chris fawcett

Chris, was this the one where you lost your tooth.

Same movie, but I knocked my tooth out in the gold-mine shot.

A 10 minute Don Juan shot preceding an Amazonian native down a jungle trail crossing 3 pirana-infested creeks as he grew increasingly pessimistic about shooting something for his dinner.

FMS, that was fun.

Hi Janice,

I made one of my best shots less than a year into the business. In some ways, I've yet to better it. What's improved since is my consistency. If I had landed a big job back then on the basis of that shot, I doubt I'd have made good. The pressure of being on set, and having to consistently make good shots would have been beyond me. I'd have screwed up, possibly in my home market, and have made a bad reputation for myself.

One of the niggles we face in this business is working with producers, directors, and actors that have had bad experiences with Steadicam operators, when it takes time to reassure them that we can do the job. There are productions I have known of that eschew Steadicam entirely on these grounds, so the opportunity of trying to change their opinions never arises. Relatively inexperienced ops launching themselves into this world as fully-fledged Steadicam operators do neither themselves nor the rest of the community any favours.

I still think it's perfectly fair, and indeed advisable, to state your capabilities on entering into a contract. It's not a question of apology, but one of honesty.

All the best,

Chris

Hey Afton,

I like the way you put that.

Season's greetings, and happy apocalypse,

Chris

We're experiencing mission creep. Shall we continue the "lowballing" discussion over here in the newbies section?

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=17203

Colleagues,

It seems to me that it takes about 2 years practice to begin making reliably good Steadicam shots, and about 5 to begin making great ones. This includes time taken to learn set politics regarding your job, and to develop your visual storytelling abilities. Up to the 2 year point, it's perfectly possible to work, and to work well, but probably only in limited circumstances. The question is, how to charge during this period.

Anyone calling themselves a ' Steadicam Operator,' and working for low rates, is, lets face it, lowballing. This hurts everyone, including the lowballer. Once you have a reputation for being cheap, people never want to pay you more, and when they have more money, they'll just hire someone 'better,' whether they are better or not.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for inexperienced operators to work cheaply, if they make it clear why they are doing so. Stating that you charge less because you are inexperienced is a good thing. Most people (and I include producers in this category) respect honesty. Discussing whether the shot is within your abilities is a great idea, and nothing to be ashamed of. This approach also gets you off the hook when you screw up, as hopefully you will, since this is an important part of the learning process too.

So when you get that call, think ahead to the operator you aspire to be, and to the rates you aspire to being paid. Tell them you're prepared to help production out because they are helping you out, by giving you experience, and by building your reel. If the job is beyond you, recommend your favourite local op. S/he will most likely be inclined to fire a job right back at you when s/he gets the chance.

At the end of this process, you've pissed no one off, neither fellow operator nor producer, and you'll be able to command a high rate commensurate with your experience. You'll be respected both for your honesty, and for your hard work. Before long, you'll be passing those cheap jobs down to other aspiring operators.

All the best,

Chris

Colleagues,

I regret the rivisionism on this forum. The thread that prompted my post has now been 'cleansed' by someone in a position to do so.

Without open discussion, we are nothing.

All the best,

Chris

Dear colleagues,

Visiting here used to like throwing a door open on a room of friends, now I think twice about visiting. Seeing a newbie slammed, witnessing an interesting question dismissed, or just watching someone swinging his arrogance (replace with appropriate noun) around doesn't make my day.

Let's be a community again. Let's return to civility.

All the best,

Chris

I can fix that if you want

Piebald please.

Will I get my pony?

That's better. I wouldn't want to be in any club that would accept me as a sole member. It's against my Marxist principles.

Does this, in itself, constitute a warning?

Why do I have, under my post tally, a line that states "zero warnings"?

Is that good?

I guess this will be my last post ;)

I fear you`ll single handedly choke the next one asking about the price, Chris... ;)

I'd like to know myself!

Hi guys,

The quick release was not wanted by so many people that it will be available as an option.

As for the prototypes, I'm sorry to say I've lost track of the beta testing process. I'm not sure what part of the world they are in. One is in Paris with me, another is in Tokyo, but for the rest, I just don't know.

The parts count is still high, but much more standardised now, so that should ease production. I don't know about the price; that's in Tiffen's hands.

All the best,

Chris

You mean me?

Tiffen is being great about not rushing this to market. We might make this year, we might be ready early next. I can't say for sure, but we are really close to finishing.

As for price, I can't help you there; that's not my decision. I'm sure that someone at Tiffen would send you a 2012 invoice ;)

Chris

Learning to operate on your other side is just a question of getting over yourself and doing it. Once you overcome the initial confusion, it's no big deal, but don't expect any results if you only try it for 20 minutes.

There definitely are situations where mastering this pays off.

All the best,

Chris

There are some circumstances when you'll just have to shoot goofy (or regular).

Spiral staircases in old castles wind up clockwise, so that the attackers, mostly right handed, couldn't sword fight their way up the stairs, giving the defenders a great advantage. Goofy swordsmen were in great demand in olden days.

When shooting on stairs, we face the same problem today.

Embrace your goofy side (occasionally).

Chris

Welcome back, Larry!

Objection! Leading the witness.

Sustained.

I'm going to say yes.

Chris

Sure, Victor,

It should work with any arm. As for the back mount, we'd envisioned this being used for the 3rd arm section. This is a single Gx section with a socket block at its far end. You mount this to the vest before putting the vest on (it's fixed so it doesn't move laterally, but booms up and down next to your body). You then mount your own arm to the Gx section in the usual way, and tune the iso and lift on the Gx section to match. This is for when you need to increase your boom range by 50%. In high mode, you get from a sit down to well over head level. In low mode you get you from ankle to eye level.

You could back mount a standard 2-section arm to the Exovest, but I know of no compelling reason for doing so. The vest is fairly rigid in the sagittal plane (from front to back), so you don't feel much difference between front and rear mounting, except that you now have more weight to the rear, which reduces the overall torque of holding the Steadicam out front. That's a small benefit that probably doesn't merit carrying that extra weight. A greater disadvantage is that you are now wider than you would be with a front mount, but certainly, it's possible.

All the best,

Chris

Hi James,

Robin at Tiffen UK has a prototype. You might be lucky enough to catch it. Give him a call +44 1753 783960

All the best,

Chris

Coming soon, maybe before the end of the year. Price TBD.

Thanks for your interest!

You'll never work for von Trier ;)

By all means, use your best footage.

Chris