Tom Wills

Deke, While it is true that it’s now easier to reload the camera when right side up, I can’t remember a job that I’ve done where people don’t want to look at a frame before I put on the rig. Whether for lighting, or set dressing, or HMU and Wardrobe, someone always wants to look at a frame, and generally they want an approximation go what the frame actually will be (I.E. it doesn’t help the DP much in setting lights if the camera is about to be 3 feet lower than it is on the stand!). So I dock in low mode. It also helps me to have as little time flying the rig as possible. When I pick up the rig, it’s in the right orientation, pointed at the set, and I dock in a direction (lens to the right, contrary to what is taught at most workshops) that means that the rig is ready to fly the moment it comes off the dock. No flipping the rig, no spinning it around my body, no delays. With heavier cameras I’ll enforce this even more (such as when I did a music video on Primo Anamorphic lenses recently... 17 pounds for the 50mm) - we roll and slate on the stand, and I pick it up once everyone is ready to go, not before Vanities run in for a moment of touch up or before the artist puts away their phone. Hopefully that clears up why I still dock in low mode, and still think that it’s a useful thing to do.

Systems are still for sale, and now offering: 1 System with Iris Slider, 1 Receiver, and cables - $2000 1 System with basic handset, 1 Receiver, and 1 P Tap cable - $1750 Contact me if youre interested! Also could be negotiable on adding a Redrock Micro motor and cable for $500 to either kit.

AB Plate and wrap grip are sold.

Here's my "garage sale" post for the season. Currently clearing out my storage unit, so some of my old gear needs to find a new home. 3A Gimbal - $800 or best offer ​Purchased as part of a "project rig" that I ended up parting out, as it needed more work than was reasonable. The gimbal is in beautiful shape, however, and looks like it's had very little use over its life. 1.5" Low Mode (short) wrap grip - $150​Looks to be either a PRO wrap grip, or a copy of such. It's covered in nice grippy rubber tape. I'd keep it if it fit on my M1! 3 1.5" Docking rings - $30Also salvaged off of the "project rig" - 2 are solid, one hinged. AB Plate with 4 Pin XLR Cable - $40 ​Super handy in all sorts of situations to add a battery to something, but I've got a ton of these plates, so this one can go. More gear to come soon. Contact me at willsvideo@gmail.com if you're interested in any of this gear.

This was Larry McConkey’s system that he and I used with his MoVI package on many feature films, television shows, and commercials. It’s a quite full package, minus the motors (which we are still using with a new system). Motors are easily sourced, as this package works with Heden, Preston, Axis 1, RedRock Micro, and many other motors. This system is set up for use on a proper film or TV set. With the main handset, you can control focus with the knob, and iris with the slider, or you can take the 2nd handset and give that to a DIT or DP for doing remote iris control from video village. In addition, however, having 2 full handsets and 2 separate receivers means you can separate out the 2 systems and use them on 2 cameras, or have full redundancy if one system fails (though BFDs are notoriously reliable). Also included are motor cables, power cables, and RS cables for ARRI and RED, as well as a ton of antennas, both normal length and extra-long (perfect for helping cut through New York RF noise). Looking for $3500 for the full system. Pickup available in New York or Philadelphia, or shipping at buyer’s cost. BFD Handset with Iris Slider BFD Handset Receiver 1 Receiver 2 BFD to Arri RS cable BFD to Red Epic RS Cable 3x BFD Motor Cables 1x BFD to PTap 1x BFD to Bare Wires 2x BFD to JST Pkg of Antennas

There are some important caveats to the compatibility of PRO plates in an M1 Stage, however. Namely, the M1 stage is taller than many PRO plates. If you are using a standard PRO or similarly designed plate, which is about .270" (just over 1/4" or 6mm) thick, the locking mechanism of the stage may be taller than the plate, and if you have a wide camera body or other wide items, they may interfere with the stage locking mechanism and not work. Tiffen's plates that come with the M1 are just under 1/2" thick, which is more than is needed, but shows that very thin plates may not clear. I believe the XCS plates will fit as they are so much taller, but as I haven't used one on my M1, I cannot say for certain.

A couple of quick corrections/notes: Tiffen "Large" size is actually a shade under 3/4", at around .740" And all of these sizes are nominal - a 5/8" (.625") shaft will likely not fit well, if it fits at all, into a PRO gimbal, because there does need to be some tolerance for the arm post to fit easily into the gimbal handle. I believe the Tiffen sizes tend to be on-size (or a thousandth or two smaller) for the arm posts, and have the few thousandths of tolerance in the gimbal handle, but all of my PRO arm posts are undersized (about .623" from PRO, down to about .621" for some others I've collected). Hope that helps!

Sold!

Sold!

Open to offers on this. Send offers to willsvideo@gmail.com. Thanks!

Preston DM-2 motor with Hill Bracket (19mm), 15mm Bushing, and 1 Cable. $1800 OBO. Email me if you're interested. willsvideo@gmail.com

Price Drop, as I'm back from a job and want to move this soon. $2000 for the MDR and all cables.

Sold!

If you own an M1 Volt and would like a second padded docking bracket, I'm selling mine. I use a different system, so this is absolutely unused and brand new. Asking $500. Email me if you're interested. willsvideo@gmail.com

This is an analog MicroForce zoom control from Preston. It’s had a new knob installed a few years ago, and got a clean bill of health from Preston at that point. I’ve used it a few times over the years, but there’s now an identical one from the rental house in my show’s camera package, so this has just sat in the case. Includes 2 MicroForce to Hand Unit cables - one short, one 30’ (perfect for letting the DP run zoom off of a monitor without disturbing the 1st AC). Asking $750. Email me if you’re interested. willsvideo@gmail.com