to do that.

Best

Peter

There's no Greek cobbler like an old Greek cobbler, I always say.

I do a fair bit of vest mods and re-builds, always have. I use the self-adhesive Velcro, BUT- very key- I use a heat gun to greatly soften the velcro down, and I use very very coarse sandpaper to roughen up the surface first.

Works like a chahm.

Peter Abraham

Not only is it possible, it's very easy. I built my Mini/Flyer sled with ground notched markings for each pivot point, delineating where the elements needed to be locked in order to be in dynamic balance for my camera. Works well.

Here ya go.

1. Open the battery plate to about 45 degrees, lock a bit but leave some room to move it. Mount a battery. If it's a heavier camera, mount a 2nd battery on the 2nd plate on the battery plate.

2. Fold out the monitor arm until it's flat horizontal.

3 Place the camera onto the plate, screw it down, mount it into the top stage.

4. By using the normal method of back and forth and side to side, find static balance on the sled.

5. Give the sled a spin. If the lens tilts upwards, the sled is precessing to the back. Take the battery plate ( the part of the Mini and Flyer that has both battery snap-on plates screwed into it ) and very slightly push it down, moving it slowly towards the vertical. If you were very close, then we are talking a few mm of pivot and no more.

6. See if this solves the problem. If not, push it a bit lower. If your camera and sled are in static balance but the camera tilts DOWN as you spin it, take the monitor arm and slowly pull it upwards away from flat horizonal. Again, just a few mm of pull upwards. Then spin again.

By manipulating the tilt capability of the battery plate and monitor arm, you can quickly and easily find a dynamic balance point for the Steadicam Mini and Steadicam Flyer. I've done it with both factory models in addition to my prototype model, which is somewhere between a Mini, a Flyer and an EFP.

The sled is nice and rigid, does well with a running shot and can be spun flat with a bit of work. Enjoy !

Peter Abraham

I may not have been as clear as I might have wished in that post.

The Universal Steadicam Model I ( and perhaps Model II as well? ) came with weights. They were split collars made of steel. They were available specifically so that you could add dead weight to a Steadicam, in case the camera body weight exceeded the balance ability of your sled.

That was 1976. I owned one of those rigs ( although I didn't own it in 1976. )

Now it's 2004. The new and very lovely Steadicam Flyer allows for a second battery to be mounted on the bottom of the sled. The mount is "cold"-i.e., not powerwired into the sled. The mount is there so that the second battery can be used......as a dead weight.

So, let's not spend a lot of time bashing someone who is ignorant of Steadicam- but not perhaps stupid- for suggesting using weights. There are other systems that allow for a battery to be mounted and used for added amp-hours/weight but not used to double voltage from 12 to 24.

This is not an ideal solution but is hardly A) a new idea in Steadicam nor B) reprehensible on the surface. I took a hacksaw and cut off an offending bit of bracketry many years ago on a job in Santa Ana, California. Ugly thing, to take a hacksaw to a Steadicam accessory bracket. It let me balance the camera and lens, and do the job.

Lest we forget in our well-machined and perfectly anodized world, that this is the bottom line. We have to do the job. Who amongst us as never shown up on a gig and found a problem awaiting us with the camera? :)

AFAIK is InternetSpeak for " As Far As I Know "

Simiarly, IMHO is In My Humble Opinion, FWIW is For What It's Worth, IIRC is If I Recall Correctly, YMMV is Your Mileage May Vary and of course, TGIFS is This Gimbal Is For Shit. :P

David, I am sooooo sorry we never hooked up post-workshop. That week went from bad to worse, thank god you found Alec- who is without doubt a great fellow and possessed of more goddamned great gear than I've eve seen in one place besides perhaps Ted Churchill's apartment. We're gonna take care of you, Dave. We're going to nurture you along. Guide you. Advise you. Help you. Support you. Then of course, when you're just a few precious days from your first huge live t.v. show, kneecap you with an iron pipe to bring some humility into the picture.

As for Chuck and Travis Jackson, they were two great folks. Adam Keith has a great tale about meeting Chuck and Travis. Adam?.....

Peter Abraham

A hearty yes please, seek a Steadicam Workshop. Where do you live?

Having said that, let me add this. Nothing is gained here by smacking around the inexperienced folks here. I for one can remember the very first gig I did with my Model I. It was the week the rig arrived. I flew in the face of ALL better instincts and took a job to try to please someone I respected. It was a BL IV on a Model I. I added the round weights that came with my Model I sled and it still rolled upside down on me. ( My rig didn't come with the longer set of posts, although I suspect it wouldn't have worked anyway ).

I tell everyone I show a Steadicam to that when they buy the rig- or BEFORE they get into it, they need a Workshop. This sounds self-serving because I do a lot of instructing but we all know it's the truth.

Lastly, yes I did have a very long plate at one time. Brant had some "bongo plates" machined. These were hellaciously long plates. They did the job, we had some oddball cameras mounted up now and again and I never suffered the problem that we do indeed sometimes face- the camera cannot be balanced easily with a single plate. The bongo plates flexed sometimes but at least afforded us interface. The plate I have seen that is simply spectacular in terms of zero flex is Greg Bubb's new plate. You really could make one of those in an 18 inch length and maintain zero flex state. So, there are solutions out there.

Peter Abraham

--sniff-- I woulda hand delivered..................................

;)

When I got my MS arm in 1996, I was so befuddled as to exactly how to fine-tune it, that I got some help from G.B. on the matter. It took a few weeks at least to find out just where the best spots were for any given camera- and more than a few weeks to stop hauling the darned thing up so hard.......and allowing it to do its amazingly graceful work.

Great arm, just great. Felt like............ my Flyer arm.

:D

Peter Abraham

Jim, if I recall correctly, the wire device was built by the construction guys to fly materials down to the bottom of a steep hill to build a "villiage" with. Jim Muro had the idea of flying down on it.

I've seen the behind-the-scenes footage of him doing the shot, he does not start on that wooden platform. It's simply gorgeous......and the footage IN the movie is pretty tasty too.

I was one of the Instructors at the last Workshop in Yellow Springs and so...I got to fly the SkyMan. Hot damn, but it's a brilliant machine.

Jerry's reel of footage made with that thing is truly something else. You run that along with the Super-Fly Cam and SkyCam footage and man, you can believe that any shot is possible.

And, it is. :)

Peter " I Did The Ride Of A Lifetime " Abraham.

This is always a tough one. I started out going out the door for about $ 750 a day, and that was 17 years ago- and I was considered low but not atrociously low then. ( NYC rates ).

At some point ( pre-agent ), I stopped going out the door for less than about $ 800 a day for me + $ 500.00 for the rig. That was the threshold, and aside from a few true favors I wanted to do, I held to that.

Best I ever did was $ 2,300 a day for 10. Blew my mind. The world has changed to a large degree since that day and I find it difficult now to figure out what rate is acceptable.

The force of the studios and producers to make us lower our day rates and rentals is huge. I am not sure it's the influx of new ops, I feel it's more likely the overall pressures to reduce, reduce, reduce.

The pity of it is, you still get what you pay for. They're just trying to pay less......

Peter Abraham, E.M.T.

Jason, if that were the case the recorded images would be pulled down badly as well. It does not sound as though this is the case.