Matt Mouraud

Hi everyone, I would need to rent a Flyer for the day of monday 8th. I'll fly in from Paris the day before into IAD. I need a basic Flyer setup (I will fly a Z7) for one day. Thanks so much !

Using an Archos on your sled is one good way to keep these hard-to-get footages... And it's more discrete than pluging your laptop to the DV recorder at the video village at the end of the day ! :lol:

I was wondering if there was any operator in Colombia or what kind of gear was available for rental ? Thanks !

Are there much ops in Russia ? Like, I'm the only op in Morocco...

VLC plays Archos clips flawlessly.

I was on a big commercial a while ago, and at prep day I met with the AC. She was great, very professionnal, but when I unpacked and she saw the Bartech she went like "what the hell is that ?"... So I asked her if that would be a problem, and she said that she was a little bit concerned because she'd never used one. After the first take using it she came to me and said "I love it, it's great". We work a lot together now, and she's started recommending the Bartech to all her AC friends. Where I live there is basically no need for a FIZ. The main rental house has a Scorpio that's collecting dust on a shelf. It's too expensive for the local budgets, and I guess our shots are not elaborate enough to require a FIZ ! :lol:

He's no Zidane, that's for sure. I believe he got hammered 0-3 on his first game in LA ? He's one hell of a business man though.

Hi Charles, Well while you get the juicy 35mm jobs (most totally deserved, I'm a big fan of yours), we get the F750/900, DigiBeta and so on jobs (not disrespectful at all)... Which is fine, you don't get to drive an Aston at driving school. How don't know how it is on your side of the pond, though, but over here Beta-shaped cams are becoming the norm, unfortunately. Doesn't it make more sense to train with the same type of cam you get jobs with...?

Hey Jennifer, Nice post there. How about you start with a used rig ? A used Ultra, Erwin's Pro2 and so forth. These are fantastic rigs that can be had at around $40k which leaves some space for FF and Video HF. They most of the time have all those little extras that would run you a lot higher, and maybe leave you enough cash to buy a used old Betacam to practice, which is so much better than a weight cage for you get used to work with a full size camera, not a heavy Z1 or whatever. I bought an old BVW300 for $800 with a standard lens and a busted VCR. The camera section works fine, it's a great practicing toy. Slap a Pag Ni-Cd chocolate bar on that bad boy and you are pretty close, weight and size wise to an F900. So, a quick glance on the For Sale section here gives you about $40k for a used "big rig", another $5k will get you a used Bartech and a some VideoHF and you are set... to start practicing ! When I don't work I'm in the rig at least 2 hours a day, line dancing, chasing some imaginary character in my appartment or in the street. Plus you work on the physical aspect which is great. First time I spent the day with a fully loaded Moviecam Compact on the sled I was happy that I trained hard. Go to Afton's great website (www.steadishots.org) and watch those clips. Break them down, understand and practice, it will work out eventually. Great reward when your DP comes and tell you that you pulled a great shot... I always remember Ted Churchill's words "as a steadicam operator you can be a complete star, or a total moron if you fuck up a shot". You seem motivated, just make the right choice. When you got your driver's license you didn't rush to get an Aston Martin did you ? :lol:

Purely based on design I would think so, having tried one I didn't notice any noise... But since I don't own one, I can't really comment on that. The other thing is that a front-mount vest keeps you warmer which is nice in winter but not so much in warmer climates...

Same here with the new Ultra vest (not the Ultra2). It makes a "tac-tac-tac" noise (but not a squeak) especially when the sled is held slightly away from the vest (i.e. going through a door). I've lubed up everything, it still does it. Not a problem outside, definately a problem in a quiet environment. The sound engineer on the feature I'm working on is very picky, and he noticed it right away... The more I think about it, the more I will go for a Klassen.

I would also love to get a copy... My email : steadimatt (at) free.fr Thanks !

I use the Bartech, and I believe it's set in the 902-928Mhz range. Why ?

I have the Bartech/M-One package. I work a lot with the same assistant who absolutely loves it. Set up time is dirt quick, and it's so easy even I could do it. The M-One is so powerful it will rotate just about anything. I had a job on sunday with a Sony F900/Pro 35 setup and the 35m/m we used was just crying for a good lube job. The M-One is so torquey you could see the entire Pro 35 flex while the CA was calibrating. Impressive. Prior to that I used the Fox/Heden M26 combination.

I use the Marell Digital Level on the Pro2 with great results until it started acting up : the picture was breaking up, kinda like a bad BNC. The bubble wouldn't work well and then I got nothing on the monitor. I shot an email to Marell and Dave Ellis got back to me right away. There is a tiny hex screw below the power Lemo plug. It is adjustable. A little fiddling and the bubble was back up and running. This screw is a capacitor, it adjusts the line locked clock - phase lock loop - frequency lock point. You must be extremely careful with the hex screw though. I want to say here that not only the Marell products are top notch (I use to use the high brite CRT), but their customer service is also way up there.

Well I use the exact same set up (with an Archos 500 instead of a 704). Two things with the Boxx that make it actually almost impossible to use with a Steadicam. The 12-frame primary delay. It drives 99% of the directors I work with (mostly for commercials) absolutely crazy. This one computer-geek director loves the fact that it says Digital Microwave. This DP I also work with loves to show the delay to actors by making sudden movements in front of the camera. Then add to that a good 10 seconds with no picture at cam power up (if it's powered by the cam) and you can pack it up. The the director will stand next to you and annoy you at watching your monitor. The only way to use it in an acceptable way is if the video village is far away, and if you don't need cues. They love the picture quality but they will prefer using the analogue stuff with no delay and break-ups than having to deal with a 12-frame delay. Pity though because the quality is outstanding. So I use the Archos straight on the sled.

Yes I guess I wasn't clear on that previous one. I'll post some footage that will give a better description of what I was intending to explain. I agree though, that's operating 101 :lol:

Hey Job, how are ya buddy ? You know you are really close to the UK, you should get on an Easyjet flight and go and test extensively the AR, I don't think you could get a honest opinion here, too much heat. And what a better way to get a feel for it ?

Erwin, I can't seem to be able to view your business card, it returns an error each time. Would you mind sending to me by mail ? Thanks so much !

Charles, Peter, Thank you so much for your input. Horizon control on 100ft+ long shots is really critical and I didn't have much time experimenting. I found that with the handle perpendicular the horizon control was more difficult. The DP was happy with the shots, though, but I felt they could've been better. On one particular shot, I also had to maintain a perfect headroom along with a perfect horizon which got me into a serious sweat. It worked after a few tries... I was thinking about Ted Churchill's manual of style the whole time.... It worked. :lol:

Hi all, I've been working on a short, shot HD (F900 with primes) in the old Casablanca slaughterhouse. Yes it's even creepier than I thought, but Shirin Neshat has a great vision and use of this place. Anyhow, I've been doing a lot of lateral traveling with the 5mm Fuji prime and while it looks great all these straight lines are a killer for horizon control. The rig is a Pro 2 with XCS gimbal and Steadyrig arm. I was wondering how you seasoned operators were doing it : pushing the rig ahead with the gimbal handle perpendicular to the rig or with the gimbal handle at about a 45° angle ? I found it to be a great exercise anyhow, I've learned a lot during these days but I would love to have you guys opinion. ;)

Hi Jens, I'm currently using the Steadicam Ultra vest which I love despite the occasionnal hip pain. When I have more cash I will look into it. I tried GB's vest and he's such a tall guy... Thanks for the advice though and this also goes to show how much effort and dedication Mr Klassen puts in his work...

Yeah, it's kinda like buying a knock-off Breitling for $2000, doesn't make much sense, does it ? Too bad the back mounted vest doesn't fit me (I'm too skinny, I think). I would love to have a Klassen or a DSD...

While Katie Holmes seems to be enjoying herself, this vest sells for $4500... I don't know about the rest though but while in China I've seen some of their high end knock offs and it was pretty impressive. Of course the absolute lack of customer care and service makes up for it but still.... It's just sad that they cannot do anything else than copying and cashing on those who spent years and countless money on R&D. and it's particularly sad when it touches small companies with a such a small market as Steadicam...