William Demeritt

Definitely feel ya, Janice. I think we've all been in the bind where it's an "easy shoot", "nothing too crazy", "small crew, real simple". I'm in my 2nd year of operating, and it seems most of my shoots are what you describe.

I guess it comes down to finding the line between giving your best work and realizing you're being abused, and that comes with an understanding DP. Everyone else just thinks the rig weighs a few feathers. Some people will realize how hard you're working, and others will wonder why you need to rest so often. A few takes becomes a dozen takes, and all you need is a "few minutes rest" before trying again.

If they pull it all off in a single day, then their decision to go ahead without sufficient budget was "justified", although that Steadicam op probably won't take a job with them for anything less than a full rate (and the gamble is that they'll someday actually get a budget to pay you... but they remember how cheap you were, and they'll probably skimp you next time around even with a bigger budget).

If they don't pull off the day, it was a comedy of errors and you were probably the largest personnel expenditure on set, making you expendable if there's a reshoot. They don't know the difference between you busting your butt, giving a good day, or dragging your feet. If you try to avoid the abuse, you're a prima donna. If you can only do "so much", you're not the miracle worker they were expecting.

In my experience thus far, most of these guys don't know how to spend the money right the first time, meaning the best middle between qualified crew and least amount of "waste". Or, the producers have an arrangement where whatever's left of the budget is their fee, so they're a motivated cheapskate.

Jim, so if I supply you with a name and show up at your house with a pickle at say 5pm this evening I can expect the job to be done?

 

~Jess

Well not now that you've gone and blabbed about it on the internet! Sheesh. Amateurs.....

 

Jim "and I really wanted that pickle" Bartell

Time for some undercutting... Jess, I'll kill anyone you like and for only a small cup full of pickle slices. Or some jalapeno poppers.

So, does this mean we can expect a 1400nit Tiffen UltraBritePickle soon? Half the power consumption is good, and when the shoot is over, just eat the monitor.

I don't work for Indie Rentals, but a few friends do work as service and repair techs. They gave me the heads up that they're selling off some used gear, and thought I'd just share the info.

http://www.indierentals.com/?page=story&id=1350064

A quick list of the items on their site:

PRICE ITEM

850 Red Handheld Kit - handlebar, 2 grips, univ mount, shoulder dovetail baseplate

6500 P+S Technik mini35�s with whatever camera connecting kit is desired

5500 Canon XL-H1 (plus custom case, 3 batts, charger)

1200 Double-Sided Cinetech Follow Focus w/ 15mm mini-rod connection

800 Single-Sided Cinetech Follow Focus w/ 15mm mini-rod connection

950 Cinetech 4x4 Swing Away Matte Box

750 Firestore FS-100 (for HVX/Panasonic)

750 Firestore� FS-C (for Canon)

500 Sony 4:3 8� CRT

950 Fostex FR-2 Digital Recorder

250 Varizoom 5� lcd w/ Battery

11000 Canon 150-600mm Zoom

350 Century Optics Super Fisheye adapter for Panasonic DVX

350 Century Optics Ultra Fisheye adapter for Panasonic DVX

350 Century Optics 1.6x Teleconverter for Panasonic DVX

350 Century Optics .7x Wide Angle converter for Panasonic DVX

950 Century Optics 2x Teleconverter for Panasonic HVX

450 Century Optics .6x Wide Angle Adapter for Panasonic HVX

650 Century Optics .75x Wide Angle Adapter for Panasonic HVX

1250 Panasonic DVX-100A with Case, 3 Batts, Chgr

850 Redrock Micro Cinema Lens Adapter w/ PL Mount

850 Redrock Micro Cinema Lens Adapter w/ Nikon Mount

2000 Sirio 4k HMI Fresnel Kit with Ballast

1500 2.5k HMI Fresnel Kit with Ballast

3500 Cinemills 12k HMI Fresnel Silver Bullet w/ Ballast

2900 JVC GY-HD100U Camera w/ Lens, Mic, Chgr, Batts, Custom Case

3250 JVC GY-HD110 Camera Bundle w/ Lens, Mic, Chgr, Batts, Custom Case

5500 PD-1 Dolly

45000 Arri/Zeiss Variable Prime VP-1, VP-2, VP-3

70000 Ultra Prime Set - 16, 24, 32, 50, 85, 135

1950 Canon XL-2 w/ 20x -or- 3x Lens w/ Chgr, 3 Batts, Lens, Mic, Custom Case

350 Panasonic 8gb P2 Card

120 Panasonic 4gb P2 Card

350 Optex 72mm Anamorphic Adapter

250 Cobra Crane II+

5000 Microdolly Jib w/ Extension, Tripod, Accessory Kit

2500 Microdolly PowerHead Remote Pan/Tilt (non-electronic)

2000 Hollywood Lite (Now Varizoom) Steady System (2-12lb cameras)

500 Tascam DA-P1 DAT Recorder (1 unit w/ Accessory Kit)

350 Ewa-Marine Splash Bag for JVC-HD100/110/200/250 Cameras

4500 Steadicam SK-2 System

750 Desisti 5k Tungsten Head

250 Portabrace Rain Slick for JVC Cameras

2500 Optex PL Mount Periscope/Boriscope System w/ Lenses

I think the iPhone is such a valuable tool for all of us. The sheer number of apps on there that are relevant to our industry is fantastic. I love the navigation tools and the various ways of localising you to your surroundings. And email and internet on the go is a must-have these days.

 

I'd hate to be without it now!

You should take a look at this app, I use it very frequently and I think Apple should just include it with the iPhone:

Happy Hour Finder

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore...327691&mt=8

Hey Erwin, wanna throw some low budg... DRAT!

Really digging all the information in this post, thank you all for sharing the tips. Over a year since I relocated to LA, building DP's and clients doing G&E work. I finally cut a Steadicam demo reel, loaded it onto the iPhone and waited. Now, I've got a free moment on set, I show off my reel to the DP's that know me from my G&E work. They see my reel, and say: "Oh wow, I didn't know!"

So, my lesson learned: you've got a client list, a list of DP's, people who can hire you... they're the first and best group to approach with your service. Don't be shy!!!

I'm going to go book next week with dentist appointments, doctors visits, UPS deliveries and ask a few ladies to dinner. Bring on the work!

Hi people,

can I have a feed back on my guess? Is it a good one or not to tighten the vest after loading the rig?

 

many thanks

mq

I prefer to never make vest adjustments while under load. If I strap in and then put on the rig to find that my waist needs adjusting or something similar, I'll typically dock, adjust and mount up again. To me, adjusting the vest while under load seems like it would take as much time as docking, fixing and mounting up again. Just my preference, really.

Chris,

Great writeup! Got another question for you. I've flown the A2 with the G-40 arm, and was impressed with how easily it packed up into the single box. I take it the G-50 arm that comes with the A2 doesn't "come apart" for easy story, does it?

http://thefuntimesguide.com/audio/Bud_Ligh...ts_Designer.mp3

 

Is that a banana in your pocket? Yes! LOL!

FASHION VICTOREEEEEY!

Clicking the link gives me "ACCESS DENIED". Try this site:

http://www.contemporaryinsanity.org/audio-...-of-genius.html

These commercials are pure genius. I think my favorite is "Mr 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer" ("There are 24 hours in the day. You're wearing 80 hour protection. So if the sun fails to go down, you'll be ready!")

Roger,

When you say the vest is "loose on the shoulders", do you mean there's a gap between the tops of your shoulders and the vest? Ideally, once locked into the vest, it should rest right on your shoulders with no room to get fingers in. If the vest is leaning on you, namely leaning towards the arm when geared up, then it sounds like the vest has excess space when locked into you. The vest should be snug everywhere it makes contact with you, but not to the point of extreme discomfort.

If there's excess room at your shoulders, you should be able to lower the "chestplate". While not wearing the vest, loosen the red knob on the "chestplate", and then pull the silver pin to allow the plate to slide down. Push it down a spot or two, and try the vest on, see if that solves the problem. Also, try adjusting the velcro on the pads on the waist and the lats to make them more snug for you.

hi everyone,

 

i have, recently, been designated as the new steadicam guy with my production team. The steadicam we have is over 10 years old. it is the Tiffen Steadicam SK2. We use a JVC550 on it with a 140 Anton-Bauer Battery. As you can imagine, it is no light load, especially for a 5"5 150lb guy. I calibrated it perfectly according to the instructions, but the vest wants to lean on me. How can I fix this? I believe my problem is that the chest is loose on the shoulders. The chest is one big unit as you can see in this pic ( http://files.indierents.com/photos/f/93975...k-II%20copy.jpg ). Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

thanks.

Hi William,

 

it didn't work. Thanks anyway.

 

This is the last time I'm buying a computer w/ Windows.

 

Next time Apple or maybe even the new system that Google is coming out with.

 

 

Microsoft, hate 'em...

The Google OS could be interesting, can't wait to see more information about it. I went Mac back in 2004, and haven't really owned a PC ever since. I even built a hackintosh so I could have the performance of a Mac Pro at a price tag nobody can beat! But yea, just another instance of peculiar security controls in Windows that don't protect anything/anyone!

Appears you're not the only person with this problem.

Follow the instructions here to disable User Account Control, and it appears that'll take care of the issue without any crazy reinstallation or removal and reinstallation.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vis...-windows-vista/

I am very sorry as this may be such an obvious question.

 

On this forum, when I go to a topic with its kind responses; each response is linked as a <Posts in this topic> section below the initial question. I find this immensely irritating as it means I can not just scroll down pages of answers and have to click on each answer in turn.

 

I have for the life of me searched the settings in firefox and the forum settings to try and bring it back to its previous format but can not change it. All I want is to be able to see the question and all its answers immediately beneath rather than having to click each answer in turn and being reminded of the question. I want to be able to scroll through the thread quickly scanning for interesting information.

 

Can any one help me to revert to my old ways.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Thomas

Look for the "Options" box in the top right of the thread you're reading (it's on the far right of the bar identifying the thread subject). Click that box, and at the bottom you'll see 3 options for viewing the threads: "Outline" (which it sounds like you're currently set to, so it's italicized), "Switch to: Standard" and "Switch to: Linear+".

You're likely looking for "Standard" or "Linear+".

found this on youtube....

 

Vidor Steadiway

"[steadicam] comes at the expense of operator fatigue, resulting in short takes, long rest breaks, or sloppy work when muscles begin to fatigue."

I'm curious to know more about these "short takes".

Around 5:10 in the video, they also start recommending the device for use as a muscle cart (help lug back lights and gear!), and apparently up to 3 people can fit on it.

David,

I get the feeling that powering the BFD receiver (or any receiver) has to come directly off a power supply and cannot pass through the camera. I'd be interested in reading other people's experiences, but everything I've seen online hints that most receivers are powered off a battery plate with the P-tap.

In fact, doing a bit of research here (and on REDuser.net), everyone seems to gently recommend you not bother with the accessory power ports on the RED and just P-tap into the battery cradle. I think some conversations have taken place about the max amperage output of the RED One (something like 1.5 amps). I can't seem to find anyone saying that the accessory port WON'T power a BFD receiver (controversy over the actual amperage draw, etc).

Personally, I find it was a fantastic use of your time!!! What filter/mask did you use to do that?????

Created a second layer, created a layer mask, painted the area around you black on the mask (to leave you in but remove the lower layer). On the lower layer, selected everything and used Filters -> Blur -> Motion blur. Increased the motion blur level to like 4 I think, and changed the angle to match your tilt. After that, on the lower layer, I went to Filters -> Render -> Lens Flare, changed setting to movie primes, upped the numbers and placed it behind the Moviecam logo.

Only thing that took me a while was creating the mask.

Anyone else got pictures they want blurrified?

p.s.- Mike: I'm a former Florida 2nd generation native. Born in Miami, grew up in Ft. Lauderdale (Plantation), lived in Orlando for 10 years.

I feel left out. I have lots (gigs and gigs) of pictures of myself but not one that's blurry. How does one go about getting a blurry picture?

Apparently, rather than get some sleep before I'm back on set tomorrow, I thought this would be a better use of my time. Photoshop has some nifty filters and effects you can apply, if you know how to create layer masks.

Even added some bling.

My name is Will, and I'm a relapsing computer nerd.

I've been without a desktop computer for over a year, and I was antsy. I've had a desktop computer since I was 14 years old, and made the transition to Macs when I was 24. Sold my G5 when moving from NY to LA, and living off a Macbook was OK... but I needed some power. A desktop I could upgrade, overclock, get nerdy with!

Looking at the Apple inventory, you have these options for desktops:

• Mac Mini (starts $599): you CAN upgrade the memory and hard drive, but you need a putty knife and a reckless abandon for the warranty. Video is onboard, no upgrade.
  
• iMac (starts $1199): memory upgrades easily, hard drive not to easily. Video can't upgrade, it's onboard.
  
• Mac Pro (starts at $2499): typical desktop, side opens to reveal expansion slots, hard drive bays, PCIe video card ports, etc. However... $2499 for the BASE model.
  

So, I took matters into my own hands. Ever since Apple made the switch from IBM PowerPC processors to Intel processors, a community of people started the OSx86 project. Basically, they've created simple ways to install Mac OS X on any number of PC's. They even keep a repository of motherboards that work, don't work, partially work, etc. I did some research, priced out everything I needed (and borrowed some spare parts I had laying around the house), and built my "Hackintosh".

Specs are as follows:

• Motherboard: Asus P5N7A-VM (micro ATX board, onboard NVidia graphics with PCIe ports for later expansion, onboard HDMI, DVI, VGA, LAN, rear eSATA port, bells, whistles galore. Supports quad-core CPU's if/when I want to upgrade.
  
• CPU: Intel Dual Core Pentium E6300 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache.
  
• RAM: 4GB DDR2 800
  
• Video: currently using onboard graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9300 chip.
  

Already had two monitors, a few spare hard drives and a new one (for cutting demo reel footage). Keyboard is the Apple keyboard, Logitech VX Revolution mouse.

I won't say I didn't hit a few bumps in the road. I've fixed most/all the kernel panics. System doesn't sleep properly, or even shut down properly. However, Final Cut Studio runs like a champ, including rendering and exporting. Pulling dailies from R3D files cranks right through.

I'd place my system's performance somewhere between the capabilities of an iMac and the scalability of a Mac Pro. My total cost for just the system (spare parts notwithstanding)? $435

I didn't necessarily want to take matters into my own hands, I just didn't want to spend over $600 for a desktop with NO upgrade capabilities, or $1200 for modest upgrade capabilities, and certainly not $2500 for a computer! For another $100, I can expand this machine to 8GB of RAM, or add another terabyte of HD space for $90. I love Apple computers, but I hate not being able to grow with need or demand. 3-4 years ago, I was importing P2 cards into FCP. Now, I'm importing ProRes files shot on RED.

So, open up to discussion. Anyone else running a hackintosh, or toying with building one?

You're right, the market is pretty flooded, and if you look hard enough you can get a RED rental pretty cheap, although I have never seen anything THAT low, believe me before I was an owner myself I would have loved to save some money.

 

I was hoping this post wouldn't change into a discussion about the RED and it's impact on the industry.

It's the natural tendency things around here, they quickly turn into a discussion. However, the discussion isn't necessarily a bad thing. For one, the thread gets more traffic which means you get more exposure. Second, discussion (no matter how heated or cynical) sometimes gets results. See XiaoSu Han's recent post: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?sh...=10148&st=0

How come no one with a Red cam has any money?

Serious question.

I've had six calls in the last two weeks for Red cam work... The grand total for all those jobs combined equals less than a grand... Probably comes out to around 2 bucks an hour...

I mean, 3 or so years ago, Red was telling everyone that if you bought their camera, you're immediately a Hollywood cinematographer. It brought high end film making to the masses, if you will. What, exactly, is this company pushing? An impossible ideal?

No offense intended here bro, there's just so many of you out there.

I suppose it's like being in a band, maybe. Do some gigs, maybe you'll get paid down the road? I don't know...

I've heard stories here in LA in the low budget world where RED owner/operators rent their camera package (body, aks and primes) with themselves as 1st AC AND DIT for $300/day, $400/day, etc.

Why do the RED productions rarely seem to have money? Well, if it wasn't shooting on the RED, I think those productions would be shooting on whatever else was cheap and available. HVX200, Sony EX1/EX3, perhaps even Sony V1U or the Canon XH-A1? The phenomenon is that those cameras are a fraction of the cost of the RED (which itself is a fraction of the cost of a Varicam, Cinealta F900, etc).

The market is flooded, indie productions love playing with the new toys, and they manage to get some cheap crew for the opportunity to play with the RED. The company is selling (my opinion) a great product that's coming together nicely. The people buying seem to think their purchase would pay off within an easy 100 days and start generating revenue. 2 years later, history seems to have proven otherwise.

Not a great headline for our industry but as you read through the article it sounds like they were not comfortable with the script more than anything.

 

CNBC Story Link

I recall reading an earlier version of this story elsewhere, and you're right. From what I recall, the exec they mention, Amy Pascal, who was "known for taking a strong hand in the development of scripts" championed the script to Sony. From there, it probably became her reputation in the company on the line. Then, a week before production was to begin, a script was submitted by Soderbergh that was different enough from what she was previously involved in that they pulled the plug on the project.

I guess it becomes conjecture if this is a sign of economic times? I mean, don't projects get yanked like this frequently when the director decides last minute to change the script? The article says Sony already spent an est. $10 million on script development. Sounds like a financially prudent decision, recession/depression or not.

Happy Birthday, Erwin!

or, if you're an Aqua Teen Hunger Force fan: "Happy Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary!"

The Player directed by Robert Altman, starring Tim Robbins?

EDIT: beaten by 1 minute!

Here's a few apps I've found really helpful:

- Evernote: The new 3.0 software now supports syncing of Notes through the Notes app, but the downside is you have to sync it manually via the cable. Evernote syncs your notes with the Evernote server through a free account, and you can access the notes from the Evernote app on your PC or Mac. Furthermore, you can create image notes, text notes, voice notes and more. Best of all, the app is free both on desktop and iPhone. For a fee, you can increase the size of your sync space on the Evernote server.

- Eventful: Go to the website and sign up for an account, and it interfaces with your iTunes library to note your "favorite artists". Then, you can view upcoming concerts on the Eventful app, mark some as interested or if you're going. I discover concerts all the time just by opening the app once a week.

- Air Sharing: This $4.99 app allows you to mount your iPhone as a wireless drive over a Wi-Fi network, and upload files directly to the app's storage. Files you can open include most image files, PDF, RTF, numbers, pages, Excel, Word docs, etc. Comes in really handy if you want to take a PDF document somewhere without emailing it to yourself. There's a PRO version just released that allows you to email the files as attachments, zip or unzip files, print, etc.

- Now Playing: Find movie times based off your GPS location, ties in to review percentage via Rotten Tomatoes, and even lets you control your Netflix queue, all for free!

- Pandora Radio: Based on the Pandora project, this app functions just like the desktop version. Tell it a song, an artist, or an album that you like, and it cross references other music similar to your input to create a custom radio station. The app then streams the music you might like, and you can rate it higher or move on to another song. I've discovered a lot of new music this way.

- Wooo! Button: All it does is shout "Wooo!" at you when you press the screen. Amazing what we can do with technology, yes?

So Apple is playing dirty, software implementable from OS 3.0 like the voice activation and video recording won't be enabled on the 3G version, only the 3GS, at least right now, wouldn't be surprised to see that change. Although if your jailbroken its moot.

Not sure if it's any dirtier than releasing a 3G capable GPS enabled cellular phone a year after the first phone is released? Apple's never made any secret of the fact that they often release new products that completely depose their previous product that you may have bought 1 month prior to it's launch. Voice activation throughout is a nice feature, but compared to the 3G, seems like a huge luxury item. Video recording... well, like you said, those of us who've jailbroken have enjoyed Cycorder for months now.

We'll see if pressure does anything for enabling the video camera and video editing app on the iPhone 3G in future 3.0 updates. However, in my opinion, the 3G-S update is a lot of sizzle, very little steak. A tweak here, a bump there, but I personally don't consider any of the 3G-S exclusive upgrades to be dealbreakers.