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Brant S. Fagan SOC

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Everything posted by Brant S. Fagan SOC

  1. Yes, it can be different as some gimbals utilize a clamping system that can be over tightened and thus egg the post into an out-of-round condition which would make a balance difference depending on where on the post you place the gimbal. Most likely happens with aluminum posts but a carbon post could be deflected over time and hard use.
  2. Hot glue? Really? I use bubble gum in my stuff as it's much more resistant to change and removal.
  3. Ladies and Gents--If you are seeking a method for charging your phone or other mobile device on set without using show or house power, the answer is here! I offer you The Zappler! My own version of an adapter to keep your stuff charged close by and handy. This adapter allows you to plug into any XLR4 12 volt source and provide a female power socket to accept your car or 12 volt charger. Just connect your USB cable and Voila! You can charge all day and night using the dolly battery or any battery with an adapter to XLR4. We always have thousands of dollars worth of batteries surrounding us so why not use one to keep in touch no matter the hours or location demands. Why not keep your phone charged right there on set, on a cart, or connected to your rig instead of buried back on a camera truck. Hand made using the best components here in New Hampshire. Proven design used for the past ten years all over the country on all types of jobs. Cost is normally US$50 but to my fellow Steadicam community members it is US$45. plus shipping. PayPal is OK with the fee added. For international shipping, please contact me for details. brant <at> brantsfagan.com
  4. Boland BVB07. Best viewing, lowest cost, best customer service, period. No regrets and looking to order another!
  5. Jay--If your possible sale stated above fails, please let me know as I am interested. Thanks!
  6. I just cross out the 'offending' words, clauses, and/or sentences, initial it, and then sign. This is, of course, working under the 'assumption' that Production has issued me/you a COI.
  7. The BVB07 works fantastic at night. Remember to take it out of the High Brightness mode when working at night so you don't contaminate the set with the glow!
  8. Another pillar from the old days gone! Great man and true friend--he'll be missed for sure!
  9. Nicely done, lads! I would be interested as well for a 1.5" bore unit. Thanks!
  10. So I was doing this feature in Ethiopia back in the late 1990s. Short notice to fly, less time to get medical prep completed, and no real prep, just cram the gear into the cases and head to the airport. First day there, I agree to shoot a long walk through a farm field, crops, and then here come the animals headed to their paddock for the night (chow time), and I end up nose to nose with an eighteen hundred pound Brahma bull, at magic hour, wearing a Moviecam Compact, prime lens, 400' mag, clip-on, 2 filters, etc., and finally the director calls cut. The producer starts screaming for a reposition to complete the scene but I refuse, telling them that 'the animal moves first, not me!" We go around and around but I don't move a muscle. The farm hands saw what was happening and came to my position and took the alpha bull away from me and we safely went on to make the scene in amazing light, much to Terry Mallick's delight! At the bar that evening, the brain trust asked me how I knew not to challenge the bull. Being a New Yorker by birth, they assumed that meant I had never crossed the Hudson or been upstate. Little did they know my family actually had a farm upstate where I learned many things. Now they had learned something, too. No means many things. Safety first. There are no do-overs in real life. Set life is real life, just with a manufactured reality layer over the top.
  11. Remember how long folks "trying out" our gear last? Not likely that producers and similarly minded folks will take over camera operations. Sure, we are known for the "pan, tilt, invoice" line but let's just recall how this job is actually accomplished--by caring, creative, and talented individuals who actually make it happen. Not by folks who just check off items on a list. That being said, I'm very interested in playing with the gear when it does surface.
  12. This is a Jerry Hill Steadicam Products Arriflex 35-3 low mode bracket.
  13. Brooks--great listing of tricks and tips! Been doing and carrying the same types of gear for years and never think twice about what I might need or want. Better to have and not need than to wish for it or worse, suffer for the unpreparedness. Don't depend on others for your personal safety. You really have to be your own advocate when it comes to going home safe. If you don't make it home to cash the check, what was the point of the outing? Besides, who else can better tell the 'story' than you?
  14. Love my Boland BVB07! Great imaging with no daylight issues! Assistants love it and directors even have praised it's performance. No hesitation about using it or recommending it! Don't wait, it's the best value for the money and their support is the best!
  15. I use aluminum window screening both for walking paths but also for a stand base area. For the stand patch, I use small 'handles' made of sash cord to allow the corners to be easily located for repositioning ourselves. Works like a charm!
  16. That's actually a Model 3 gimbal. You can tell by the shape of the handle as it was milled to form the shape for the arm post socket rather than the later 3A unit which had a casting. Smoother, but less structurally strong.
  17. I've finally gotten my hands on one of the BVB07s and even though I have only used it on one exterior job so far, I love it! Alan's points above are good, solid advice that Gary has listened to. It is surprisingly lighter than my other Boland 8.4" daybright unit so I will be machining up some longer rods to support this monitor in a dynamically balanced position for my custom sled. Love the multi function of the knob and the user-assignable buttons. Count me in for one of the speaker-less units when the run is up! Maybe two!! Looking forward to owning and using the heck out of yet another quality Boland monitor!
  18. I fabbed up a set for my Combo stand from 6" Wagner pneumatic casters with two having brakes and one just a plain swivel. Less overall height and weight gain for hauling but still capable over cables, cracks, and other set flotsam. I used the stand "feet" that came with the standard Mathews' wheels and added plates to capture the caster plates. I'll check for some pics later today.
  19. John-- Yes, you have a set (almost) of Antlersv3 which do not telescope. There should be a steel threaded bullet insert inside the crossbar. To attach to a riser tube, there should be a female pipe coupler attached to the crossbar using a grooved cap. When I'm back home I will check out the parts bin to see if we have any components that might complete your set.
  20. Or you guys could call up A/B and have them check it out. One of my Hytron140s threw a fit the other day claiming full charge but folded quickly instead. I sent it to A/B and they tested it, reprogrammed the display, and returned it quickly. Just saying, give them a call.
  21. My first Rig was a bone stock Model 2 serial # 214, I think, which I purchased from Kevin Jones (RIP) out of Detroit back in '91 from a classified ad in American Cinematographer, remember buying gear from printed materials? That sled was cut up more times and evolved into a very slick setup that served me well. My Vest was #235, and back them CP called it 'The Suit,' and the center spar of that vest remains part of my current vest. Proudly, the plastic parts today are the same pieces fashioned and assembled by Peter Abraham over 23 years ago! Still working and fits like skin. My Arm is #214 which originated as a red spring 39 pound arm back in the day. Upgraded by Chuck Jackson (RIP) right away to 63 pound capacity and still traveling with me every trip. It has been there and saved the day when I had two spring failures, one with a loaded up Moviecam Compact shooting 35mm anamorphic in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Think 10 miles from the US/Canadian border!. Once the spring fractured and trashed the cable, a piece of spring flew out of the bones and lodged itself in the frozen ground about 6 inches from Kris Kristofferson's heel. While everyone had a bout of cardiac arrest, I calmly docked the rig, which never hit the ground, and strolled to my truck, pulled out #214 (now a 3A spec) and finished the day. The other failure was an overnight episodic shoot at Princeton University, also in the bitter cold, which caught the attention of Campus Security, who thought a firearm had been discharged! Always glad to know she's in the bag, tucked into the truck, and ready to make it happen. I still carry a DB1 that I purchased from Bob Ulland (RIP) right out of his trunk; he showed up at a Workshop I was teaching at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, and called me over as he opened the trunk casually and asked if I needed some Steadicam parts. A whole bunch of cool stuff was carefully arranged like gems on a jeweler's cloth. I grabbed that DB1 and use it to this day. I also have some Ted Churchill stuff that still earns it's keep and always gets the ACs fired up when they hear where it came from. Those parts were made with care and insight when doing it yourself was part of the art. Think before the Internet, people. Can you imagine how much more of a challenge it was to construct a system without being able to do research and find parts without a laptop computer or even a smart phone? Just think what would have been possible in the early days if only....
  22. I find it interesting that out of the thousands of posts and hundreds of threads, this comment above is censored, merely because I warned someone to make up their own mind before someone else (named above) lashes out because of the OP not choosing his (named above) path in life, career, and/or equipment choices. Truth and honesty are hard for some to accept but when all is said and done, there it remains.
  23. Take one before deciding on a life path like this and before Eric Fletcher has a chance to post on this thread and cut you to pieces for your choices that differ from his own.
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