Eric Fletcher S.O.C.
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Posts posted by Eric Fletcher S.O.C.
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Eric, that sounds more like a cable problem BEFORE the connected equipment.
No real engineering needed for that, just a short with the housing will do.
4 units and 16 cables? no it was an engineering issue
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Hi,
As I said in the 2003 forum I am a very happy user of Aladin - We have the two channel system and have never had any problems with it. Smooth, reliable and hasn't blown anything up yet :D I think that Eric`s dislike of the system came from having used the first prototype that was donated to a production to test (?) and the problems that cropped up were later rectified.
Big correction needed here. No units were "Donated" to Us and we went thru 4 of them. They ALL Sucked.
My Favorite was the "Sneak Circut" that would blow the cameras 10 amp fuse but would'nt touch it's internal fuse. That's a real piece of engineering to be able to do that....
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WHERE?
enough with the cloak and dagger crap, anyone that reads the boards and wants to come can
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It appears that this focus system accomplishes the best of both worlds of the Preston and Bartech and does so in ways that niether has yet been able to achieve.
Namely the ability to control each channel (focus, iris, zoom) separetely AND wirelessly.
BTW The Scorpio does that...
I REALLY HATE the Aladin.
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Will,
My hatred of the Aladin is well known, We had two of them on a series I did 2 years ago and while we were promised amazing things out of them they did not deliver. To compare them to a Preston of Scorpio is a joke. THe Motor amps are too small so the motor response is slow, they have multiple issues with "Sneak Circuts" (Any device that is protected by a 5 amp fuse that blows 10 amp supply fuse's and not blow it's own 5 amp fuse has SERIOUS issues) There is no Error correction in the TX/RX section so you get these amazing full travel errors. Bad Frequencys that they work on...
I could go on but I won't....
My advice on the "Aladin" is DON'T
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Yeah Ron's still alive, he was last seen at Paramount attempting to Key the car of another "Fellow" operator. From what I heard, when he was being taken down he was screaming something about "offroading hummers" and "feeding my baby"
:P
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The problem with the Magliner Steadicam nose conversion is that the push handle is aluminum, with a steel pin mounted at the top. There is play in that steel pin, and your rig will tend to lean away from the cart, not very assuring. I even spun the handle around, and it just started leaning the other way.
I have never had a problem with the docking pin on the handles, and that's what I dock to all the time
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to change the subject slightly what projects are you all involved with at the moment anything i should be keeping an eye on
peace , Steve
I've been doing the Additional Unit days (Both Steadicam and "A" Camera) on Desperate Housewives. The show open on 11-21 is all my stuff.
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Any Idea on Price?
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But now I have this question for all Steadicam Operators who have had an arm break a spring while under load.
What happen and did the insurance do about it.
The reason for this question is like in a court case. I need to be able to refer to other cases where an operator was operating and had the arm under load, and a spring broke. Did the insurance company whether productions or the operators cover the repair?
Please email me the stories if you could. Thanks!!!
Ozzie
Ron Baldwin would probably be your best bet here. iirc the statement by Ron was "Houston, we have a problem"
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Ozzie,
The bottom line is the insurance is not YOUR problem, it's the Production companys problem and they need to fix your arm (You still are charging rent on it right?) How they pay for it is their problem...
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Point them at the floor as well, helps the focus puller sometimes.
That's not really a good idea since the dot moves with tilt and boom height.
Besides good first's judge distance from the mattebox to the subject. Not from their feet and a laser dot....
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Oh for the love of Pete somebody buy this kid a spell checker
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A company called Trace Entertainment is going down the list of steadicam operators and trying to find someone to work on their low budget show. They are looking for someone to work on a flat for LESS then $500 All in.
I'm not sure that the guy liked my answer... "Oh Hell No"
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Interesting reading,
A few thoughts from someone that has flow too many HD jobs.
1) Get yourself a 6 foot super thin, super flexible BNC cable. DO NOT believe a DIT or Engineer that tells you that it will not work. It does, I do it all the time.
2) Unless your on a live switched show there is NO reason to fly a Genlock/Tri-level sync in-fact it is SAFER not to. If your using Genlock/tri-level Sync and for some reason the connector looses continuity you get a lovely green flash-frame as error correction freaks out.
3) Iris pulls are best done with a Scorpio/Preston/Bartech. Their resolution is about 100 times greater then the Iris control on the RMB-150/750.
4) If production wants you to carry sound tell them to get you wireless. The mixer is usually recording to DAT/Nagra or the Diva anyway and that's going to be MUCH better audio then if it were to be recorded in camera. If production wants you to do it so they can sync easier remind them of this ONE SIMPLE Truism: "Is it better to pay 3 people in post overtime or 50+ People on set overtime, You have nothing BUT time in post..." That comment has NEVER failed me yet.
5) If you run a remote iris then there is really no reason to run the camera control cable if they really want camera control then run a fiber
6) There is no reason to run a Y-signal back to the rack. If the dit wants to see menus then he can get off his chair, walk over to the camera with a viewfinder and do his work there.
7) If they REALLY have to have Audio, HD-SDI, Downconvert back, HD Y-Channel (For the Menus) Camera Painting and shading, Iris control, tally etc etc then it's really a Fiber Situation and Believe me if you run the Telecast Copperhead (Which I did the field testing on) you will have ZERO Problem running the fiber. I did some pretty complex shots with Fiber and it's just fine.
Telling production that you will not run a cable is a great way to get them to use more dollys and not invite you back....
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But as others also mentioned and I made clear in my post, it is resistant to pointed pressure until a certain limit after which it suddenly gives in, where as other metals like stainless steel will show deformation first.
Ti shows deformation first, if it did not how could it be elastic enough to be a spring metal....
It is this explosive behaviour that determines if Ti is good or not in a certain application.Now your confusing Ti with Carbon. Carbon fails catastrophically where as Ti, Al, or various grades of steel will all deform reach their elastic limits and then fail when overloaded
As I do a lot of designing of stuff myself I once got some beautiful aluminium plate, 3mm thick, the type they use for aircrafts.It is much tougher, but where you can bend normal Al-plate around, this stuff will only go to exactly 90 degrees and than just break!
So I could not make a construction by bending as you always have to "over-bend" (not the right word but you get the meaning I hope) to have a certain angle as a result.
First off you comparing very disimilar materials. Secondly without knowing the material, it's hardness and it's working limits your going to have problems working it. (And BTW a little heat goes a LONG way) From the sounds of your description you were trying to fold it around too tight of a radius.
Just as an aside I designed and built Race car suspension (On a pro level) for several years, I've got a decent foundation and understanding of materials properties.
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With Titanium, I am not so sure. For instance, if you overstetch a iron spring (I know, the Pro system is a compressing spring so I am not referring to that) it will just stay in that overstretched position, it will not return to the original shape. I am not completely sure if this also happens with Titanium.
Disagree all you want but it doesn't change the fact that Ti is considered a spring metal. Higher in strength then steel but not as stiff. You can always Google "6al Materials properties"
If Ti was not able to handle elastic deformation (ie Be a spring metal) then you could never use it as a suspension "Flexure" in Formula 1 cars (Great example on Pg 139 of "Ferrari Formula 1" by Peter Wright)
It's also on of the reason's that Ti has been a preeminent structural metal in aerospace.
BTW springs are not made from Iron but from various grades of either steel or Ti. Ti springs have the advantage in that Ti is not only lighter but the spring constant is higher allowing you to wind a smaller lighter spring then one wound from steel. Steel springs also fail catastrophically when overloaded.
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That´s the hidden danger in the use of this metal: it´s extremely tough, but when it goes, it goes without warning.
It doesn´t crack or bend like more "elastic" metals, it just goes from new to ruins immediately.
Ummmm, NO, that would be incorrect. Ti is a spring metal, that's why the springs in the arm are made from it.
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It is a sad, sad day in the proud history of the camera department when free parking wins out over babes. :(
Now that's an understatment... Ted would not be happy...
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Michael people like myself put a lot of time and energy into maintaining, updating and running the SOA. Since this forum is loosely connected to the SOA, you might want to think about what you say here.
What Exactly is that supposed to mean, that really sounds like some sort of threat...
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Sounds like an Aja thing
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Do not try to power off the camera's 12 volt 4 pin HRS, this will blow the fuse of that supply. I know, Ive blown it.
The Miranda use's that plug and I've never blown a fuse using it.
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If you know the cameras CG then why don't you have the mounting dovetail centered under it? You should never have to shift parts to get the dove tail in a favorable position. Even when I flew the "Sony Valdeze" (43" Long Sony 900 HD camera with Telecast Fiber Box) I NEVER had a balance problem and Never had to change out the configuration of my rig.
Your top to bottom problem is cured by raising the gimbal and Lengthening the post.
Out of curiosity what is your experience level and have you taken a workshop?
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Hey all,
I was just wondering what everyone is doing concerning HD and your monitors? Are any of you using HD down-converters? How are you displaying HD images on your rigs? As always, thanks for the insight. :)
Down converter's and living with the 5 frame delay......
SR2 Low mode bracket
in Brackets/Widgets
Posted
He's still selling those? I made him a bunch of them something like 15 years ago....
They work fine on 90% of the SR1's and 2's out there