Tom Wills

Hey everybody! Well, I'm finally piecing together parts of my rig, and I really don't feel like having to make myself a topstage, and I can't find anything out there that won't cost more than what my rig costs. I'm looking for something old, something used, basically, off of a scrap sled is fine. Even if it's broken it'll be a huge help. I'm now working in a machine shop as a summer job, and so I'd be able to re-build it if anything's broken, and also devise a mount to put it on my post. J-Boxes aren't needed, just the stage itself and a dovetail. (If it's a dovetail-using stage) Oh, and about the price, basically, I don't have much, maybe a few hundred dollars tops. Making a new arm has drained a good portion of my finances. Well, if you have any information, an old topstage lying around, or whatever, pass me on some information! Thanks in advance guys!

I believe that a while back someone posted a picture either here or on Steadiforum which showed him with a pen in his right hand, thus proving that he is indeed right handed. I know I'm still a newbie, just learning to fly my first "real" rig now, but the way I see it is that for us righties, operating "regular" makes plenty of sense. When I was playing piano, I always had the problem that although my right hand could push firmer, create louder noises, my left hand was much better at softer, more intricate tones, not just bashing keys. I mean, it kind of makes sense, after all, it's not like the hand on the post would do better with more force on it. So thus, I operate Regular, and I only shoot video.

My point was not my opinion on which was better. I thought I had made that clear. My opinion is my own. But, my post was directed at bickering and people claiming one rig is "better" than another. (It was not an attack on you by any means, I just quoted your post because it was an example of someone talking about a rig being "better") No, I have not flown a Flyer. No, I have not flown a V25. No, I do not know how each of them preform under different circumstances. But do I think that they're both rigs that are good? Yes. I think it's just unnecessary to have these battles about one rig's superiority over another when really we should be all focused on getting the most out of whatever we have. I'm sorry if anyone has taken my post in a bad light, I was only meaning to offer my opinion on why this bickering is unnecessary.

I know that I'm nowhere near the level of you professionals here, but I would like to say that all of this bickering really is unnecessary. Different rigs are good for different operators at different times with different cameras. Trying to say that one rig is "better" than another or that one rig doesn't stack up to others in its pricerange is just the way it may be in your eyes and in your situation. I know that if I were purchasing a Flyer or a V25 right now, I'd go for the Flyer, because most of the time I'll be flying 12lb ENG cameras and MiniDVs, and if I ever need a bigger rig, I can always find one to rent, plus I love the Flyer arm. Maybe that's not where others are, but that's my stand, so in my eyes, in my situation, the Flyer is better. Does that mean that everybody out there needs to go out and buy one? No! Of course not! The V25 is a great rig, and Glidecam should be commended for stepping away from the older V-Series rigs. It's just not right to claim that one rig is better or that one rig is worth more, when it really is up to the buyer to decide what their needs are, where they are in terms of gear and money, and what they can afford to get. Brand-bashing, labeling rigs "better", and overall disrespect for the idea that the choice of which rig to buy and own is very personal seems to me like a waste. All of these rigs (the V25, the Flyer, and all the rest) are good rigs, and we all should know that. Beyond that it's the operator's choice. Now to go back to my passtime, watching and soaking up information. :D

Hey Sean, welcome to the world of Steadicams. I'm personally learning to be an op, and I'm a High School Sophomore myself. I do ENG camera operating for sporting events for colleges as a job. You're not the only one in this boat my friend. Definetly don't expect to even get decent shots. Your shots will look slightly better than if they were shoulder mounted. I know that I'm no professional, but I can tell you that any type of Steadicam operating is hard, and especially strapping on a rig with a full-size ENG camera for the first time will KILL your back. Be prepared to take breaks. Plenty of them. You don't want to overstrain yourself. Also, see if you can get somebody else to balance it for you. Balancing is quite hard to do for the first time. It baffles me that a real director would just shove a high school kid who's a good camera operator into a Steadicam, but then again, he is a director. :D When is this shoot? I can probably help you some with some tips, some basic training and some information if I've got enough time. As I have said, I'm no pro, but I think that because I was in your position about a year ago, I might be just the perfect thing you need.

The part number is TUN-181/

I think I can help you with this one. http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp...ff=44&sort=prod I think that'll work. You should probably wait to make sure from somebody else that it'll work before you run off and buy it though, as I am a newbie and may have just given you a product that'd do no good. :P

Yeah, I think you should mainly focus on accessories, cables, and parts. Full arms, vests, and sleds are good to show, but I think you should link people to the manufacturer when buying them instead of handling the sale yourself. Oh, and better check your prices. I know that this site is still in it's infancy, but I still am tempted to pay the $2 for the MK-V or Sachtler arms. :D

Not that some of us homebuilt guys aren't either professionals, or working to be professionals, but really, yes, this is a forum for professional ops, not a newbie training camp or a place for people to whine about how a cheap rig is "just as good" and that they don't see any differences. This is one of the few places remaining where professional ops come together, and semi-pro ops watch on from the sidelines and soak up everything that they can. Turning this into just another "Hey my $15 Steadycam is better than your Flyer" board helps nobody. Alright, I'm done now. Time to go back to reading and learning from all of you ops that I have so much to learn from. P.S. Alec, Remember me? The highschooler at the workshop. Well, Hi again! :)

Going to Janice's workshop eh? Well, good luck, I'm going this summer (or maybe over spring break.) Tips for a newbie op from me would be as such: 1. Walk smoothly, imagine that you're trying to keep your hips from moving. Bend your feet, don't just pick them up and set them down. 2. Light grip on the post. Janice can elaborate more on why it's important, but it is one of the most complicated skills in operating. 3. Lockoffs are the hardest. They just are. Movements hide your mistakes, lockoffs have to be great. 4. Learn how to balance well. Janice will teach you this, and make sure your spend a little bit practicing. You won't regret it. 5. Have fun, and make sure to revew any footage you shoot, and point out as many mistakes you made as possible. Good luck!

Yeah, a brand new eBay member, selling a ficticious product, which he can't even describe correctly to match the picture. (In the picture there's an AB battery, he states his has a V-Lock mount) Somebody report this to eBay before somebody gets burned.

Wow, what a serious situation here. Quite bad indeed. Either this gets dumped or it's going to send waves through the filmmaking world. Producers are continually looking for ways to shave their budgets down, and if they have the option to cut Camera Ops out of the deal, they sure as hell will. I mean, I can understand when some DPs want to operate. I know that that's not that huge of an issue though, because of the union making the camera operator position mandatory. At the very least it can't hurt to have a dedicated camera operator there for when the DP needs to do something else. Now, to make it so that the camera operator is "unnecessary" is just uncalled for. Not all DPs are going to want to operate, and certainly there will be situations in which you very well may need a dedicated op. What will happen there? I highly doubt producers will spring for it. Let's hope this doesn't pass. <_<

No offense taken. Let me try and find a good dealer in my area who'd let me try one. (I'm still set on the Flyer for my building purposes, because I don't really have the resources to pull off a V25 style arm, but I may end up liking the V25 arm like I like the Flyer.)

The Flyer design - well, I've only played with a few prototypes of my design on this one, and having seen the G70 in action, but I definetly haven't flown using the V25 arm. The Flyer arm's quite nice though, and just seems more advanced to me than a classic 3A style arm. Also, the whole pullies and cables deal just doesn't make me as at ease as a design like the Flyer which I know I could easily take apart and fix on a shoot. It's all opinion though.

Wow Job, I never even realized his budget was that high, guess I only looked at the first number instead of seeing the other figure too. Yeah, if you can swing it, the V25 will hold more cameras, and although I prefer the Flyer arm, the V25 is pretty darned incredible too!

That sounds like a perfect plan. Just don't underestimate the time you need to spend learning and practicing. That's the important part. Try and get your hands on a Flyer if you can. It'll fly the SDX900 when stripped down, and it's a quite incredible rig for the price ($7000). Also, if you can, try and attend a workshop. If you have the money to fly up to Chicago, Janice Arthur is holding a workshop this summer that I'll be attending. She's quite good, and her workshop is quite inexpensive. I'm looking forward to learning this all from her perspective. Also, the SOA workshop is incredible if you can afford it (somewhere between $2000 and $3000). I sat in on one day of the SOA workshop, as it was only 60 miles from my house, and it changed my whole look on Steadicam operating. Yeah, keep in touch. I'm sure having a few more video and Steadicam contacts can't hurt, you know? :P

Guarnanene, I figure I should give you some advice, as I'm a youngin' myself (10th grader here) operating homebuilt Steadicams. First of all, the Bassons have some issues. They can create some decent stuff, but a Flyer would make you much happier. The Flyer's one incredible piece of equipment. Try and find someone around you who'll let you fly one. (I'm building a rig that is similar to a slightly higher capacity Flyer at the moment). Also, your idea that this can be a hobby, and that it would be something simple that you could pick up and make some money over the summer doing is somewhat misguided. While you could do that, just picking up a rig, getting some half-decent shots, and selling your services to local used car dealers and the like, it's not going to go places where truly learning to operate fully and operating on a professional level will. Something to look into is getting a good job filming events, and sell them on using your "hobby" as part of their productions. I'm doing that with my current boss. We're paid an immense amount of money to film basketball games for the #3 college basketball team in the nation. Impressive, no? Well, turns out they do all their shooting handheld and on a tripod. I'm one of their camera operators, so I decided to negotiate a deal on which I fly their cameras (DSR 390s and DSR 250s) and I get a bonus on top of my standard filming rate. It gives me a great deal of practice, and I get paid a quite livable wage on it (over $20 per hour, sometimes more). If you can work something like this out, you will definetly be in a good place. Steadicams are more of an art form than Jibs or Dollies or any other rigging. Think about how you learned to be a camera op - and apply it to this. Do that same process. You wouldn't dare just pick up a camera and shoot and sell your services without some serious practice and some important training, right? With Steadicams that's even more important. Good to see someone else in my boat looking to get into Steadicams though. Let me know if you need anything. :)

I've got one of the Sony Medical monitors at work. It's decent, good enough picture quality, decent inputs, and looks okay considering that it was pretty cheap. Our Sony Production Monitors blow it out of the water though. The quality on it is good, but it's not perfect. They'd be decent for a director's monitor though.

J&R's is a quite nice place, I've ordered batteries from them, and their store is quite nice indeed. Their prices are pretty good too. It'll probably be one of the lower legitimate prices you'll find.

His name is Amas Leong - note his screenname. And yes, he does have a financial interest - he builds this rig. Just wanted to clarify that. :)

I'm pretty sure that one was the one I read about that used CP batteries. Don't know if that gives any help, but maybe it does. Also, assuming I remember correctly, it said it was put together from pieces.

Very, very cool. If the movietube were priced lower, I'm sure everyone would have them, but then again, it is a competitor to the Mini35, not the inexpensive ones out there. I do like the microcrystaline wax screen idea. Glad to see that it works well. Also, big thumbs up on the Camos. In fact, I'm practically positive that those are the same brand I wear. Almost a little creepy. :P

Well, if you're interested in oping for football, look at some high school and college games to tape. Most of the high schools would love a cameraguy, especially one with a Stabilizer, and the colleges uasually have people taping the game, so adding in a stabilizer might even be a little easier. It's hard operating though, especially during the plays. A lot of tracking the ball, moving quickly, and keeping track of your surroundings. I personally prefer to use the Stabilizer for only certain shots, then pull the camera off and go back to the tripod. It's just not worth it for the style of shooting I'm doing to be down there on the field.

I'm already working on it Charles. (The remote focus device that is.) :D Looks like it'll be more in the range of $50 though, but who knows, by next year, it might be around $14. Oddly enough that $50 gets you something relatively precise.

Happy Birthday Mikko! :)