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hey yall i recently came into a good deal on a magliner (thanks will!) that had made its way over from my hometown (thanks ramon!) and it needed a bit of love. this very well-used magliner had clearly been shipped around and tossed around, so I figured Id put some time into it and try to make it a bit more of my own. I wish Id taken some "before" photos, but youve all seen a magliner, just add about a dozen shipping labels and torn paper labels on each shelf, tons of build-up on the wheels and bearings, a split U-handle with almost a whole roll of packaging tape wrapped around every end to protect the hands (because the cut edges were really nasty and jagged and definitely would have sliced open any exposed skin), rusty screws and washers, and some peeling carpeting. all in, i probably spent maybe 100-150 on materials and help. i had a few meterials (paint, etc) laying around from pervious projects. First, i diassembled the entire thing. the only stuff that stayed intact were races and bearings in the wheels. I wanted to see if a superficial cleaning and greasing of the wheels would be enough, rather than really opening them up. Thankfully superficial was plenty. A bunch of scrubbing and white lithium grease got these wheels spinning like yo-yos. I took the brakes off and put them in a vice and re-bent them so that the wheels wouldnt scrape the brakes and the lever action worked properly. After a few years of pressing on these brakes, they start to slip more and more. Every screw and washer spent about 24 hours in an apple-cider vinegar bath. once or twice during that period of time i pushed the pieces around, flipped em over, and took a hard bristle tooth brush to some of the items and the rust just slipped right off, if its hadnt already been eaten away. in order to clean the metal parts of the disassembled wheels, the u-handle, and some other pieces, i made a paste out of water and sodium bicarbonate. this plus a sponge cleaned a good bit of adhesive and gunk off and sparkled some surfaces right up. baking soda is cheap and safe so it was the first round of cleaning. i started stripping the dried adhesive from the shelf carpeting with a paint scraper, but it was just gunna take more time than I wanted to commit, plus the adhesive stuff on the bottom of the shelves was gunna be a bitch, so I went to a machine shop down the street and asked them to blast both shelves, the U-handle base, as well as the steadicam-stand guides. They did it for $80 in a few hours. The gentleman who blasted it said that the sandblaster wouldnt take off some of the tacky residue, so he ended up scraping it himself. At least I didnt have to. I also had him recut the U-handle (which had the really nasty and dangerous edges) and file down the edges for safety. I repainted pretty much everything with two coats of DupliColor Bed Armor (truck bed liner, like cheaper LineX). On one motorcycle I used the rattle can version of this which worked well, but I decided to roll-on this time. I do not really recommend it, as it wound up sorta clumpy and required some extra work to smooth out. Then I did three coats of matte automobile clear coat with an HVLP spray gun. I used about 80% of a small paint can for this. Both shelves we re-carpeted. I just played around with this. I picked up a few free samples of some other carpet patterns and astroturf and cut squares in the carpet to insert these. I have found that sometimes when building out a camera or whathaveyou that I place tools and screws in random areas, then I scan all over trying to find what I put where. These little squares are meant just as helpful "color coding" and memory-helpers. I used medium coats of Loctite spray adhesive on the carpet and shelf surface and then laid the carpets in. I picked up liquid nails just in case, but I dont want it to be super permanent, in case I decide to do this again in the future. Beware that the rubber surface on the back side of the carpeting peels right off once you stick it to a surface and then lift it up to adjust the position. Now that everything is back together, it drives like a dream.

I received a call for a commercial from a UPM that told me the ASC camerman had requested me. I hadn't worked with him in several years so it was good to hear that I might get another chance. The UPM then started asking me if I had rain/water covers for my gear, and was quite serious in her tone. I asked what the conditions were likely to be so that I could be prepared and supplement the gear I had. She told me that I would be strapped onto the back of a waverunner shooting surfers in action with my steadicam. I politely reminded her that if I was doing the shot while wearing the vest I would drown if I got knocked off by a wave, and hardmounting to a vehicle driving through the surf didn't sound like the right tool for the job and certainly not the safest way to do it. I wished her luck on the job and that was the last I heard of it. Hopefully they found another way of doing it. Please keep this topic active - very interesting what we are asked to do! Brooks

Grant, I think you made a great decision, and Im sure that it took an enormous amount of pressure off of the performers for you to stand up and make it less about them and more about the shot. Great job dude. I do a show which involves a lot of sexual assault and at the beginning of each episode I have a small talk with our female actors and letting them know that safety and respect is important to me. Ive yelled our safety word more than once as a result of a dangerous situation or something going awry. Since I am usually closer to the performers than anyone else, often in their grills, I want them to be communicative with me about any discomfort they have with the shot. NO is the most powerful word in your vocabulary. There is a fair amount written about the value of NO and how is can actually help your career. Every year, my wife and I decide on a "word of the year" that helps to promote a philosophy that wed like to live out in our lives that year. The most memorable to me has been ACTIVATE-stop thinking so hard, make your decision, do it. This very often comes in the form of NO. Dont waffle. Decide. There are two experiences I recall, though I am sure there are more. I am happy, often thrilled, to do some dangerous stuff, as long as safety is considered, but sometimes theres just stupid ideas. Recently I was shooting at a river and there was a lane of large rocks protruding from the water, creating a bit of a dam. I work in the water a lot, but I am usually in it, not atop it. The director wanted a low mode tracking shot on a wide lens across the rocks, looking back towards the beach. Even the grip who would have been spotting me would have been in an extremely difficult situation. I knew I wouldnt do the shot, but to humor him and make my decision seem valid (and hell, why not take a five minute break to walk in the river?!), I walked the path sans rig and came back to the director and just said there is no safe way of achieving the shot, but Id be happy jump in the water and plant the camera on sticks and get the lens at low mode level. We wound up doing that and the director was satisfied. I also had the key grip and DP on my side, so there was no problem. Presenting a suitable alternative helped. Before I accept a job I ask a series of questions, and one of them is "will my feet ever leave the ground?" I accepted a music video gig and show up to find out that they have discussed a shot with a step-off. I asked them about which crane theyd be using they said "no crane, the warehouse has a forklift and some pallets. I was amused and not totally scared away, so I asked if they had the COI for me. They said they couldnt get one in time so I said not to the shot and then the video. If a production cant get it together enough to call in a COI by the time I show up, then its just not worth the risk. I realize that the COI isnt binding in any way, but it reveals a lot to me about how the shoot may go and by that point my expectations were set. Spent the day on my bike cruising up to Port Hueneme, so it was a good day. brett.

Ah ! This is quite dangerous but reminds me of a deeply amusing ( and embarassing ) story. In the summer of 2006 I shot a tour through Ontario of Blues Festivals. I was traveling with The Detroit Women. Amazing group of singers with a killer band behind them. We were in a small town called Porquis Junction, Iroquois Falls, Ontario. TINY town. They hosted this Blues Festival in the ice skating rink every summer. It's just insanely hot and humid. No rope line for a barrier, but before the show started I walked along, getting people to step back to where I'd need them to be. Many were already drunk, none were jerk offs and I figured I'd be just fine. We get set, our band goes on and because the stage was quite tight there, I was limited to being the "human dolly", tracking back and forth during the entire set. We've all done those. Before we even get started, I'm quite sweaty. By the end of the second song I'm just drenched. And yet....and yet... as I do a move from one edge of the stage line on the floor moving to center, with the lead singer in my frame, I come to a stop. And two hands very firmly grab my butt cheeks. I hold my shot and turn and look and see two very inebriated young women laughing. I had no rope line- and had no need for one. It was a very weird moment. I moved away doing a shot. EVERY single time I stopped near center to concentrate on the lead singer, that gal's hands held onto my bum. Sometimes one, usually two. I knew I was drenched and was part irritated, part grossed out and part flattered. They just kept laughing. And doing it. Not once did they reach out for me as I was operating. When the band finished, I walked up to them. Just dripping with sweat. They were both laughing and grinning. I said, so.... what's the deal? One said, " It's her birthday- give her a kiss ! " I wished her a happy birthday, shook her hand and bailed. I hadn't thought of that in years till I read the post quoted above. :D