Mariano Costa

...so, cotton balls...how`s your day? ;-) btw, content wise the video was crap because with the bad operating it almost looked like pre-stabilization/pre-steadicam days...

It may be approx. as light as the epic, but then the Alexa Mini has built in servo controls and storage media interface - not a big deal weight wise for steadicam but even more for gimbals, not even speaking about the much better ergonomics in general, symmetrical design and better COG...

This took me by total surprise... http://www.arri.com/alexamini/ Even though a lot of you guys may prefer it large and heavy (like Alexa XT "heavy"), the moment I read about this I felt quite some pounds less on my back! ;-)

Looool!!

:-P That's unfair!!

A general question to all, seeing these names of former owners on the equipments, didn't anyone of you guys ever think about getting your own name engraved onto it??

Funny that nobody answered this so far. The main and biggest difference between the "classic" design and PRO's is that the latter ones rely on compression spring mechanics while almost all other arms on the market have expansion spring setup. The only other arm I know with compressed springs are those from Baer Bel (Germany), but only the Pro arm allows to change springs on the fly and in minutes. You can even leave out two of the four springcanisters in order to expand the range of weight capacity. And regarding your question on the "aliens" prop Steadicams: if I'm correct they damaged both of them. The vest for Vasquez had been shortened for her and the other one was damaged, probably even in that scene you mentioned. But John Ward got compensated for it. Nice trivia: he couldn't operate himself on aliens because he was booked on another movie with marines in it... "Full Metal Jacket" ;-)

The arm they rented from late John Ward and used as a prop in Aliens (1986) for "Vasquez" Smart Gun (Jennette Goldstein) is still owned and used by Joe McNally...

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that joysticks are the way to go, they're a compromise or rather a residue of the gimbals origins and by no means made for film. No, what I mean is that I am wondering if the wheels can give you fast and precise enough controls in non rehearsed situations like live shows etc.

I gave it a second thought and have to correct my initial assessment. I guess it's mostly because of the rather non portable nature of these wheels because I don't think that you can always operate remotely, in the sense of: not at the side of the operator of the gimbal. I think you often need to have at last a quick glimpse at the surrounding area of the gimbal.

Really? Didn't know that, but now it kind of makes sense!

I`m sceptical of the wheels. They`re only useful on slower and well rehearsed moves.

Found this some time ago:

That's something I can't wrap my head around either. The ronin costs much less then these wheels, that's gonna be a tough sell...

Haarhoff did one of the most mind blowing performances ever in the rig in Fight Club. Together with James Muro and Jörg Widmer he is one of the magicians of the art for me! But there was one thing I noticed in the Birdman BTS videos, does he actually limp?? I'm asking because I have a slight limp, too and was surprised to see that (or maybe it's just a wrong impression from my side).

That's what I hate about Arri's website. On some items they have exact info about the weight, on others nothing, like their cinetape, single axis controller, external encoder and so on...

But it is exactely this. There are two systems, one is "just" a very precise horizon, the second is a horizon coupled with a servo driven weight which counteracts to the sled`s roll. This: http://www.steadicam.com/userimages/Steadicam_WXB-ss.pdf Oops, sorry James, saw your post too late ;-)

You`re welcome! :)

you mean something like this? http://www.steadicam.com/steadicam_wagner_horizon_whm.html

Just stumbled over this. Kind of a mini docu about the Steadicam op of "happy". https://vimeo.com/109682125

...a body supported camera stabilizer...

It's a pity that cinetronics doesn't live up to the standards, the monitors really look nice, but it's the performance that counts... and btw, a very respected company which builds and distributes Steadicam related equipment (which I won't name here for obvious reasons), when I inquired about cinetronic told me that they don't offer their products because of bad electronics + software and suggested to go with transvideo xsbl, too...

Ah, good to know! Thanks!

Now that solves the mystery regarding the difference in weight, thanks! Now about the performance, would anyone actually recommend working with the titan in a two canister configuration or are there any drawbacks like an undesirable force curve or so?

What`s wrong with the Arri`s? Which systems did you use?