David Willert

Hey guys, I dont know if Im right with my post here, but i couldnt find a more suiting category. Im looking for a good rental deal on a steady in greater Berlin that I need for a personal test for 5 days. Can be a backup rig/old rig, as long as its functional. Dont need accessories besides batteries/charger. If anyone has one/knows someone, Id be greatful to hear about it. Thanks and cheers, David

Hey Jim! Thanks for the details. I might even be in the states, depending on where I will get my other gear from... Pete, Also thanks for your details. Im not sure if Ill be attending the BVE, but if I am, I will come and check out your stand. all the best, David

Hey William, I cannot talk so much about Steadicam in specific, but I had that happen to me as a cam op with additional equipment. When someone says, nah, we just need a camera, and in the end its a camera, fluid head tripod, mattebox, filters, ff, some sort of top light/ring light, and ideally a basic light kit as well let alone adapters, cables and stuff. Sometimes, depending on the experience and technical know how of the people hiring you, they might also not realise what comes with a kit naturally, or what you realistically need with it. So someone recommends you as a steady op for a production, and everyones happy to have a cheap steadycam on set, but no one talked to you that knows to care about discussing specifics upfront. Although I think you are talking about people consciously trying to get more for less?! Luckily cant say I had that happen to me before; but I had my rate in whatever capacity being pushed down massively just like that, many times before ;)... What I also noted, even with higher budget productions is, that they sometimes dont calculate properly for certain shots/sequences that require more specialised equipment like cranes/steadycam/helicopter/special rigs/underwater or dont even know before hand that they want a certain shot and then come up with it on the go, when budget is already strained; that is depending on the nature of the shoot of course. Then again, I dont have much experience in the feature film or commercials sector, talking mostly about event doccies/docu dramas/and the indie (short) film segment... I worked on a production once, where we hired some top underwater cam ops. You think their rate is actually pretty decent, but you havent even calculated shipping all their gear around the globe which might cost you the same or even more than the operator/gear rental for a few weeks. Another reason to negotiate the rate down as well, although its not really the ops problem... Although this is not an issue if you shoot in a studio environment or use gear thats readily available... Anyways, I drifted off a little, nonetheless my 2 cents on that matter from my limited experience... Cheers, David

Hey Jim, thats great news! I will be in touch within the month. Oh, and from which state are you shipping, do they have VAT there, or how does it work when you send units overseas? Job, thanks a lot for another good insight! I have seen the light or should I say "I can see clearly now..." (pun intended)? Cheers guys, stay sharp! (i just cant stop :) ) David

Hey Pedro! Also a big thnx from me. Very informative post, will surely be re-reading it in the future. Also nice to see how it develops, think it will stay very much updated, since like you said, there is news almost every day. Ill be just observing and learning ;) cheers, David

Hey Thomas, thnx for your input. Well, you think a used analogue motor makes sense? I guess you can always upgrade. With the new digi receiver, the thing is i cant just buy that, i have to buy the analogue on, and additionally the digital. So maybe it will actually be sufficient for me for now, an analogue setup. Yea, you are right, if you dont rock up with your own ff unit on some of those shoots you mentioned, you will most likely have to do without, every cent counts :). Any input on a video transmitter, from your experience? cheers, David

Hey Pete! Thnx for the reply. You are based in London? have you got a hofopro unit already at your offices there, thats ready to be tested? cause Im in London Thurs/Fri 13th/14th of Jan. Maybe I can come by and check it out, would be great. Also are you able to give an indication of when to expect the pro on the market? Alright, thnx Pete, David

Hi Jens! Thnx for the specifics! cheers, David

Hey Charles! Thanks for passing it on! much appreciated. This kind of information is very valuable, especially when you have no chance of testing the gear yourself first. With the little I understand of things, I think you summed the issue up best. For inexperienced people it seems strange, how such "straight forward" technology such as a transmitter/receiver/motor can pose such a challenge, but the challenge is in the detail, as you said, I imagine it a bit like the difference between a mac and a PC. A mac somehow, even nowadays with the same ingredients as a PC achieves more efficiency, more reliability and more value over time. Why? cause everything harmonizes, software to hardware to usability to design (By the way, Im not a Mac fan, and dont own one, just making observations). So yea, it does certainly make it very clear which route I have to take. Bartech and if one day deemed necessary for prestige, awesome features and comfort? or because of ever more demanding assistants? hehe, a preston/cmotion setup... or if your other predictions come true, one of those techy touch/mouse/mind sync devices... One day you will look like a universal soldier on set... Alright, oh, re motors, any preference? Pedro mentioned coupling the Bartech with a heden. I read somewhere on the forum about someone having an incompatibility issue with the new bartech digi rcvr and a heden? Thnx again, David

Oii Pedro! Thank you for your feedback. Good to hear about some first hand experience re viewfactor. To be fair and out of curiosity, what was some of the problems you encountered or what you found problematic? Tell me about it. Ive spent a year in Brazil now, and industrialized goods are just SO damn expensive. I hadnt even looked into film gear for pricing. I will definitely be buying all my stuff elsewhere. You get lots of 3D work? Yea, the cmotion kit sounds bananas! also their top kit goes up to 37 thou euros orso, talking about your accessories costing more than your high end rig... heewwww... one day :) Cool, yea, with all the feedback I will most likely decide on a bartech. Obrigado, abraço, te mais, David

Hahaha, thats kinda amusing, but reality. Its true, as much as you dont hear a boom swinger complaining about holding a boom (hang on, they do sometimes, I did it occasionally, does that make me a bad person? :) James, got your point, and I agree. I spoke with an op friend of mine, and he said the same thing about rocking up with dodgy equipment, reflects bad on you no matter what it is. Ron, yea, was also thinking. You cant have everything to start off with, and luckily most systems are modular in a way, or with each other, so thats cool. Probably the best idea is to get a bartech set, although if, Id like to skip buying the analogue unit, and only buy the digital one, but apparently thats not an option at the moment. Anyhow, thanks a lot for the feedback, I have derived some conclusions from this, and Im sure I will pop up with a new topic pretty soon, somewhere, considering that this buying equipment shizzle is quite something. Alright, take care and see you around! David

Hey James! Alright, that sounds good. Yea, from the preston I guess you expect that. About the HoFoPro, its also expected to be quite more than double the price though, around 3500 pounds opposed to 1200 for the standard version. Well, I will see. The viewfactor you can get for around 1800 pounds (I know, I keep coming back to it), when its available. Yea well. I will do some more research in all directions... Thanks, David

Hey Tom! Thnx for that. You are right. I also saw that everything is backordered or out of stock. I asked them, and they said that they would be able to ship out ff kits as of february. Its also true about the receiver, I misinterpreted what it said about integrated features, was only regarding amplifiers/drivers for motor although there indeed is no picture of the receiver. A bit odd. And mostly about service and reliability. Well, lets see. Maybe I can test it somewhere, or take one for the team :) Ciao, David

Hello Robert! Thank you very much for your elaborate reply. Yes, its true, I had forgotten to mention the video transmitters. You have mentioned and described exactly the pickle that I felt and now again feel that Im in. I had weighed off buying a used bigger rig with some accessories vs. buying a new mid-sized rig with very few accessories vs. buying a new small rig with more accessories and a full 5dmk2 kit (cage, lenses, mattebox etc.) in order to be able to work on my own projects as well. And yea, I read quite a few things before, spoke to a friend who started out a few years ago and came to the same conclusion, if you have a small rig, you can basically not take on shoots with a budget, because the demands are high and they will very quickly outweigh your rigs capacity. Slam on a 2/3 eng cam or a 416/sr3 with the slightest accessories, no chance. A red with accessories plus solid glass without specially carefully chosen equipment, no chance. So yea, where does that leave me... I am certainly conflicted about this. However the other thing is, that my current situation does dictate some terms. I have originally established myself in the industry in Cape Town (not as steadi op), where I also studied originally. Then I moved to Brazil for personal reasons and was in between there and my home country Germany. Now I will be working in Sao Paulo for 2011 only to move back to Europe for 2012. Hence, its a bit of a mess in terms of establishing myself. The upside is, I will have lots of time and opportunity to practice and focus on my rig and getting my muscle memory up... I doubt though that I will see much viability in financial terms in the first year. So, this is my situation. I could spend a lot of money on a rig, but I am a bit cautious, also because I have in mind what you said about changing my rig all the time, which wouldnt be affordable unless obviously the nice gigs come rolling in, then its no question... I have also tried to find used rigs. I came across some attractive ones on the SOC website and here and the mkv forum, but it wasnt plenty. Wheres the myriad of used systems at? Im sure you being very connected and experienced makes it easier?! And last but not least, Im the first to admit that there is probably plenty of things I dont know I dont know, those are also the most challenging in any ones growth process at any given stage, I think, because you mostly only learn about them once you stumble upon them, and maybe fall on your face (and then pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again:), without sounding too dramatic. I dont want to sound absolutely generalising and naive, but which way do I go about this then? I broke it down for myself like this: I do not have immediate demand (very few connections), the market I will serve initially (no/low budget) often operates less professional or lower end/alternative equipment (mostly with less weight requirements) and I know once Im ready to tackle bigger projects, have the connections and skills to get those, I will need a big rig anyways, no doubt. My other thought, having a big rig doesnt mean I get big jobs (obviously) and it doesnt really matter for the above mentioned projects. DSLRs are popular and still becoming more popular (as well as current and future derived "dslr" camcorders) for indie shoots and even lots of web stuff, like web ads, clips and also corporate stuff. And a DSLR cam with all accessories for this kind of project range will fall within the smaller rigs capacity. And even a RED could fit the specs, if you can cut down on certain accessories, which I think a no budget/low budget production often allows for (and Im not talking Hollywood low budget). So that was my arguing behind my almost decision. But Im ready to be sobered up if needs be... Alright, I will stop rambling now, Thanks again, and all the best, David ps: re accessories, what you said William, I had in mind too. Most of the additional accessories like focus/tape measure, video transmitter I will be able to use onward disregardless of the rig. The attractive thing about the viewfactor, looks like quality (I know, you can only see so much from a picture), the good price and its very compact with the receiver being integrated in the motor (not sure if that will pose problems).

Hello everyone! Im brand new to this forum, and an aspiring/wannabe (not in the bad sense:) steadi op, and after a little search I couldnt find a topic regarding this. My situation is the following: I am about to buy my first rig, which is likely to be a Zephyr setup of sort, and I am weighing off how important it is to own certain pieces of equipment that you need to show up with on any given shoot (which mostly will be for me in the beginning no, student to low budget ones) and which ones I can get away with renting if needs be. My specific concern in this regard, most integral besides the rig iteself and the various connectors/cables I imagine, is the focus unit. I was thinking of getting a viewfactor kit. Has anyone had any experience with one of those? or is it generally the best idea to go with the big guns and mix and match a la bartech/preston, arri etc... ? If so, how much can I get away with paying for a one motor setup with an analogue/digital wireless/wired system all incl.? Then also, how important is it for me, in the very beginning stages, as outlined above, to own iris/zoom control units aswell? Another question would be backup gear (going a little out of the focus topic here). Which backup parts/pieces are considered absolute vital, or should I have two of "everything"? (this might be a bit of a far reaching question) By the way, all the posts I read so far have been very informative, and this seems to be a great place of exchange and even innovation (bartch rcvr), truly a collaborative, professional spirit here, niice. So thanks for that already... Looking forward to your advice, Best, David ps: happy new years eve!