Russell McElhatton

Check out these links. I include all of this if you want to do a little research. There is a bit more to a spirit level than just putting the bubble in the center. Since we are a dynamic user we want a level with slower response ( at least I do ). This is shown in charts as sensitivity, it has nothing to do with ultimate accuracy just how critical that bubble is to center. A fast level will be centered or not centered, no half a bubble. A less sensitive level will show you incremental deviations from level but more important to me it will react less to small dynamic movements of the sled. I have ordered from W.A.Moyer but they now have a $50 minimum order Level Developments seems to have the largest selection but they are in England and seem to be Wholesale. Empire offers the flat mounting clips to go with the traditional vials. These or something similar are what George used to have at PRO. I have not ordered from them. I just ordered from Heli Pal, they offer two sizes of the rectangular the link is for the smaller one. They do not show sensitivity but they are cheap and consumer oriented. Worth a try http://www.helipal.com/level-bubble-a-small-block.html www.leveldevelopments.com/products/vials www.wamoyer.com/ www.empirelevel.com/level-vials/acrylic-level-vials/index.php

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Janice has asked me to post here about my recent on set accident. Let me say right off that there are a number of things I cannot talk about because of ongoing investigations. On February 21st of this year I was working on NCIS LA my show for nearly four years. I had spent the morning shooting a chase as a second unit and upon return from lunch the full company would shoot the crash that ended the chase. I was satisfied that I was in a safe position but when the van crashed into a metal storage container as planned, it set the container in motion towards me, this was not the plan. Things happened very fast and the container struck me sending me into another container behind me. What went wrong with the gag will be analyzed endlessly by management, insurance companies and workmans comp. So far to everyone's credit they have not engaged in finger pointing. I have put it behind me as best as I can to focus on being well again. I have no recollection of being struck or of several seconds before and after. My memory of events is understandably jumbled but there were paramedics attending to me rapidly, I was able to answer the requisite questions of name, date, place which the paramedics use to asses brain injury correctly. My pain was off the charts and I was not given any pain meds until I was well on my way to the hospital. This apparently is policy as they must contact the hospital by radio/cell phone before they can administer narcotics.The ambulance ride was perhaps the most excruciating part of the entire experience. Once medicated I have no real sense of the order of events or any detail of what was happening to me. Fortunately my wife was working on a set nearby and was at the hospital shortly after I arrived to approve my treatment. I was taken to an excellent Trauma center and tended to by a fine surgeon and staff that certainly set me up for recovery, perhaps saved my life. The damage- 15 broken ribs 1 broken collarbone 1 broken scapula cracked pelvis lacerated liver punctured lung Two surgeries, Twenty six days in the hospital, little sleep, incredible pain. The other damage- Totaled PRO sled Badly damaged PRO arm Totaled Alexa Badly damaged Optimo While in the hospital my care was excellent and nearly seamless. If a doctor ordered it I got it. Upon leaving the Hospital however the Catch 22 aspect of the workmens comp system became clear. It has proved very difficult to coordinate the various aspects of my care because of the nature of the approval process. They operate on a very different time frame then we do. I am two months on and working very hard to make a recovery. Lots of two steps forward and one step back. Sleep is returning to normal but I still cannot sleep in a conventional bed, pain is subsiding as well as the need for constant painkillers. My hospital stay demonstrated how my families involvement ( I did not spend a night alone ) as well as an outpouring from coworkers, old friends and the Motion Picture/Steadicam community have helped me maintain a positive attitude. This accident has been better than social networking for connecting with old friends though I do not recommend it. I have lost over 30 lbs but I don't recommend it for that either. Russ

Donnie, Your dimensions are remarkably similar to mine and I fly the Sacthler Act2 Vest. I can get into my backup 3A vest but not much room to spare although you can always lengthen strapping. That will not necessarily make for proper fit however. I bought the Sacthler because of the huge range of adjustability as I will pass it on to my daughter(thanks for the workshop Janice!) when I no longer fly cameras. Also the most comfortable vest I have worn. The problem with that as a solution is that it takes you out of your Zephyr package. I don't know if Tiffen sells the rig without the vest. You could go with a Sacthler rig (I like them very much) but as described here many times service is most important with our gear and I would not like to get into dealing with overseas service. Not sure you could get one delivered in your time frame either. PRO makes their vests to your measurements, but the price of the PRO vest is nearly as much as a Zephyr package! I have just been in conversation with a fellow named Dan over at Tiffen Burbank (800-593-3331) on a different subject. Try extension #7912. he is very helpful and knowledgeable. I think he could answer any Zephyr questions you have. Russ

The first question I would ask your producer is hard mounted to what? Second question would be what sort of vehicle? The most effective mount I have used for this sort of thing is a pee wee dolly. I have used this in both pickup trucks and mini vans. Pick ups are pretty limited, and the need be at the back to overhang puts the mount point over the back wheels, not the best place for a smooth ride. A minivan however has worked quite well on several occasions. I have not kept track of specific models, but sliding doors on both sides and removable seats which leave hardware to attach to are the important points. Fords have good hardware, there are some Dodge models that fold the seats into the floor leaving a large flat surface but nowhere to strap the dolly to. The dolly goes in ratchet strapped to the floor and I use a small offset on the leveling head to allow moving the garfield around to the best point for a specific shot. The dolly must be swapped to shoot out the back, bars back for the sides and bars forward to shoot out the hatchback. I shorten the rig to allow for more travel in the confined space (Cinema Products offered a "Car Kit" for model one Steadicams that made a comopact rig) and use gyros to lessen the effects of acceleration/deceleration and transmission shifts. The big bonus is that the enclosed space is an effective wind block without much additional work. I have added an 18" strip of foamcore wedged in the driver door or front passenger door as additional windbreak. I have not felt the need to add safety rigging for myself but have not done this as high speed or stunt work, I likely would tie off for that. I suppose this has worked for me up to about 30 mph. All that said remember your driver is the de facto dolly grip/insert car driver and will control much of your success or failure with this, a choice as important as any equipment.

I have to praise John Ritter as well. John has done several Dionics and Hytrons for me. After using a local receller in L.A. and having failures on some of those local recells, John sent me pictures of what went wrong with the internal electronics. There is quite a bit that can go wrong inside there. I have used Batteries Plus to recell Preston batteries as well as PRO chocolate bars. Those are simply cell packs however, without the somewhat complex electronics of the A/B batteries. I can also second the speed of Johns' turnaround time.

There is a P/PSF setting for the monitor out in the Alexa menus. On my Decimator it is only a nuisance if it is set to PSF ( minor image pulsing) but using an AJA when we first ran the Alexa on my PRO/TB6 combo we had rhythmic cutting in and out to black screen similar to what you described. The monitor out must be set to P in the menu. Sorry I cannot be more specific about how to accomplish this as I do not make the change, Kieth does. If you do not change back when going to studio the assistant monitor will not work. As far as static type interference I experience that occasionaly but not to the extent that it interferes with operating (I cannot seem to establish a quid pro quo for this). Power for the Decimator/AJA comes from D tap and not from the sled. I no longer use my SD xmitter as we fly the Boxx but that was powered from PRO vid/power with no interference problems. It seems that since we no longer have a video tap but all is video the power source should not matter, we really should not need a separate battery for monitor/video tap/xmitter anymore at all. If you cannot find the P/PSF setting PM me and I will call my assistant for the procedure.

BJ? Anyone?

I would like to find a PRO Lite battery module. Scarce I know but maybe???

I did buy the Act2 vest and have used it for about three weeks now. I am quite happy with it and my first impressions were largely correct. This vest is so customizable that I feel as if I should be trying to fit it different ways! I have not had a chance to try different configurations, but there was only half a days worth of moving things around to get to what feels right. The fit in my chest was an easy fix, but I found that going back to a bit of room there is more comfortable. I also found that when I was really fit tight in the chest I seemed to impart unwanted movement to the rig. I did not really do a comparison with my old Greg Smith vest as I bought this during hiatus and thus had not flown a rig for three months. Have not been inclined to go back however. The function of mechanical adjustment is first rate and the ability to move pads seemingly anywhere you want is excellent. The padding is rather thick compared to past vests but quite firm and stable. I do not find any unwanted movement of the vest because of the thickness of the pads. I normally cinch my vest quite tight and the overcenter buckles are a very comfy addition, I have found myself forgetting to tighten them before shots with no ill effects. One big caveat is that the spar which carries the socket block is quite a bit shorter than either of my old vests. This means that the arm does not wrap around me as much and tends to fold nearly in front of me as I bring the sled in tight to my body . This results in limiting the space I have to pan left (goofy) without hitting the monitor on the arm. When I tried the vest I used Sachtlers arm (nice piece) and it mated better with this vest than my PRO arm in that regard. This is an easy solve with an extension plate to move the socket block about four inches around my waist. Don't know if a longer spar is offered by Satchler but I will inquire. To have a sexy piece made to match the build quality (very high) of this vest would likely be pricey. The only other annoyance is that no solution has been designed in to tidy up loose strap ends that flap in the breeze. A few loops of wide elastic will solve this. Wardrobe is working on this. I have no second thoughts about this vest and would recommend it highly to most anyone.

I use a Matthews "turtle" stand with an old DeRose dock on top. The stand is a normal C Stand that allows the post to be removed from the legs. We put a crutch tip on the bottom for non skid and it is two riser adjustable. When you are up four or five steps and the lads can adjust to your normal docking height in an instant it is sweet. Can go lower as well. If you have an old dock in your kit it is about the same cost as the "Moses Pole" but way stronger and more versatile.

there is a down converter in the receiver so you can use sd as well as hd monitors. If you are asking abut the meridian price, it is almost $15k: http://www.suomilammi.fi/pdf2/Boxxhinnasto.pdf Ron, There was nothing cheeky in that last post.....You feeling O.K.?

I went to Cinegear specifically try on this vest. I found it very comfortable and very customizable. I have a barrel chest and have always had trouble with bowing out between the shoulder straps and my chest when extending the arm way forward. No amount of tension on the back straps have remedied this. The adjustments on the ACT2 address this better for me than any other vest. I have always used front mount and find no motivation to change so I will be purchasing one of these. Reviews to follow. Anyone want my spare 3A vest?

Micheal at Transylvania Film and Video can repair/service any kind of head. Burbank on Victory Blvd.

Jim Speechless???? Upon Witnessing......Oh I understand! Anyone seen Shaft? The original...yes there was a remake! Anyone seen NCIS-LA? Network Tele? Automatic weapons fire from the bad guys that hits no one, followed by our guys and gals killing everyone in sight with a few well placed rounds from hip German weapons specified by the screenwriters! Can you say Glock? H&K? SIG? Beretta? O.K.Italian... Can you say DOUBLE TAP? Our writers can! I know that you can..... God these guys(and GALS) are good!?!?!?!?! Bad?????? Late model automobiles Performing for the lens (Pursuit Car/GO Cam) in aerial ballet! Poor Willys lasting just long enough to speak the story before dying. Ehtnic types routed from the underground. Hipsters dancing/drinking/fighting at clubs we cannot get into (at least I can't get into!) Can you say PRIMER CORD? Blasting caps? Dust hits? Black powder bombs? Rubber cement? Fullers earth? Bondo flying? Glass shots? CGI Making the impossible possible. We can do anything given the T&M. Eighteen million love us every week.COD,JPK,VSH,LLCOOLJ! Living the dream every day! I find MYSELF speechless. Shut up Baldwin!

Janice, Pro arm canisters are sealed and pretty bulletproof but there are all manner of places where dirt can creep in and foul bearings and lubricants on the chassis. I have no doubt that the PRO arm would keep working in nasty conditions but see no reason to subject it to such conditions when I have the option. As for hard mounting on vehicles, using the 3A arm allows me to switch back and forth easily without having to readjust the rod ends on the male socket block and arm preload every time. There is also some risk to fast hard mount work and bottoming out the arm could lead to failure (George says they have never had a chassis failure). The 3A arm is quite a bit smaller that the PRO arm as both sets of bones are shorter and when working in tight doorways, narrow hallways, catwalks (The Queen Mary engine room recently) etc. I find it very handy. Russ Janice PM me if you are still making those camera screws.

If price of shipping and service is not an issue (euro vs dollar would work in your favor) send it to Robert and be done with it. Ask for all of his mods. There is no finer service available for your arm. My 3A arm has been with me all of my career and I still use it in confined spaces and on Griptrix, side hack, insert car, and the desert when I want to keep the PRO arm clean. Mine goes to Robert at the Christmas break for complete overhaul. $1400 if I remember correctly. BTW contact Erwin Landau in your part of the world for the last word in Steadicam everything! PM if you need help with the Stateside aspect of this. Regards, Russ

Forget Modular 51. Get your money back and get in touch with Tim Moynihan on this forum (RockSteadiGear). He is not fast but reliable and his bags are first rate (and I believe made by the same people as Mod 51 products). He delivers as he says he will and answers e mails as well as doing a TV series! My assistants have given up on Mod 51 for flakiness.

I am using the Alexa on NCIS LA and have had to solve this same issue. I have TB-6, Master and Gen 1 PRO monitors. Fortunatly we had a generous prep and came up with most solutions in advance. As Jens pointed out you must use the monitor out at P setting in the menu and the Assistant must return to PSP for on board monitor in studio mode. We also experimented with frame rates on the output and with the TB-6 AJA combo arrived at 29.97. Other frame rates lead to flickering of the image ranging from an occasional pulse to unusable, likely what you experienced. The Master monitor is better in daylight with the downconverted image and deep stops that we use, however I am still using the TB-6 for the frameline generator. The image is still very good but I am changing brightness/contrast settings way more than ever before. Similar experience with the Genesis but more extreme here. On that note the framelines are not as bright as when used on an analog setup. Perhaps Gregg can weigh in on this. I bought a Decimator for this show, but shorted it out with a reversed polarity cable. Building cables on the set = bad idea. Watch out for this as the fuse is soldered to the main board and it does not reset but must be technician replaced unless you have the skill (not me). The currently available Decimator 2 is larger and has more features than the first one, features we don't need. If I find a model one on the market I would pick that up. Nice unit though. We experimented with the dip switches on this as well but found the Alexa menu settings a better way to solve these issues. Kudos to Kieth Banks 1st AC and John Mills DIT. The other idiosyncrasy with the Alexa is that it much prefers to run off of 24V rather than two parallel Dionics at 12V (I don't have HCs) Stefan at ARRI has been most helpful with many issues and is very responsive to constructive criticism. The lack of a built in downconverter as well as many other features we might see in the future seem to be price point decisions. It appears that the retail price of an Alexa body is about $58,000. Start saving....

Excellent way to think on your feet however you are in violation of a Steadicam basic principal "Never wear stripes under a Steadicam vest" it comes right after "Wear comfortable underwear".

I worked extensively with the Panaglide as an assistant. I flew it too but don't think I ever made a production shot with it. Mentor Dennis Smith let the eager young assistant wear himself out doing rehearsals! The Halloween pic with Ray was a prototype with the Panaglide vest and arm. The arm was a gas shock version to avoid patent infringement. It was a disaster. The spring version brought the threat of lawsuit from Cinema Products. Vest and arm were discontinued and CP agreed to sell vests and arms to Panavision for rental. The Ghostbusters picture shows the production Panaglide which was very advanced in terms of packaging. Fiberglass (Carbon?same material as the Panpods) post with a single cable inside the the post. Eight pin (?) Lemo carried camera power (24V), accessory power (12V) and video signal from sled base to camera. No upper J box because all power/signal distribution was through the camera body. The WIRED follow focus (you can see the cable between the assistant and operator in the pic) was a very nice motor bundle (focus/iris) snapped in place of the manual follow focus knob that is still in use on Panavision film cameras today. As you can see in the pic the assistant had to carry power for the system as well as loops of cable for the handset. Highly accurate and powerful, but not fast. The x/y system was a pair of large coarse thread lead screws at 90 degrees to each other (Erwin has this array from Bob's package, perhaps a pic Erwin?) which threaded directly into the base of the camera. Other than being dedicated to the lead screw system the camera itself is nearly the same as the LW2 cameras that we still fly. The original video tap was the large box on the camera door that can be seen in the Halloween picture (sans display). The 2 designation came when the updated tap was changed to an older version (B&W) of the Sony tap that is still in use. It was 12v thus the need for 12v power up the post (follow focus supplied its own power up the cable directly to the motor array). Batteries were a single pack that supplied both voltages in one package. Video and camera power were independent of each other. The small B&W (no green originally, later greenscreen) stand alone monitor powered off of the 12V side of the battery through the sled and had an electronic level. I liked the gimbal others did not and brought their own. The other common personal accessories were a Sietz frameline generator velcroed to the sled base and a 5" wrap grip. The monitor mount was an odd arrangement that supported from the sled base itself. Some operators brought their own CP type that grasped the post and I believe Panavision eventually offered their own. When Panavision discontinued the Panglide thay bought 3A sleds from CP and added a second Steadicam battey to the back to supply 24V to the camera. I did fly these, quite piggish. I think it was about this time I bought my own rig! I am told Panvision eventually destroyed the Panaglide sleds. RIP

Sydney, Perhaps this was your point but as a new user of Antlers V3 I can attest to the fact that "d'oh" is the sound you make when you hit yourself in the head with them! Russ

I too thought the price of Antlers was high and thought about making my own. When I saw the latest version at the Tiffen swap meet around Cinegear time I bought them instantly from Jerry. They are so well thought out that I could think of no improvement needed and the build quality is top notch. While they are simple in concept the small details which make them easy to mount and use are what set them apart. I work primarily in the sreies TV world and if I cannot put my ideas into play NOW I will get no second chance. The Instant mounting and trim of this device is truly priceless. Thanks for the R&D Jerry and Brant. Anybody have a case they like for them? Russ

Randy is that you?

Shameless shipping for Bartell! Jim came to my set yesterday, had lunch, had pleasant conversation, caught me up on various Steadicam characters, replaced a bad chip in my iris handset, made me an FMG 6 spare cable, sent it overnight and I got it the next day upon returning home. I believe he danced a jig as well. Russ "Jim made it for me yesterday" McElhatton