rupert peddle

<googles lisigav>

cheers victor, as I'm still quite new to this and I'm just trying to get a handle on what other ops do so i'm not either asking too much or too little, and also to get a heads up on the best way to do things by leaning on the experience of all you guys ;) i'm very much of the opinion that if you don't know....ask....there is no such thing as a silly question as long as it's asked honestly, or maybe there is in which case I'm happy to be told that too haha!

ok, interesting. i guess if i add a clause in my agreements that states the rate reverts to standard in the event that the number of days is cut short as Robert mentioned that would cover it. i've only done 'fixed price' jobs so far so it's great to be prepared before hand if/when this situation comes up :) thanks!

looks pretty cool, but yeah would want to be super sure about the loading, and probably would want to have an independant safety harness/line from the operator to the car, maybe to the seatbelt mountings?

on a related note, I have used those bike racks that clamp into a tow bar ball. i've driven hundreds of miles with a few heavy mountain bikes bouncing around on it, and seemly defying the laws of physics the whole thing has remained solid. what are people's thoughs about using a clamp like that for a mount?

cheer for your input guys it's really useful!

I work in the short film & feature world so once booked on a shoot the number of days should be fixed rather than possibly getting cut after shooting starts.....hopefully anyway!

The guys at optical support had one at the end of last year, you could try them?

Any advice on normal/reasonable kit hire rate discounts for multi-day bookings (eg a feature) for one week, two, three etc?

Looking at some kit hire places it seems you can get a week for about half the 7 x 1 day rate.....so for a month half that again? Or is this a purely personal thing?

Also, is it usual to offer an operator rate discount if booked over multiple days? My thinking is to offer kit hire discounts but not operator rate discounts?

Cheers!

rups

quick question, how come you guys use pay pal to take payments. don't you get fleeced for the transaction charge by them? what's wrong with direct bank transfer? or is it for the client's peace of mind in that they can use the pay pal buyer protection?

I should be working with an RT motion unit in the next couple of weeks and can do a video. What kind of things would you guys like to see?

Hi all!

Looks like I have the opportunity to work with an actual film camera for the first time, the Arriflex 416. I have a Clipper 2 Steadicam so the weight should be fine but I don't have the 24v upgrade yet so would need to run it with the on board battery. I've had a look at the manual and can see it's got a built in video tap and FIZ brain so reasonably happy that I can physically mount and fly it without much trouble. Should I use any adapters to mount it like the Alexa?

Does anyone have any hits, tips, suggestions or other comments about operating with this camera or film in general? I've read that depending on how the film magazine works it can affect the balance as it spools through which makes sense but how much of an affect does it have? Is it just a matter of tweaking the balance between takes?

Cheers guys looking forward to it just want to make sure I'm as prepared as possible :)

rups

Cheers, looks like a good system for the price, will be interested to hear about its reliability over the course of a day's shoot with all the randomness that implies ;) Anyone know if they can be hired anywhere in the UK for a test?

merry crimbo!

I needed both something with full length rails and that also added some weight when using light cameras and I got one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PROAIM-RS-1-Rail-system-for-Follow-Focus-Mattebox-/131294859513?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item1e91c890f9

I also have a 2kg shoulder rig counterweight that attaches to the rails which works well to add extra weight too. Its 'fairly' well made but some of the screws you use to adjust the height of the quick release plate are a bit small and fiddly and I can see them wearing out with a lot of use but it does it's job well enough for now!

Hey Suman,

I'm a new operator too and have been using Shooting People and Film and TV Pro to find jobs so far. You have to pay for both and you seem to mostly get the expenses only or really low budget productions on there, but I've worked on a few really cool projects and met some great people who I'll be working with again so it's great for getting experience and networking. I've just upgraded my rig and need to branch out into bigger projects now...but that's new territory for me so not sure how yet haha. Good luck!

rups

ah yes of course, like moving the monitor and battery mounts out.....one to remember, thanks!

awesome, thanks! think i'll be getting a garden cart for the time being though while I save up for one haha

yeah it does mean you need to have the camera further forward than usual, but I've not had any problem with balancing the rig set up like that. is there a problem with having the combined CG of the camera & counterweight somewhere in-between them? i would have thought that as long as the rig is balanced, it doesn't really matter where the individual components that make up the top weight are in relation to each other, its just the position of their combined CG that matters? still learning though and happy to learn if i've got the wrong idea :)

That's pretty interesting, didn't know it was supposed to be a 'single take' and play out in real-time, that's moved it up a few spots on my to-see list! Saw a great short recently which cut three very different camera angles together (steadicam, snorricam and crane) and loved the switching of perspectives in a seemly single take.

HI all,

Does anyone have any good suggestions for getting a good value cart in the UK? I've been looking at those garden trolleys with the big wheels but would like something with a top shelf too. Have been considering DIY'ing one but thought I would ask here before getting out the bodging tools ;)

Cheers!

rups

Hi Naama,

For extra weight for the camera, I got a heavy-ish camera quick-release plate/adapter that could also take 15mm rods and a 2kg shoulder-rig counter weight that clamps onto the rods. These not only add a good amount of weight but also mean you can attach things like a matte box or follow focus if needed.

Hey Ahsan,

I think this has been covered previously....if you search the forums for zephyr and alexa you should find it. I think the short version was it's pushing it and you have to have a very stripped down Alexa configuration.

rups

Thanks for everyone's input, really interesting!

I kind of had it in my mind that the sled would probably be a bit of a pain to use compared to modern designs but that it might be worth putting up with it in order to get a G70 rather than a G50 for the extra payload capacity, and would plan to upgrade the sled when I could, however that might well be quite a way off and I wouldn't want to be stuck with something I'm not happy with. There are a fair few positive views of it so I guess like most things it's about personal preferences and less about outright design flaws. I'm hopefully going to try both the Master on offer and an Archer2 back to back and see how they both feel to operate. With the size and weight of cameras coming down all the time I'm not 100% convinced I would need that extra payload for now, especially as I'm just starting out, but on the other hand don't want to limit my options too much....

Eric, I'm in the UK and only really know the Tiffen range after attending a workshop and talking with them, and am only about an hour away from their base at Pinewood if/when support is needed. What other options would you suggest, bearing in mind the kind of price range I am looking at?

cheers all!

vs lol.....even better if you turn one upside down!

Hi,

I'd like to hear people's thoughts and experiences working with a Master (Broadcast) sled, and if you guys think it's 'still got it' compared to modern sleds? I'm still looking at upgrade options and have been considering a used Archer2 with G50x arm, but a Master with upgraded G70 is available for a similar price (both with LX vests). The sled has been upgraded with HD-SDI already so should be ready to fly modern cameras. I'm just a little concerned about the apparent lack of flexibility of the monitor and battery mounts and the short post?

The G70 arm would allow me to upgrade to a modern 'big rig' sled in the future but just concerned that the old sled design may have some compromises compared to a modern one while I'm working with it? I've not yet had a look and test of either of them but doing some background research at the moment ;)

Cheers guys will get there in the end!

rups

Hi Jules!

That's a really great idea, you are correct practice practice practice is the way we improve and also learning from other people different ways of doing things, methods and techniques. I would love to get involved but I'm down in Portsmouth and getting to central London for 7pm with would involve a hell of a fight with the traffic ;) Do you do your shoots on weekends at all?

rups