Dave Chameides

Thanks for the PM Tuomas. Thought I might have missed a typo or something.

Meaning?

Thanks Eric. Very kind. It is a sweet rig.

I am selling my beloved PRO Sled that has served me well these past 15 years or so. You can see all the details by clicking here. Price is $11,750 US and I'm willing to work out a payment plan if need be, I just want it to go to a good op.

This is an SD sled that has been upgraded to the SteadyRig Anton Bauer battery hanger. Don't let the SD aspect throw you. I've used and still use a TB-6 but you can easily go HD and either wire down the post or just run it out front as I've done on the few occasions I used an HD monitor. Sled is ready to go minus the monitor and while it shows the scuffs of some years of use, it's a fantastic sled that flies straight. I shot everything on my reel with it, so that's gotta stand for something.

I'm also including a one day workshop if buyer is interested, in or around CT. I was one of the instructors at the Calamigos workshops back in the day and have 22 years experience in the rig. Besides general operating tips and stretching exercises, I'll cover such important concepts as "How to say 'Ya know this isn't really a steadicam shot' Without Sounding Like Your Just Lazy", "How to Sleep On Set So No One Notices", and more!!

So check it out, email me if interested, come and take a look, and buy a great sled.

Thanks

Dave

Too kind Charles. PayPal is down. Check ok? Or perhaps my collection of pornographic toothpicks?

It's actually smoother than I anticipated.

Damn it! I'm a week away from a new rig, only to find out I'll still be a terrible person.

btw, which way off the porch go the kids? In or out?

Lucky to know you,

Gerard

Kids are headed out off the porch Gerard. And sadly, with gear being this good, I don't think it's going to save any of us. But enough about that, back to watching shots I did 15 years back and convincing myself I could still pull them off. Ha.

Pleasure was all mine. Maybe if you spent a bit more time saving for a better monitor and not hanging with the strippers....,

Actually one of the things I loved to see is that Ron uses his monitor as an sd monitor so he can use his XCS level and shrinks the size as he, like I, feel that bigger images aren't necessarily better. Love that you have an HD monitor and don't even look at the HD!!

Onwards to the downward spiral.

I don't really hang out on this board that much but lately I've been considering actually upgrading to an HD monitor (ya know....for kids) and I've been trolling through all sorts of posts, old and new looking for information. And may I say, it's hard to recognize some of the writing on here as coming from Steadicam Ops.

I know that things have changed a lot, but when I started some 20 plus years ago, being a Steadicam Op meant more than being able to balance a rig and execute shots - it meant you carried yourself with a certain air of dignity (at least that's what the amazing Bob Crone taught me) and that we were all in this together. Ops stuck together and we didn't publicly flame eachother or call eachother out. Granted this was pre internet and even pre cell phone, but we realized that publicly badmouthing one of us, or publicly acting like a jerk in the way that we dealt with eachother and others, made us all look bad. Maybe I was alone in this but I suspect I wasn't.

We didn't all love eachother and in fact, one on one, I can guarantee you there was some of the same sniping that goes on here, but it wasn't in public and it wasn't as cruel as many of the comments I've seen here are. And at the end of the day, if an op was on set and was down, a call went out, and ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE, who could help came to their aid. Because we were all in it together and we realized that if one of us looked bad, we all did.

What happened to that?

I'm sure others will say that I am being overly nostalgic, and perhaps I am, but there was never the amount of vitriol out there that I see on this forum sometimes. And it's vitriol over relatively stupid stuff. So what if Op X likes a rig other than yours and Op Y thinks he has more nits than you have? Who cares? Does their opinion diminish you as an op? Chill out. Do good work, be professional, help others and expect nothing in return than the knowledge that you are a pro. Period.

Sad.

I think we can be better than this.

And on the subject of Nits, I had the great fortune to do C cam on Person of Interest with Ron Baldwin the other day. So great to hang out with another quality op, chew the fat, and catch up. And as an added bonus, Aiken Weiss showed up to see the Director so there were three of us for a bit. Quite nice.......but I digress....ah yes, Nits.

Ron flies the Nebtek HD monitor (I'm sorry for calling you out Ron and showing people what a terrible op you must be because of the monitor you use) and I hadn't seen it. Moreso, I'm always confused by this whole "HD is unusable in daylight" issue. Unusable? Anyway, we took his monitor outside and viewed it in full daylight and under a silk as well (we tried cloud dancing but nothing changed). As with almost every other HD monitor I've tested, you could see it in pretty much every angle accept where the sun was directly reflecting and then I was able to just adjust the angle. Sure the colors were muted, and it wasn't pristine, but you could frame the shot. So I'm confused by what "unusable" means.

As I started this stream of consciousness I pointed out that I've been in the rig for over twenty years. In fact I started out with Model 1 serial number 23. For those of you who don't know what that was, it had a 2 inch monitor that generally turned on, lo mode meant a 20 minute retool and even then you had to bend over like a pretzel to see the monitor, and the post was about 3/4 inch wide if that. And you know what? I did some pretty good work with that rig (when it turned on) and once, on a music video, some pretty good work with it when it didnt turn on by watching a 13" wood paneled CRT TV we were transmitting to that the grips ran next to me with.

So ease off on all the angst about the gear if you would. Sure you want the best gear you can get for your money, gear that's right for what you are doing with your career, but gear is not going to make you a great operator and railing on someone else's gear isn't going to either. Practice, execution, comportment, and being a professional are what are going to make you great. Stick with that and you'll make us all proud.

To paraphrase Bob all those years ago "The irony of what we do is that if we do it well, no one will ever know we were there." He stressed that this had to do as much with attitude as it did with operating. And I think he was right.

Thanks for reading, now off to ice my back and kick the kids off the front porch.

Dave

(And again Ron, I'm really sorry for outing you with the whole Nebtek thing. I think you've got a good future ahead of you and should you get a good monitor with more Nits some day, I think you have a chance.)

Charles and I go way back and I can honestly say he's being overly kind in his description of the work he does. I speak to him every once in a while, invariably just before or just after one of these epic jobs and it's hard to even comprehend the number of setups he talks about executing in what amounts to the time a TV director would take to realize he's blocked the scene incorrectly from the get go. And not only is it volume, but as has been so aptly pointed out, it's quality work. He was a great steadicam op and I'm proud to say an even greater DP who seems to continuously bat it out of the park time and again.

Couldn't be prouder to see one of our own and a good friend do so well.

Mazel Tov from the whole mishpacha.

As an aside, there was a big part of me that wanted to take it and when i couldn't keep anyone in frame just respond that poor framing was all they were paying me for so it was all I felt I should be delivering.

But that would be wrong.

I was also called for this by the DP who shared the rate with me and told me that production had no intention of budging. I believe it was $40 an hour and $1400/week for gear but I may be off by a dollar or two. I don't mind sharing that info because when I heard it I explained that there was no way that I could even discuss this because it was an insulting offer and I could not work for anything near that. The DP said he understood but sadly, I don't think he did because he obviously continued on to find someone.

While I hold production responsible for this at the end of the day, i also have to question a DP who doesn't tell production that it's insulting for him to offer ops this rate and that if that's what they can afford they will have to find someone themselves. Either way, whoever took this must have felt they needed to for some reason or another. I just hope that the third time one of their A listers stands from a chair and the op misses the mark that they all pat themselves on the back at what a great deal they are getting.

The race to the bottom continues. It is happening with increasing speed, but in spite of me, not because of me.

Wondering who is loving their "best thing I've ever bought" monitor yokes and if so who makes them.

Thanks

Sorry, already sold over FB. If it falls thorugh I'll let you know.,

Barely used. Great product, I guess I'm just old school and not up for learning new methods of docking. Slight wear and tear from about a month or so of use (which means it's practically new). Docking rings are 1.5" for the older PRO center post. New this would go for over $1000 so it's a deal. Shipping in the US included.

Email with questions

proteusmd@mac.com

Sold

The pics tell most of the story. Each comes with a 15mm sleeve so they work for 15mm or 19mm. Get em fast, they don't make them like this anymore. $45 a piece or $90 for both plus shipping from CT. What a bargain! If you act now, I'll clean them before I ship them out. Don't delay, call today.

proteusmd@mac.com

Sold

Sold

Sold

These go for $100 a piece new so save some bucks. Arms only as you see in the picture.

proteusmd@mac.com

Great head in good condition. Just went through Panavision Hollywood where they said the only thing needed was a general cleaning. As that involved removing all of the velcro (which i've always seen as a plus) I opted not to have it done. Comes with everything you see here. Email with questions, offers, advice, recipes....

Cash, check, and even paypal if you are ok with paying the fee. Buyer splits shipping cost from CT to wherever you want.

proteusmd@mac.om

Up for sale is my used (I prefer the word vintage) MDR-1 Microwave Unit that has been serving me solidly for more than 10 years. Is it an older unit? Sure is, but it has never failed me and I have no reason to believe it's going to start doing so anytime soon. As a backup or for someone getting started who needs to save some dough but wants a great reliable system, this is for you.

Here's what you get.

1 MDR-1 Microwave Hand Unit (S/N 2216) with top mounted transmitter (S/N 49274) w/antenna

1 MDR-1 Microwave Receiver (S/N 1378) w/antenna (note in the pictures that the little plastic cover for the channel selector was lost a ways back but I have brand new tape on it - the good stuff, no cheap imitations!!!)

1 Preston Battery Fast Charger w/power cable

2 Preston Batteries (both hold decent charge and I believe one is only a year old)

1 wired iris control (no serial number) with 8 ft cable

6 focus rings

1 replacement iris knob for the hand unit

3 long grey receiver antennas (oddly bent from being in high heat I'm guessing but they make a great conversation starter)

1 spare battery click on plate for repairing battery if it is dropped and the ears break off

1 spare stubby transmitter antenna (slight crack but works fine)

1 bag of resistors(?) that came with the unit when I bought it. Don't even know what they are for really but I'm guessing they are replacements for something if you drop the unit in the toilet. Never did so don't really know.

On top of all of this you will receive some cardboard shipping boxes, some packing material, and if you act quickly, an autographed copy of the book FOUND by Davy Rothbart! (Autographed by me that is).

And you can have all of this, today, for the low low price of $4595 US. Cash and checks accepted. Paypal is fine if you want to cover the costs, and I'm happy to work out a 12 month payment plan if that helps as well.

So there ya have it, Check out the pictures, ask questions, let me know and you too can be the proud owner of a piece of equipment that George Clooney, yes George Clooney my friends, once rubbed across his very own bottom (again, a great conversation starter but not anything that adds to the value and it's been cleaned since then).

Email if interested at proteusmd@mac.com

I'm thinking of committing to becoming a big boy steadicam operator and getting the new Klassen Vest. Wondering first of all who has used the new Carbon Fiber version and what your thoughts are. Also, for those who have made the switch, was there a learning curve and if so was it steep? How many of you had problems with door jambs etc before you got used to the new width of the vest?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Need to replace my old school standard issue PRO docking bracket. No transformer type pull out swing down extra hooks type needed, just looking to relieve you of that old one you haven't looked at in ten years. Anyone want to get rid of one?