Rob Vuona SOC

Martin, Forget what Robert and Chris said, Buy the Pro and all the extras and even back-up of everything, leverage yourself to the eyballs, you should be in about $150,000 by then and since your young you'll have a lifetime to hone your craft and pay off the rig, Of course you'll be living out of a cardboard box and stinking up the set from the lack of showering. . .LOL . . . Noooooo . . .I'm just kidding . . . They all have great advice . . . .Make a name for yourself and learn to shoot and always be creative! then swallow your pride and suck it up and all good things will come . . . if it's your passion you will always succeed. Life is too short to be unhappy so make sure it's your passion Oh and congrads on graduation, "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader" . . .hahahaha All the best Say hey to Peter Abraham when you take the flyer course, he's the Man!

Jeff, You are not kidding, My other buddies 3-A arm snapped just before mine and now Manny's all withing two weeks of each other strange . . .? How's your vacation going?

I was short on budget to start and bought the RF-Links SPX 68 from Image Gear. Its only nine channels but it works great and the customer service is good. For <$700 USD it was a good buy. When I get the extra $$$$ I'll definitely buy the Canatrans though because I've never heard anyone here complain about it and it's very well made. --------- Robert With all that Vegas money you don't have enough for a Canotrans, that's a Friday night out for you, isn't it? LOL . . . . . Hope all is well with you, I may need your help on something, call me 310-993-0667

Hey Chris, Sorry about the shrapnel in DC chest, in his defense he never missed a beat, I never stepped on a cable and he laughed at me all the way to the stand where he proceeded to break down my rig and put the camera on my shoulder and told me to get back to work . . .LOL . . .!!! I can't tell you how loud it was when it snapped . . . .incredible Oh and BTW . . .Manny snapped his Masteres arm yesterday in Miami . . .WTF?? . . . .hopefully your G-70 isn't succeptable to the LA curse lately . . .LOL . . .

Hey guys, Just and FYI As some of you may or may not know, my EFP arm exploded last week springs and cables everywhere . . . .God it was soooo loud when it snapped, so It was off to Robert Luna for repairs. I had a runner drop it off to him the very next day. Big Shout out to Kyle at Tiffen for loaning me a G-50 Arm for the rest of the day of shooting . . . . That guy is a saint! (Side Note, that friggin arm is awesome!!!) And next it was deciding what new springs to put in, I had the Red Springs, after talking to Steve Fracol, he mentioned he happened to have extra Blue Springs so we struck a screaming deal and bingo, another big shout out to him and his wife Stacy who Fed-Exed the springs to Robert Luna and now she gets new curtains for her house . . .LOL . . . .The G-50 had to go back to Tiffen . . . .Boooooo!!! So, Once again Dave Eastwood saves my sorry butt and loans me his Extra Silver Spring Arm for a week, that guy absolutely Rocks. Thanks again Dave for always coming through in my time of crisis! And Lastly a huge thank you to Robert Luna for making my work horse EFP arm look and feel like new. Actually better than it ever has . . . .Oh and one more thing He also let me try The new LUNA Arm which ranges from 15-60 or 70 lbs is pretty frickin nice. Price point is perfect and I am highly recomending it. All in need should call the guru of all Steadicam Arms !! Mr. Luna "La Luna e Las Estrallas" Gracias!!! Just thought you all should know!! and Jeff Muhlstock stop laughing at me . . . .LOL . . .

------------ Jeff . . . .It's not weather you suck or not it's how well you suck thats important . . .LOL . . . hahahahahahaha . . . . . And . . . .LOL . . .I'm cracking myself up thinking about this one, Elliot for the love of God , . . Daaa we all suck!! we just suck less than the otherr guys who can't operate the rig at all . . .LOL . . . . Dude, Iv'e fallen in a swimming pool wearing the rig and yes non of my buddy's including Mr. Muhlstock will ever let me live it down . . .LOL . . .

The 504 is a no-go. you have to use the docking station and there is next to no way to make it small enough to use on a rig. You want the AV500, and even then it seems that the cable is a problem for many ----------------- Thanks Eric, I almost pulled the trigger last night and bought it. So the AV-500 is the one to get huh . . .OK maybe if I come across one, it's not a neccessity for what I am working on but to have it as a back up would be nice Thanks again

Hey Guys, I just logged onto www.woot.com and there's an Archos 504 40gig for $199 , I know there has been discussion about this but I haven't had nearly enough sleep nore the time to do the sufficient research so I was hopeing one of you brilliant, in the know, guys could tell me if this little gizmo is a worthy return monitor/recorder. The unfortunate thing is Woot.com is only a 24 hr. site for these types of things so hopefully there will be some left in the morning if it is indeed a worthy purchase . . . All the best Thanks

The U2 is a nice rig, but owning one won't get you work. How long it'll take you to get work will depend on your experience and personality, not necessarily the gear. It's like asking a golfer how long it will take him to win the PGA because he has a nice set of clubs. Nice quote Ron, Nathan, he's exactly right . . .LA might be the hotspot for TV and movies and yes there's always a bunch of work around LA but owning a rig isn't getting you work anytime soon. The old saying, "it's not what you know, its who you know", becomes prevalent very quickly and of course pulling off the gig once you get it keeps you working.

Hey Peter, I got some picts from a job I did a month or so ago, "Grip Trix" supplied the electric golf cart and 4x quad, very cool guys and very cool rigs., The picts are on my other computer so I will send as soon as I get my other computer in the meantime you can see some of their picts online www.griptrix.com all the best Oh and BTW my EFP arm exploded two days ago springs flew across the studio to the horror of the studio audience . . .LOL . . .it sounded like a gunshot, thanks God no one was hurt . . . so needess to say I am waiting for Robert Luna to get back from Vacation to help me, unless you have any other suggestions ?

Hey also try the Honda "FIT" seat's fold down flat loads of room and 35 MPG, not the most atractive of vehicles though . .

Hey Elliot, Sorry you got abused on set my brother, but in fact nine times out of ten, as Ron said, those kinds of Directorial decisions come from inexperience and insecurity . . .That kind of thing happened to me once and I very politely exused myself from the set used the producers vehicle to take me and my gear to where my truck was and proceeded to leave with my AC and sound guy. They were so floored that they cut me a new better deal and where very nice after that . . .I know it doesn't always work that way, but dignity and treating someone with respect is way more important. Sometimes you just gotta say enough and move on. Ya post the name so the rest of us can be aware . . . Keep the chin up . . .next time will be better!!

Hey Lars, I just got home from shooting a Sony 900B gig, with a Miranda and a wireless transmitter. I use AB 140 and rotate through , they were lasting more than an hour each w/constant recording. They are 12 Volt and there's a 4 pin XLR power on the back. Have fun

...I turned down both jobs. -------- Bravo Elliot . . . I second what Charles said as well . . . . And, Forget nipping at our heals . . . . .use my gear and we'll both make some money . . . .LOL . . . Keep on keeping on! Fly Safe

-------------- Thanks Janice, I guess I wasn't understanding "LighterWeight rigs" But my dumb A@# get's it now . . LOL . . . I was thinking SK, Flyer or EFP as a lightweight rig.

---------------------- Way too funny Phillip, I had that same conversation with AB at NAB and told them that I made one of those on a job last year. I ordered the parts and machined it myself on location, so now they are selling them huh . . .cool . . . You should have had them offset the mounting plate 3" inches highter to accomodate the XLR plugs easier. Good on ya

------------------------ Call me stupid . . . . .ya, I heard that . . .LOL . . . but HUH? . . . .and why?

------------------ If that doesn't work out your more than welcome to mine All the best Rob 310-993-0667 robvski@aol.com

On another note (poll-type question), how would you all feel about an operator who takes piss-poor wages in order to qualify for health benefits? Many times I've heard people say, "If you're going to do a job for a lower rate you should be getting something else out of it". Hey Dan, Brad's quote says it best. And as I said as well, sometimes a guy has to take a job for one reason or another. Making your hours for the health benefits can be very important and I think all of us understand that. All the best

------------ I don't know about the other guys, But I personally don't know any steadicam operator that wasn't a cameraman of some sort first. I does no good to know how to operate a steadicam if you can't compose a shot! As a matter of fact, pretty much all the other operators have done some sort of other camera such as Jib or Dolly etc. Me personally, I went from Still camera work as a Photo Editor of a newspaper and magazine to video (Hand Held Camera, Ped Camera, Jib, Steadicam, POV, Chase Cam, Underwater, basically whatever the challenge was to shoot I wanted to do it) Shoot pictures and shoot video of anything and everything then get proficient at it, then go steadi. All the best Peace Out Rob

--------------------------- Hey Guys, So I'm not sure I am following anymore . . .? East Coast, West Coast or the rest of the country, Tier-1 or other, Union or Not, aren't we saying we should be holding for a minimum amount per Hr. or we just say No!? Right? Unless as a favor for friend or relative . . .I agree with getting my union hours, Lord Knows the Motion Picture Health Plan paid 100% of my shoulder surgery and I am thankful for that! So keeping the union involved and turnin these non-union productions is just fine with me. I can't even say I know any steadicam Ops. that has ever worked for "Scale" (scale being the negotiated MINIMUM rate the union has set, which I can't even say I know what that is. I have never even looked it up.) Aren't we all in agreement on our own set min.scale? Which is far above the negotiated union rate. Just a thought . . .!! I know there's always going to be that up and coming guy that needs to build his resume and is willing to do it for less and the occasional guy that needs to put food on the table for one reason or another, but I guess the best we can do is try to educate all in the community and stick together. One example I can give, recently I couldn't do a gig in Vegas, I had met Robert Starling in Vegas briefly at NAB and I threw his name to the Line Producer. Then I contacted him and gave him the update on what he should charge to ensure there was no confusion for future gigs. And actually I think he got more out of them for rental. So all was good in the world and now he owes me drinks . . .LOL . . . All the best to everyone, and the one good thing regarding all of this is that we are comunicating about it and not hiding behind producers asking us not to tell the others what they are giving us for rates.

----------------------- Job, You got that right, way cool, prompters and return video for all of us Live TV geeks . . .hopefully that thing comes out soon . . . . Thanks for the heads up

Elliot, Welcome to the world of spending, your first purchase will most certainly not be your last, unfortunately. Steadicam as you put it is a great camaraderie and brotherhood. All of us have done gigs for less on our way up to the "standard" rate and as your mentor Mike will tell you and most likely refer you to those jobs that just don't have the budget to afford a steadicam at the full rate. Hang on guys don't crucify me . . . .let me finish . . . .LOL . . .Maybe local cable, or maybe infomercials or whatever it is that would get you up to a comfortable level where you can step into a gig and charge the full rate. DO NOT take the gigs for as lesser rate when you know they have the budget for it. OK ok . . .so this is where you have to walk the line but you can always call Mike and make sure all is on the up and up. Just don't shoot yourself in the foot for the future . . . .it's a small community and even smaller in Atlanta. Good Luck and welcome OK . . .OK . . .I hear all of you clamering saying I'm a hypocrite, I just feel for the newbie and his new bride and his new house . . . . Keep practicing Elliot and charge through the moon so we can all look up to you to set the rates . . . .LOL . . . .hahahahahaha All the best!

Welcome to the world of freelance . . . .Dan ! Good luck on this one? I think we all have tried to secure the work, but in my experience 24 hours prior to the gig they can cancel but they pay if they cancel less than 24 . You may be able to get them to committ contractually but I doubt it. I'm curious on this one too. How was the Miss Universe Gig ? and which one did you fall in love with?

Hey Dan, That sucks bro, sorry to hear that . . . . .I travel internationally alot with the gear and I always do as Erwin does, I get to airport early and have the TSA agents search through and then lock them, If they won't lock them then at least zip tie them as a slight but inefective deterent. I also have a picture taped to the inside lid of what the rig looks like built and how it's packed for the civilians that don't have any idea of what this contraption could possibly be . . . Good luck in the future