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Ian Thomson

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Posts posted by Ian Thomson

  1. yep - I've got long legs, and a teeny upper body; with long monkey-arms (which helps out in my other life as a boom op)

     

    most people I know are the opposite.

     

    doesn't really seem to affect my operating, but finding a pair of pants that aren't way too short at the ankle is tough :)

     

    also - my right leg is longer than my left (actual bone length) which make my hips ride slightly tilted; and this affects the arm-socket block threads (made for some fun-tweaking when swapping gear at a workshop)

  2. one of the things that I greatly appreciated during the lake arrowhead workshop (april 2012) was the focus on "less-book" "more-practical" in regards to balancing and operating.

     

    don't get me wrong, I think that the book is fantastic (especially for someone who is in a smaller market with less operators to hang out and drink/discuss with), but the over-riding advice that I took away from the workshop was... "do"

     

    try setting the rig out of dynamic balance, trim for headroom, fight the "incorrect" settings and see what it feels like. shorten the distance between monitor/batteries, feel how that works... spread out the mass and see how that changes things...

     

    of course using "the math" may not be high on the list for some operators - and others may benefit greatly. but an understanding of how the math works is of a great help to me when shifting stuff around on the rig to increase/decrease the feeling of pan speed etc...

     

    loving the discussion that comes from questions - I'm still learning, and will always be :)

     

    Ian

    • Upvote 1
  3. Hi, in my other life I'm a boom op, perhaps I can throw my 2 cents of experience in...

     

    I have heard strange "ticking" noises that were trouble-shot as coming from the cinetape "horns" (ie: when the cinetape is switched off, the noise goes away)

     

    can they hear the unit "acoustically" (actually making a noise that the mic can hear), or is it interfering with the wireless boom like a cell-phone?

     

    I've seen/heard both, in the case of the "ticking" being acoustic our AC worked without, then swapped the system (rental-house) and the problem went away. In the case of the "cell-phone-like" interference it was eventually tracked down to being a faulty microphone (also susceptible to neon ballasts), which went away for a trip to the factory, but can also just as easily be a faulty grounding on cable feeding a wireless transmitter.

     

    excuse my ignorance, but how do the horns actually work? is it a high frequency sonic pulse? what does lowering the sensitivity of the gun achieve? (less power? a lower frequency?)

     

    wireless transmissions are a strange beast to try and understand, let alone "control". Thing are getting even worse these days with all the additional transmitting devices on-set clogging up the airwaves (cell phones, Wireless HD, needing to wire multiple cast, etc), its a rough-time tracking down interference; but as Alec says, we're all just doing our jobs.

     

    sadly the boom mic position interfering with the use of the guns is a tricky one. Obviously a boom op isn't just trying to mess with the AC, the boom really can sound best when slightly in front of, and tilted towards, the actors mouth (which could obviously throw off the guns reading by as much as a foot)

     

    on set-ups where it's a problem, I'll try to work with the AC and move the mic up and out of the field of the guns occasionally (so they can get an accurate reading), but in a world of no-rehearsal, noisy-location, ad-libs, where take one is your only one - sometimes the boom is just going to have to be where it needs to be. (ironically also the time when a pana-tape would be the MOST useful)

     

    would be curious to find out how your problems are eventually resolved.

     

    all the best

     

    Ian

  4. Brian-

     

    points taken, but i think you'll see that the increased boom range can be very effective - imagine in low mode going from the knees to eye height, reducing the need for radical tilts... How often have you ridden a dolly to extend your boom range?

     

    And I've always thought that if you can't deliver a solution, the director won't ask for it, or at least he won't ask for it twice.

     

    Regardless, I'm sure the third arm link could be easily attached to Walter's back mount vest - you've have to make a block or a bracket, but the arm link is pretty straightforward at that end.

     

    Back to the Fawcett Exovest... it's very comfortable, and because of the pivots, your walking doesn't disturb the socket block nor lift it with each step - it makes for less work. No pressure on your bladder (it's not designed as a weight bearing structure!)- and it weighs about 8 pounds!

     

    Jerry

     

    pivoting hips = happy operating :)

     

    can't wait to try it out (will it work inverted for those of us "down undah"?)

     

    Ian

  5. Thanks for the rapid response Eric.

     

    The rig is ex demo from Tiffen uk I have not managed to use it yet because of this issue.

     

    Luckily I had my old Steadicam mini at my last job as a backup. I spent 2 hours trying to balance up the Zepher at my last gig and eventually gave up and resorted back to my older rig to get the job done.

     

    I was hoping to use your dynamic balance method, but i guess this issue need to be resolved first.

     

    Would you recommend getting a Mikey?

     

    The Zepher has no side to side adjustment for the monitor as I've seen in the Mikey demo video will that be an issue?

     

    I'd also like to upgrade my membership to this forum to become a sustaining member. How would I go about doing that and what would it cost.

     

    This forum is by far the best resource for Steadicam.

     

    Surinder.

     

    G'day Surinder,

     

    I'm sure that the guys/gals at Tiffen will contact you with details for how you can get the rig serviced.

     

    certainly looks like some sort of mis-alignment/damage in the gimbal.

     

    Just had my Flyer LE serviced at Glendale (CA) for the exact same thing - static balance; then spin rig 180 = loss of static balance.

     

    don't know where you are in relation to a service-centre (for example I'm in Australia - but was heading over to the USA for a workshop) so I chose to bring my rig with me and visit the factory.

     

    bought my rig 2nd hand in January, and it was off from my first attempt at balancing (most likely bumped in transit when shipping home from the purchase).

     

    apparently the fix was a simple "re-alignment" using a #6 spanner (2-pronged screwdriver thingy) and they didn't charge for the work done. :)

     

    now flies very flat and I'm super-happy.

     

     

    all the best, Ian

  6. G'day guys, stumbled across the thread while reading the archives...

     

    if anyone's still got a copy they'd be willing to pass along, i'd certainly appreciate the opportunity to read it.

     

    Absolutely loved the "operators maunal of style", in fact i'd say it's part of the reason that I thought steadi-operators were so cool all these years.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Ian Thomson

    ian@thompsound.com

  7. Funny, I was thinking that Brown and Dana trivia would be a good bet. Maybe there should be a super-secret inner circle here that would require a top-level trivia question that wouldn't show up on Google, such as the name of the rhinoceros that charged Garrett during the filming of "Altered States"...?!?

    was it rupert...the rhino?

  8. I just finished working on a few commercials and was introduced to a new phenomenon: having to input sound to the Alexa camera. I'm told, due to the short turnaround time on commercials, the editors have been requesting this. Last month I dealt with this by asking for a Comtex receiver (small, lightweight) to input what I thought was only scratch track. It was getting some static and this was not good enough for their needs and next thing I knew I was being handed a thick piece of cable with 2 XLR cables inside to plug into the 5 pin to dual 3 pin splitter that came with the camera (in addition to the thin BNC cable I was already running from the camera-no HD transmitter). Needless to say this made operating difficult.

     

    The next commercial I had with the Alexa I spoke to the sound mixer before the job and requested he bring a quality receiver. I was given a receiver a step above the Comtex and an hour into the day I was handed another thick dual XLR cable to plug into the camera with the explanation that the client is demanding Stereo production quality sound be inputed into the camera. I asked for some better quality wireless receivers and was told they don't want to pay an extra $130 to rent them from the sound man. Another shitty day ensued.

     

    Back at home that night I found buried in my garage a super thin shielded cable (don't ask me where i got the cable) with 5 pin XLR connectors at each end I had made up once for headsets/intercom on some live TV work I did. Salvation!! I can't tell you what a difference it made to the operating. Sound mixer asked that I keep cell phones away from it but otherwise he was happy.

     

    The point of this is to say make yourselves one of these cables, you'll be glad you did. And tape a thin BNC to it so you'll be covered for HD viewing.

     

    G'day Lawrence, sucks that you had to be tethered on account of the sound requirements...

     

    better than hard-cable = Lock-it box

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    The Alexa has pretty good Timecode for a cine-camera (cough-REDsux-cough) and can usually stay in sync with the audio gear if Jammed at the beginning of the day (edit - needs to be re-jammed after battery-changes)

    even better is to Jam-sync a Lock-it box, and place that on the rig - it'll continuously feed the Alexas TC input. and provide identical timecode to the audio recorder.

     

    no need for scratch-tracks that drop out with distance or interference

    no need to digitize/conform the footage/audio (plural eyes takes time)

    no need to run multiple cables for multiple tracks (editing can line-up as many tracks as the sound mixer records)

    no chance of using the reference tracks in the final mix (should be able to get support from your sound mixer here)

    cheaper than a stereo wireless link.

    Auto-sync in FCP and most avid systems. (ie: less than 20 key-strokes and 5mins time)

     

    just film a regular slate as back-up (or TC slate to be really fancy)

    you would still need a comtek for reference playback if there isn't a video-split recorder on set... but at least a comtek is wireless and light-weight :)

     

    only reason I can think that they'd say no is the minimal cost. or some antiquated editing protocols from the days of liner HD tape. (which they shouldn't be using with the "flie-based" Alexa anyway)

     

    but it's really that much better for you... and for the final product.

     

    it's getting a hard sometimes to understand why people make requests that don't really save time in post, and make lives MUCH harder in production...

     

    all the best

     

    Ian

     

    P.S. the 5-pin cable will share electrical grounding for both L+R audio. it's unbalanced and MUCH more susceptible to inteference (from cell phones/wireless video transmitters, and neon-lights, etc), but if you've gotta fly with it - go the thin stuff

  9. I recently purchased a 2nd hand Flyer LE Rig from one of the fine members on this forum (g'day Aaron)

     

    He was kind enough to set everything up in the Airport carpark, and let me play around for a few hours; before making my final decision and buying the rig (should have seen the smile on my face)

     

    Back home, while waiting for a practice cage to arrive via international mail; I attempted to mount my (very light) video camera with predictably hilarious results.

     

    keep in mind that the video camera weighs less than 1/2 a pound... so it wasn't easy to get into static balance (even tried removing the battery and monitor from the base of the sled) - I resorted to strapping anything I could find around the house just so I could get some weight above the top-stage, and balance the damn-thing. once finally ready to fly it was extremely difficult to control (I'm guessing my inexperience is also a massive factor too)

     

    Today, the weight cage from Janice arrived (quicker than expected); and I'm so very happy.

     

    the plates are of excellent build quality (wouldn't think that there's such a thing as "build quality" when discussing hunks of metal; but believe me when I say that it's noticably good)

     

    They're anodized black (for non-reflect-y goodness) and have smooth, rounded-edges, with heaps of precise threads and holes to allow for a whole bunch of mounting positions.

     

    I bought a 6 pound and 2 pound, attaching together with some posts to make the cage. (only thing I would possibly change is to order some of the shorter posts, 9.5" is pretty big)

     

    ahhhh, the joys of flying a light camera (in the middle of the flyers weight-range) - it's AWESOME.

     

    Much easier to balance, and has plenty of attachment points, should I ever need to fly a DSLR with added stuff.

     

    best add-on/accessory that I could have purchased (and well worth the cost)

     

    I'm one very happy little newbie. :D

     

    Cheers to both Janice for her awesome cage (shipped ultra-fast during the busy holiday period), and Aaron for taking the time (inbetween two-jobs no less) to coach a complete novice.

     

    they've helped turn an interested outsider, into a life-long student of the art of flying-cameras.

     

    Ian

    new-rig.JPG

     

    cage-detail.JPG

     

    alternate-angle.JPG

  10. As a COMPLETE newbie (and interested observer); this thread, and all the advice contained within, has been very useful.

     

    too often when learning new skills - I personally have a habit of over-focussing on the smaler pieces at the expense of the bigger.

     

    with a passion for new-information, and trying to be "perfect"; it's hard to remember to slow-down, and build-up the required experience.

     

    So thanks to all those who come here to bring their hard-fought and weighty experience. it's great to have such a helpful community of people.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Ian (slowly making his way through reading the archives) Thomson

  11. thanks for the replies guys.

     

    I can certainly appreciate that a little extra room is required when going steadi or handheld; and accommodate where possible - then again I prefer to boom operate with a longer pole, as it seems to allow a better view of the scene, and more leeway to move should the camera be in an "un-rehearsed-position" - however it often means a less-nimble and heavier set-up.

     

    securing any carpets is a given; and I've gotta say, as a sound rep - we do appreciate when people are aware of their movements making noises that aren't represented on screen (bringing non-squeaky shoes, etc) as it can actually make the difference between a successful sounding shot, and post-recording the dialog

     

    it's foolish and dangerous for a boom op to not be paying attention to the "flight-path" during set-up and rehearsals (something that I have sadly been guilty of in the past) - perhaps they're being asked to do too much with too little = rigging radio mics on the cast, and then booming the shot aswell?

     

    I personally enjoy the rehearsal process, however it seems less common these days with the "rolling rehearsals" on HD/tape...

     

    thanks for the imdb link Charles - figured at least one person had to have made the switch. looks like Colin has found his calling in the camera department, and hey - anyone who worked on scrubs gets a lifetime of gratitude from me; as thosee 1/2hr snippets of happiness and emotional-beats made for a fantstic viewing experience.

     

    what about wireless headsets (comteks)? any need to hear the dialog clearer, or because you're usually close enough to the actors, it's just a distraction?

     

    cheers,

     

    Ian

  12. G'day all. figured this might be a good place for my first post.

     

    My name is Ian, I'm a Boom operator who's been getting sick and tired watching stedi-operators having all the fun on set; so I'm looking to make the "admittedly strange" sideways-move into flying rigs. I have my own thoughts on the similarities between operating a steadicam and swinging a boom, but we won't get into any arguments about who's got the tougher job (although no-one seems to care how long I've been swinging a full-extension 16' pole in a 8' high hallway struggling to reach over 2 cams :))

     

    Before I completely abandon my current profession, I was looking to open a dialog with others about how to achieve the best results for the film; and help make an operators job a little easier as a boom op.

     

    I guess I'm asking: what do you look for from your on-set sound departments?

     

    Ian Thomson

    Boom Operator, photographer, alpine skiier.

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