William Demeritt

Alec: I've previously experienced the issue with a CIT DX400 diversity tuner (even when the antennas have a strong signal, the distortion is present). Currently, the issue is reproduced on my Sony T1041U and a Viore 7" handheld LCD TV. Both of these receivers receive a wireless signal properly when I'm transmitting without a Decimator (tested most recently with an XDCAM with onboard down-converting, an Arri SR3 and Panavision Millenium.

Jess: I have PRO2 telescoping centerpost, and I usually wire up a RED job like so:

- HDSDI1 -> BNC (I've tested numerous shorty cables, all that are good to carry HD images) -> Decimator (1 or 2) HD-SDI input

- SD output from Deci -> BNC -> PRO2 Upper Junction BNC [an image now appears on my monitor]

- Vid/Pwr -> PRO-Modulus cable (I've tested 2, as I own 2) -> Modulus 2000 Power

Whenever I've wired up the cameras that transmit just fine, it usually goes like this:

- Panavision Millenium -> BNC -> BNC Connector on PRO Upper Junction. [image now appears on my monitor]

- Vid/Pwr -> PRO-Modulus cable (I've tested 2, as I own 2) -> Modulus 2000 Power

I haven't tried going from Decimator 2 to Modulus yet, I honestly hadn't thought to try that yet.

I have tried changing channels, the distortion follows on every channel, and definitely seems separate from the usual/occasional interference.

I agree. Honestly, the distortion reminds me of watching old VHS tapes that are low, low quality.

Yes, definitely set to NTSC. Also, just to be sure, the Deci is manually set to 4:3 (although I have tested it with 16:9, still happens).

Alright, I've been dealing with an issue the last few months, and I thought I'd pose it here to see if anyone else can offer an idea.

Whenever I fly a RED One with my Decimator 2 (also occurs on Deci 1), my PRO 2 monitor sees the image just fine, but the video transmitted via Modulus 2000 looks distorted on the client monitor. Anytime I shoot with a camera that's SD output (35mm/16mm video tap, etc), the wireless video image looks good without any sign of this distortion.

I should have taken a photo of the "distortion", keep forgetting to, but simply describing it: roughly 1/5 of the way down from the top of the image, the image "bends" to the right in a sizable bar. Further, the overall image doesn't sit right or square on the monitor.

- I've encountered this issue after having my Modulus 2000 repaired by David Hable, trying a Decimator 2 and Deci 1, flying with multiple RED One camera bodies over the months. Even tried it with a Modulus 3000, same issue.

- Tried powering the RED off my sled (using the 12v ONLY block, so monitor and video accessories were powered off separate battery).

- Decimators were powered off d-tap on the camera's onboard battery, as well as powered off my sled on the camera port.

- Monitors that replicate this issue include: 3 different models of handheld NTSC monitors, various tabletop client monitors, etc.

RED One constitutes a significant number of my jobs, so I'd love to try and track down this issue and solve it once and for all.

Any thoughts?

I may reply with this:

Dear Mr. James Brown,

Thank you for contacting me! I'd like to Get on the Good Foot and say the job sounds pretty Out of Sight. I would love to hear more about the project, as I'm Bewildered by the prospect and working with you, well, That's My Desire.

I Got the Feelin', call it this Cold Sweat, or Call It Stormy Monday, but can you share with me the location of this shoot now? I mean, Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, and Think (About It), For Once In My Life I Got You (I Feel Good) about this opportunity. Work has been slow lately, and I gotta Get Up Offa That Thing. I Don't Mind negotiating terms with you directly, after all, we're both Living in America. It's Magic!

Anyway, Try Me and I'm sure you'll Get On the Good Foot. Of course, email is no way to conduct this, and if I booked all of my jobs over the internet, well, What Kind of Fool Am I?

Speak with you soon!

Best Regards,

Mother Popcorn

Steadicam Owner/Operator

Yea, I've definitely had to bust out the rain gear on a number of occasions. I have a heavy jacket with a hole in the right pocket for passing out my socket block.

I'm more curious to see if anyone bothers practicing for operating in that crappy weather, and if so, how? If the wind is really bad outside, maybe throw on the rig and go outside for some line dances in wind gusts? Put on all the rain gear and have a friend spray a sprinkler into the air? Just curious...

Robert, I hope the guys on your shoot are OK!

Working the last 2 days in the crap weather LA seems to have discovered got me thinking: how do you practice for bad weather? We all do line dances, do practice group sessions, etc. However, how do you practice to make them as close to real shooting conditions when they decide to shoot in the rain, heavy wind, etc?

From what I've read, the copper Thunderbolt cables have an inherent limitation of 3 meters, whereas the optic fiber enabled Thunderbolt cables have a 100 meter max run. I think maybe a use could emerge with more development, but for now, a 3m max length on copper cables would be prohibitive for our uses?

I just found this clip on YouTube and it looks like it could finally give an answer to how flexible or lightweight a BNC cable can be.

While it definitely goes beyond the needs of HD-SDI and could certainly carry the signal from camera out (curious to hear about it's duplex capabilities), I think it has a few factors going against it. Fiber optics and fiber technology, while flexible, doesn't usually appreciate extreme bending, standing on, etc. Anytime someone steps on the cable, they could split the optic line and potentially destroy the cable.

Personally, when it comes to operating with an HD-SDI cable, I have a few of these in my kit, and they haven't let me down yet:

http://www.sjmediasystem.com/mb-mbf-6.html

Extremely thin, female on one end. I'm not fond of the crimping job, but they get the job done.

This is completely unsolicited from Grant:

This is a very good rig, and kept in excellent condition. I used this rig on a few shoots over the last few years, and it worked great for me. If you're looking for a great Flyer, you can't go wrong with this rig.

I haven't known you as an operator, but as a big name in my field. Our conversations have been limited to the pro's and con's of dating strippers and funny Iranian Steadicam audio dubs, so I feel that puts me in a good position to wish you all the best!

Couldn't you get a photo of the lady you were checking out that took your eyes off the road for so long? :lol:

Glad you're of good enough spirits to find humor in it. Helps ease the pain I'm sure! Have yourself one of those whiskey and Cokes on ice!

You can find a modulus 3000 on sale right now in the marketplace for under $2000. Then go shop online for a used Sony T-1041U tuner. Whole deal will cost less than $3k. Standard def transmission, and the Canon DSLR's have standard def video through the "AV output" connection.

Said it before, and I still believe it: the consumer wireless high def transmitters that use HDMI will bring down the costs of wireless high def transmitters in our industry. $10k+ for a Titan HD or Boxx Meridian, meanwhile Asus WiCast or Brite-view consumer kits sell NOW for $200 and give <1ms wireless HD transmission up to 30 feet through walls. Next generation by Amimon and Sibeam will do at least 100 feet through walls and more with clear line of sight.

Next big thing in Steadicam? Ron Baldwin wearing pants on set.

Pretty sure that's just vapor(under)ware.

Do you mean to say that during a whip pan or even just a steady pan, by the time it reaches 180 degrees it's completely off horizon, etc? If so, then your dynamic balance is completely wrong.

Won't tethering via HD analog component cable make for some gnarly operating? 5lbs camera plus chunky tether cable? Could they be convinced to let you run just a single HD-SDI BNC cable? Also, does your monitor have SD monitor take SDI?

If so, maybe this is a potential solution:

http://www.aja.com/products/converters/converters-hd-hd10ava.php

Wherever you rent it from, make sure it comes with the HD10AVA cable. I think that would give your SD monitor an SD signal (so long as it accepts SDI), and tether with HD-SDI. Only additional bit is to find a power cable for your sled.

Thanks so much for helping make this happen, Pedro! I can't attend, as I'm heading out of town that morning, but otherwise I would have LOVED to come by. Hopefully next time!

Hi Gent,

It looks exactly like this one http://thecoolgadgets.com/asus-wicast-ew2000-wireless-1080p-hd-video-broadcast/

Cost is only $199.00

With a few inexpensive mods and a new logo, the price jumps up to $600.00!!!

That's the older technology I was mentioning earlier. The Asus and HP products have a limited range (30 feet or so, with minimal obstructions). These newer WHDI products by companies like LG Innotek will go beyond that range, and still run the same price.

Someone passed this along to me. It looks like at the moment it does hdmi only. They are saying it is about $600-$700. Does this seem to good to be true? Any thoughts?

 

Optitek on cinema 5d

I think two different companies are developing consumer products using WHDI ("wireless high definition"): Sibeam and AMIMON. I know AMIMON just introduced their newest revision in WHDI technology at CES 2011, which features an HDMI "stick" which plugs into any HDMI output and wirelessly streams to an WHDI receiver, 1080p, even handles HDCP so it plays copyright protected blurays.

I don't think it's too good to be true, although having read the tech specs on the newest AMIMON chips, the range seems different from what other companies will soon be offering. Their range is 120 ft clear line, but 50 feet when obstructed by two walls. According to AMIMON, their range is 100 feet even when obstructed (guess longer with clear line). The rumored price for the new generation of these systems is $300. So, Optitek is charging $300 for a 15mm/19mm clamp and a D-tap connection with voltage regulator. How much does velcro cost?

I will say that that price seems a bit high, only when compared to other consumer products on the market. Asus and HP offer wireless HD transmitter/receiver kits for ~$200, and they're a generation old and limited to 30 feet. I get the feeling Optitek will be the first company to use this technology in the film world at such a low cost, but I'm sure others are working on other solutions.

In the mean time, Optitek solves the problem for the HDSLR and RED One market, since anyone else will need a converter for HD-SDI -> HDMI on one end, and HDMI -> HD-SDI on the other end.

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=12756

Just a few months ago, I bought a weight cage from Janice Arthur. Very happy with it!

I just got a the Bartech BDR with an M-One Digital motor. I love how quick the auto calibrate is on a stills camera lens I am trying it on, but it seems to be noisier than I remember an M-One being. I have never set up a bartech system before though so I am wondering if there are any considerations I should take into account that might make it quieter.

 

Any thoughts?

What sort of noise is it you're trying to manage? Is the motor itself "purring" too loudly when you rack focus? Is the motor gear clicking or dragging across the lens gears?

after about an hour my back fatigues and slowly starts to turn into pain

...

On another note. I occasionally get pain in my upper left shoulder. (The same muscle that someone would massage with their thumb when they give you a stereotypical "neck massage")

If it's your lower back muscles that are hurting, I would think it's probably just a fatigue issue. Remember, you may be in a comfortable position, but your body is still probably engaging muscles while holding the rig that you're not immediately aware of... not until the pain comes. I would think the best training to overcome that is to pushing it a little bit further beyond an hour each time... or get someone to take the rig from you for a quick 20 second breather! ;)

As for the other pain, I get this sometimes, but I just figured it came with the territory. If my lower back is keeping my back straight, proper posture, etc., then I figured my shoulders were pressing against the vest in the shoulders to maintain control. Give more leverage for booming up and around, that sort of thing.

Out of curiosity, and sort of related, do you find that low budget productions often try to talk down the rental rate, but then a day later call and ask "by the way, does your kit come with a follow focus?"

Do you all find that whip pans can be cut together?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJcCvKhMuGM

Originally, this video was meant to be edited together to look like one long take, but we'd have to hide multiple edits. When the editor started reviewing the footage, everyone felt they needed to cut it up (mostly due to poor planning and the singer looked a bit bored in some shots). When I showed up the first day, I basically had to help them find the edit points and create the moments/blocking that would allow for the edits.

Around 2:19, you can see how I approach the edit from behind them, but we needed to get in front of them. So, at the tail of the shot, where I knew we'd create an edit, I crashed into the wall. At the head of the shot, it began with me walking backwards while blurring across the wall, and whip panning over to the kids. I felt like the edit worked fairly well.

I think what makes whip pans really cut together well is motion blur, so whatever you can do to help add to the blur the better. Faster whip, snapping the focus, etc gives the editor room to hide it.

Content producers would never allow consumer televisions and Blu-Ray players etc. to transmit/receive unencrypted digital video

That's an interesting idea, and if they started out with that in mind, I gotta wonder how they feel about products like the WDTV, Seagate FreeAgent Theater, and even Sony's SMP-U10: all use HDMI connections to play content to consumer televisions, most play back files like DivX, MP4 and MKV (only Sony's doesn't). Sure, my PS3 can play Blurays and requires an HDCP connection to a television to play back that copyrighted format, but with a 3+ year head start on breaking bluray DRM, anyone can rip the bluray with a Windows machine, save as MKV, drop it on a thumb drive and play it on their WDTV Live.

I just find it funny, but then again, I'm a geek... I still have a text file of the DeCSS algorithm saved somewhere when the Digital Millenium Copyright Act tried to have it blocked.

Depends on how hard you fling it.

Wait, this isn't ShotputForums.com??