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Rob Vuona SOC

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Everything posted by Rob Vuona SOC

  1. Kyle, Sorry this happened to you , you should have researched this topic before you sent it in. This same thing happened to me and I got so fed up with his lies and incompetence that I literally called him three times a day all at different hours for two months straight and berated him on messages and whenever he picked up. I asked him if I should send the invoice for my sub rental fees he was costing me. I finally got the motor back repaired but it took months. I could not sell the motor fast enough. Its a very strong motor but I just can't own a product that has that kind of customer service. Loon works is the name for a reason he's a loon, thats for sure !
  2. lots of assistants to carry your stuff, helps on location ! lol
  3. Hi Manny, As you know, I have traveled to at least 100 countries with my gear and domestically the travel costs are significantly lower than anywhere else. One leg of a trip we were on the airline was charging 50 euro for every kilo we were over, the cost came to $27,000 US . . . . . Thanks god for credit cards. The cost of the gear to travel is just part of the production cost. All your gear should be under 70 lbs, under 50 is out of the question for our stuff and of course Media Rate always helps. If Delta is going to discontinue media rate, then tell production to fly you American if they want to save some money. Lastly, I can travel with just two storm 2950 cases and that includes batteries and a C-Stand. JM2C
  4. You should hit up Jack over at Pro, I'm sure he'll be happy to send you one in LA
  5. The internal Tally works on the Small HD DP7 pro HB but the older software only allows it to blink when activated and it was wired opposite of our typical sensors. But Small HD has corrected this with the new software update. I have not yet done it, but I believe John Perry has his working correctly
  6. Hi Simon, There is a guy in Morocco, I worked with him in June, but I have to say what he called a steadicam wasn't really a piece of gear that I would consider going to for a back up. =/ Film commission is definitely a good place to get a name. I took pictures of his gear because I had never seen anything like it before. Be safe over there ! Dont get to friendly with the monkeys or the snakes . . . .LOL
  7. Thanks Sanjay, I'm planning on looking at this monitor at NAB in Las Vegas coming up.
  8. Bo, What Janice said : Know what your rig is worth as a rental Basically: arm yourself with knowledge on all the points that everyone has made . . . . . - How much is your steadicam worth as a rental, Call every rental place in town and ask if they rent steadicams, if they do, for how much, how many hours etc . . . .call other operators, how much do they rent theirs for, do they go out for a min, weekly etc . . . . - Know your fellow operators, learn where they are working and for what projects, are they Union or Non union, etc . . . . Arming yourself with knowledge allows you to really know what your market is, who's not playing well with others on rate, who has what gear, which directors and producers like which operators. The more you know the more confidant you can be in your decisions. Example: If you know everyone else in town is booked and they called you then you can be very confident in your quote because you already know they have no other calls to make. But again as Janice said, you still gotta be able to pull it off and step up to the challenge . . . . . Fake it till you make it !! Fly Safe stud!!
  9. Ok, I haven't posted in awhile and like Afton I almost closed the computer, but I cant help it . . . . . Bo . . . . NO, NO,NO !!! Like Afton said. First lemme address Teddy . . . . . - Ted, I'm not beating up on you or telling you how to run your business but these are just observations from my experience and what I have learned from others before me. - You said. . . . . "You don't do half day rates, anymore" , you should have Never done them in the first place by doing this you have already screwed the pooch and basically opened the door for guys like Bo to get bent over as well. - You said, "except for established commercial clients who I know are legitimately hiring me for easy 1-2 hour gigs." again still screwing yourself and others. - You are correct a 4 hr day easily turns into an 8 hr day especially with prep and travel. - You said, " but generally the rate depends on the budget of the production" as this may be true from the producers side of things, our jobs as steadicam guys doesn't change. We are still carrying the rig, we are still framing shots and we are still asked for input on the creativity of the project and in my experience the lower the budget the harder it seems the gig is. So NO! If you have the proper gear and your in a certain genre then stick to those rates, if production can't afford the toys then don't give them to them, unless your time and effort is not worth it? - You Said, " you should be negotiating two rates; a day rate or hourly rate with a 10 hour minimum and, secondly, a kit rental", Nope . . . Never negotiate a flat day rate. If your getting paid on a timecard then your getting paid on an 8 hr day per the US labor laws. If your invoicing then you can negotiate a 10 hr rate. But why would you and screw yourself, unless you know everyday is going to be under 10 hrs. - Kit rental varies because of equipment but you are correct in saying sometimes a bad rate can be made up in a different budget line with production and up your rental payment. - Lastly if and when you come into someone elses city, taking gigs for a lesser rate just because your city isn't offering tax incentives on your projects is never OK. I understand you have to put food on the table but tread lightly on this, I'm not saying that you are taking jobs for less and hopefully you are getting above and beyond the rate and we can all aspire to get that rate. All I'm saying is you never want to be THAT guy. As for you Bo . . . . - Your a Grip turned steadicam Op, good on ya for doing something else and pursuing a passion, that being said you can't complain about not being called back when you have a year of operating under your belt as well as never being a camera operator. I'm not saying you don't have skills and very well may be the most creative camera person I have ever met, but on paper and to producers your still as green as it gets. - $800 to operate and rent your gear sounds like a screaming deal to me, but I don't know your market or what gear you own. - Never do a half day, your only screwing yourself and others that are in the same market. - Quote on a 8 hr day, if your on payroll. - Its not the gear that gets you work its your work that gets you work. So get out there and keep making stuff, practice and you will see, the better you get, the more everyone wants the guy who kills it in the rig and gets the job done. Let your work speak for you and nothing else matters, well thats not entirely true, If its not fun, then don't do it . . . . . I always have to have fun otherwise I don't want it . . . LOL =) - On the side note: Movi and Ronins are great tools, like the steadicam but are different in how they are used, so I don't see them as a threat. JM2C
  10. Hey Charles, I'll ask Tore and Ron or one of the other camera guys, I can't confirm yet but i heard that they were archiving in 4K on a brand new 4k truck and down converting it to HD 1080 for air.
  11. Very bummed I couldn't work on it But my good buddies Tore Livia and Ron Lehman were the operators and very much agree with the statement it was awesome ! Tores opening shot, was spectacular They barely put the rigs down for 3 hours They hopscotched locations so commercial breaks were close to non existent The whole production was a lesson in how to do live TV. Very proud to call them and everyone who did that show my friends and colleagues
  12. Hello everyone, I am looking to take away any of your old broken unusable unwanted steadicam stuff. It can be anything, Old broken green screen monitor, a half cracked broken post, snapped arm post, anything, the bigger the better but nothing will be turned down. I'm assuming no one wants to ship it internationally, so I'll keep it to the US unless your feeling craziliy generous and want to ship it. Specifically California would obviously be the easiest. Let me know what you have Thanks Happy Holidays
  13. While on set today The director was talking on headset about the ring shots and how cool the steadicam was choreographed. Can't wait to see it ! Great work Ben !!
  14. What is the collapsed size ? Will it fit in a peli 1650 or Storm 2950 case? What size is the docking bracket? I'm interested in buying one! Rob Vuona 310-993-0667 Robvski@aol.com Text me the details for quicker response
  15. All you NY Ops check out the M-1 http://training.abelcine.com/event/steadicam-m-1-camera-stabilizing-system-demo-day-new-york/
  16. Hi Chris, Thanks for the review, you said you have used quit a few different monitors, have you used the small HD DP-7 Daybright ? If so how does the new Boland compare ? Thanks
  17. Great Price for these, How lucky are you that you never had to use them . . . . LOL . . . Just say no to 3-D haha
  18. According to Josh, and I have yet to confirm with our Union, I called them to ask but to date no one has called me back, but apparently the Union is very excited to have won this contract with 51 Minds and now the show Broken Skull Ranch is Union. (According to the Email we all got) The unfortunate part is, the Union waved all the benefits for the crew. I don't get that at all, isn't that one of the main reasons why we want it to be union. Also, to add insult to injury, not only did these crew people that walked off the show and picketed lose that last week of work, they don't get their benefits and the director and producers said that all of them should lose their number. In other words, your not getting a call to do next season ! I hope I am wrong and this is not the case . . . . . but very sad and so not what was expected. Josh, can you chime in and confirm this ?
  19. Holy Crap . . . . Seriously they wore a mask ? NO Way! Josh, you have to find out who these knuckleheads are? Stoooooopid!
  20. I saw a post on FB today from a production coordinator asking if any non union camera guys were looking for work. I quickly personal messaged her and asked if this was for Broken Skull Ranch, they replied that they didn't know it was a relay for a friend. I gave here the back story of whats going on and told her to make sure she's not sending anyone over there , Hang in there Josh, hopefully 51 Minds and Adam get their shit together and sign the contract so y'all can get back to work
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