Lars Erik

Having problems with a brand new Archer 2 top-stage. Sometimes when I lock the camera onto the stage, I can still slide the camera using a little force. I then have to tighten the little screw which is on the locking clamp on the stage. (Red circle in the picture)

Anybody know how to fix this? Thought about lock-tite, but unsure if that's a good idea...

I have to chime in and say it's a wonderful vest. It took me a few days to figure out the proper way to use it, but now it feels great.

Shooting a drama series with the Alexa plus. Rig+camera weighs in just over 55lbs / 25 kg, and I must admit, sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm actually wearing the rig. And the fact that I can breathe freely is a plus. Slow moved are also easier.

Great new tool for the Steadicam world!

Me too. Seems like a lot of us are getting it. Perhaps a good advice is to check your account on the forum when you get a message on your mail that seems like it's origin is from the forum. I did, and there was no message on the forum. So I figured it was BS.

Great work Jorge.

 

Impressions of Day 1:

 

• Everyone seems very jazzed about the AJA camera, and rightly so: looks like an Alexa mated with a Phantom. Lots of connections, seems ergonomic, lots of flat spots for mounting accessories and velcro, etc. An AC friend of mine gave it the highest accolade any AC will give a camera: "I don't hate it."

 

Yeah, looks great. But the price; $9K. Jesus, that's $20k less than the Sony F55.

…but it's beautiful little video.

So the next time your about to post something angry or with a negative tone here on this forum. Please take your time to watch this video.

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/watching-complete-strangers-make-out-is-actually-awkwar-1540921129?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Peace. Love and all the beautiful things in between.

LE

Good point Eric. As I said, I'm a believer. It's just that I know how tv producers always try so save a buck.

Yes, I agree. But the trick is to convince tv-producers that they get value for their money. In the TV-world alot of the time producers very often only look at the price.

$40K

Oh man. I had hoped that they had lowered the price more. It will be a way tougher path to go now to convince producers to go for this camera.

http://www.hdvideopro.com/blog/editor/2014/01/arri-now-taking-orders-on-doc-style-amira-camera-priced-at-39999.html

Blaine,

I liked the shot. I think lock offs are difficult also. I usually start to sweat like crazy when doing lock offs. Probably due to intense focusing.

For a newbie shot that is great. I haven't posted anything I've done. Way too a coward. So respect to you.

PS! I didn't even see the C-stand.

Hello Aaron,

welcome to the forum.

Does this help?

http://merlin2cookbook.com/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtMO6j4asy8

Oh yeah. I love how the sales department are trying to sell this rig. You can just smell the money they put into the making of this sales video. Fantastic location, and how about that voice over?

Man I'm getting one. That's all there is to it.

Hello Jessica,

I did ask you if you had permission to use Sarah's picture. But I also think I did it in a respectful manner. The cause I said, was a good one. But before anyone made Sarah a national symbol, someone should ask her family if they were ok with that. Remember that people grieve differently. None of us had any way of knowing how her family dealt with her loss.

I hope you come back to the forum someday. There are far too few women out there in our industry. It's sadly too male dominated and sadly our business also attracts a lot of d**kheads and individuals with low social abilities. Like certain people on this forum. Not naming anyone, but a beer to the one who first sends me a pm and guesses right…the next time you're in Norway that is. :rolleyes:

I understand that you're going through a lot these days. My thoughts to your sick friend and you.

Be safe and all the best to you

J

not a surprise, but now official, no permit to be on the tracks, not only that but a "permit request" was denied by CSX!

 

 

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/midnight-rider-fatality-sherrif-report-says-csx-denied-permission-for-shooting-1201119180/

 

 

and

 

 

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/investigator-midnight-rider-crew-wasnt-supposed-to-be-on-tracks-1201115835/

Jesus! Somebody on the crew said they had to be on that track, and that somebody should go to prison.

Hello Craig,

first, doing steadicam on documentaries is a good idea. Given it serves it's purpose. It can really add on the production value.

Second, you say you have little knowledge about steadicams. The first few years you'll have enough keeping the rig steadi and composing the frame. Keeping focus also will increase the difficulty of your operating. May I suggest that the first years you rely on not pulling focus? Use the rig when it allows you to have a F stop of 5.6 or higher. As you get better at steadicam you can add the focus unit. Rob has tons of experience doing steadicam and pulling focus simultaneously.

Last year I did a TV show about luxury houses. I was a one man crew shooting empty rooms. (a second full tv-crew did the scenes with the people in it). I shot at F 5.6-8 usually all the time with a Sony XDCam 700 with a Canon 11x HDLens. So basically most is in focus all the time. so it can be done w/o focus unit, even though it limits your shots.

Don't go down the slow motion path. Doing documentaries and relying on slow motion to have decent footage, will leave you with documentaries with slow motion footage only. Rely on yourself to be able to control the rig. If you must use slow motion to have decent footage, you shouldn't be doing steadicam.

Before buying a rig, may I also suggest taking a steadicam course or at least buy Jerry Holway and Laurie Hayball's book; "The Steadicam Operator's Handbook"?

http://www.amazon.com/Steadicam®-Operators-Handbook-Jerry-Holway/dp/024082380X

Whatever you do, good luck.

Found this video of a Italian op, way too close to the nice tiger (?!) for my taste...

Agreed Dave.

One slate coming up on FB from Norway later today. Even though this happened in the US, the short cuts our industry sometimes takes, I suspect has no nationality. I have at least seen my share of stupidity on set.

Lets hope that her death will at least force crews and producers to reconsider possible dangerous situations in the future.

Did anyone ask Ms. Jones family about using her picture on their rigs?

I think the idea is good, because her death is so pointless. But the her family should have a say in this.

Other than that, I think it's a great shame that there is a negative mood in some posts in this thread. Perhaps those posts should have been PM'ed instead?

Hello Ali,

as Andre stated, keeping a low-profile with a stabilizer, or when filming with a d5200 or an iPhone for that matter, is near to impossible. People will notice you.

Can't think of anything that will fulfill your needs. But I have seen some ok shots made with a Glidecam XR-2000. They cost $300 USD though.

I have to say, this guys ad isn't the worst I've seen. At least he has the smarts to demand certain issues that must be met if he's to work for free.

Question is, if he did get work, will he follow through? Let's say a production company does contact him and say they agree to his terms. What if the acting DP says F 1.8 when the rig is up, will he walk away? What if when he arrives on set, the producer said there was a problem with the camera deal, so they're shooting on a DSLR? What if the scene gets delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, or just plain old lack of experience? Will he take his rig down and walk away? If he does not, then his words mean nothing.

I've been in the industry for 16 years now, and I have walked off set twice in all those years. So I know how hard it is to walk away, most of us are dedicated towards our work and want to finish what we started.

Now the US ain't my market. But undercutting is a fundamental problem that crosses international borders. I have done some school projects for free. And other projects for friends/close colleagues for a lower rate.

In some cases I could give 100% discount on my gear. But I never gave my time up for free. Why should I? If someone comes to you and asks to give up your time with your family & friends, and not get anything for it, just seems mad to me and in the longer run, I do believe it devalues our status. Your spare time is worth something, regardless of your experience. Period.

Tuomas,

thanks for the link. yes, I totally agree with you. Nice to hear what someone like Rodrigo Prieto thinks of the Movi.

Hi Jamie,

welcome to the forum.

Don't take any offense of Evrims comments. He means well, and he is correct. You're basically asking how to operate a steadicam and how to set-it up. Pretty general questions. I think it would be a lot easier if you had more detailed questions. I say this with respect to you, so please don't take it the wrong way.

I doubt the Wieldy is known to many ops here, but if someone knows it, please chime in.

If you're serious about steadicam, do a workshop. I've been doing steadicam for 10 years now. And I'm still learning! And I've done 2 workshops.

So to not leave you totally clueless about the science of steadicam, here's a link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTIzOZJemc0

It's a fairly easily understood instructions of how a Steadicam Pilot from Tiffen works. If the Wieldy is worth anything at all, it should be similar operations.

And there's are numerous buyers of the Wieldy who's posted on YT on how to make it work. Don't know if they know what they're talking about, but you could do a search there.

Good luck!

All the best

LE

Hey I can help anyone who needs cables for those smaller rigs, shoot me an email.

 

Best,

Blaine

blainebakercinema@gmail.com

Let's see. Blaine Baker, on my shitlist. Check!

Douchebag

Hi Milan,

buy a weight cage. I bought mine from Michael Hofmann in Gothenburg. It has 4 separate plates to use, depending on your camera. Rock solid.

Lycka till!

LE

Norge

I've been doing Steadicam for almost 10 years now (in the industry for 15 years). And in all those years, one thing that the DP's were worried about, was the limits of a rig. Can we use this camera, do you have problem using heavy lenses, filter change, what about FF and wireless video? What's your set-up time etc.

In short, they want a set to move fast and have as little limits as possible. To me, the MOVI is just the opposite. Shitload of limits. Until they find a way to remove these limits, the MOVI will be a niche product and totally uninteresting to me. So let them fiddle about, and maybe in a few years time when they've sorted all this out, it could be interesting.