JamieSilverstein

Jeff; When last I checked, the Hummingbird was around$3000.00 and the Blackbird which basically included a PRO compatable pin and a frameline generator was around $5000.00 I have no idea what the Transvideo models cost.

Just an update on the Hummingbird. Woher Electronics is the authorized dealer of Hummingbird in the US. I had a broken connector on my Blackbird, and they replaced the monitor promptly. Very happy with the service. Secondly, the Hummingbird Blackbird Model comes equpped with a frameline generator and a PRO connector.

The vest might be the problem,but I suspect that you used muscles that aren't always accustomed to being used in that way. When I have time, I go to Yoga. I always ride my bike or run when I can, just so that the muscles are in shape. The work we do is physical. The motions torque us even when we use perfect form. We can get injured if we are not careful. A properly fitted vest and well toned body are two good ways to prevent those injuries.

The donkey box has been sold. The Post and the Battery Base are still for sale; 1) PRO Gyro base MODIFIED to be a 2 battery base that can hold 2 Anton Bauer batteries. 12v/24v switchable Uses any combination of Anton Bauer Batteries Volt meter to monitor both batteries. Ports for monitor, level, transmitter, etc. Perfect for someone looking to put together a custom rig for less than retail. $2500.00 2) PRO post with Kipp handle for tooless adjustment. $900.00 I am willing to discount to anyone interested in buying both. If interested, please call me @917 796-4217 or email me. silverodt@earthlink.net Thanks for your interest Jamie

If I'm around it sounds like fun.

I operate on a show called Rescue Me and we use Steadicam at least twice an episode. On the show, I have used the Gyros on my rig with a Sony 900 at least 4 times, and I have never had a problem with them interferring with the signal in any way. I usually use just one K6 on the post and connect it to my battery base with a Kenynon inverter. I have generally used them in high wind situations, or when I am asked to do something where the horizon needs to be as steady as possible, such as a crane walk on or off. They are a good tool used in the right situation and with HD, I have never had a problem with them. Jamie.

I am selling: 1) PRO 2 Donkey Box, recently tuned up and made perfect by George Paddock. $1900.00 2) PRO Gyro base MODIFIED to be a 2 battery base that can hold 2 Anton Bauer batteries. 12v/24v switchable Uses any combination of Anton Bauer Batteries Volt meter to monitor both batteries. Ports for monitor, level, transmitter, etc. Perfect for someone looking to put together a custom rig for less than retail. $2500.00 3) PRO post with Kipp handle for tooless adjustment. $900.00 If interested in one or all of the parts, let me know at (917) 796-4217, or email me at silverodt@earthlink.net

Its always tough to balance a client with other work, and to balance a long promised job with other work. That is the nature of the business. If work comes along during the "booked job" then you should call the production company and make sure that the job is still on and that the booking is still firm. If there is any waver what so ever, you should take the other job in my estimation. A bird in the hand is work two in the bush............ As for demanding a full cancellation for the 10 days, I am not sure that I would go that far. Stuff happens to production companies the same way they happen to us. Cancellations are not uncommon, and unawarding of jobs is pretty common too. Maybe you can ask if the company received any sort of cancellation from the client (providing that the job is a commercial or industrial), and if so to please compensate you accordingly. As far as movies are concerned.... that is a harder nut. People are fired, not rehired, changed, and replaced on films on a whim. I have done my fair share of pictures and tv shows and I never spend the last weeks check until I have worked the last week of the picture. I guess what I am trying to say is that unless it is a union shoot and the specific rules of cancellation apply, you have to accept that we are daily hires and that the most we can expect from a producer is a days pay. If you get more, you have found a producer that you should work for as often as possible.

I have to side with Thomas on this one. Poor planning on the part of production is not your problem. They are equipped to handle the cancellation of you or any other day player on the job with proper compensation, possibly paying you your rate, but maybe not the rental fee for your rig. There are few if any productions who are going to pay you without your asking however. So, were I in the situation, I would probably very matter of factly ask about the cancellation fee for the day, and let them propose one, knowing that they should be happy to give me my rate for the day. If you feel that this is not going to work, or if you don't want to tred on the politics of a long standing relationship with a producer, you might want to broach the idea of a future policy of cancellation fee for the next time, so that you don't lose income by turning down other work. If production is not understanding, you should think twice about working with that particular company in again. Its all about business and being fair. Good luck.

Besides the Transvideo, and the Howard version of the Hummingbird, there is the Blackbird that is made directly by Imp Electronics. I have been using it for about one year, and I am pretty happy with its performance, not to mention the customer service of Imp and their new American Distributor Wohler Electronics. The Blackbird comes with a framline generator, is plenty bright in the sun (was in New Orleans last month and never had a problem with sun, and it gets pretty bright there), and is very adjustable. If you are interested in finding out about the monitor, you should get in touch with Imp or Leah Christianson at Wohler (888) 596-4537. Btw, I get nothing out of this plug. I'm just interested in seeing operators explore as many options available, so that their decisions, often times very expensive, are made with the most information obtainable.

I guess I have to side with Jeff on this one. For one, assistants worth their salt will get the idea of what they are looking at pretty much as soon as you do, and because their sole purpose at that point is focus, not operating, will be able to find focus far faster than you. They are trained to do such, and any good ones are far better focus pullers than I ever could be, with or with out the rig on. Secondly, when doing dramatic work of any kind, or concerts for that matter, or just about any thing, I want an assistant pulling focus because the task of operating a Steadicam is hard enough to do without the worry of which way a focus knob needs to go and exactly where on the knob it needs to be. If one doesn't want an assistant on their job, so be it, but they are only making their lives harder than it should be. We are paid, and generally paid handsomely to make shots that are creative, intelligent, well composed and timely. That is hard enough, let the other guy worry about the technical aspects of the camera, the focus, the iris, the film or electronics. Do yourself a favor and learn to work with a quality assistant, and your work will only be better for it.

I am an advocate of recelling and I honestly wish that Anton Bauer would reconsider the idea of recelling their batteries...... I hate spending a ton of money every 3 years for batteries and then "throwing" them out. I would just assume spend money getting them recelled and use the same shells for many years to come. That way I avoid polluting waste, change in style of battery and change in weight. I don't understand why Anton Bauer doesn't adopt a policy of recelling or at least readopt their trade in policy. Either way, there is an incentive to recycle and reuse rather than buy buy buy and throw away. It seems to me that if the shell and the electronics are good in the battery, why can't one exchange shot cells for new ones? So to answer your question about the battery issues you face; 1) keep your old batteries, recell them, and with the money you save, 2) buy a new charger.

Guys; Thanks for the support and kind words....... We are into the final days of the shoot, so I'll limp home and see what is out there for the asking.......... A suitable backup, which might become my primary if Modulus doesn't come through with the repair in a timely fashion.

I am operating on a Lifetime Movie down in New Orleans...... It is hot as hell and there is a ton of steadicam on the show, most of it outside. During the first of four weeks, my Modulus fried, and my monitor stopped working properly........ I quickly sent the Modulus to Maine to get it fixed. At the same time, after a brief discussion with the people at Imp Electronics, I was sent a replacement monitor to use while mine was being looked over. When the Modulus people finally answered my phone call to see if the unit was received, I was told that it wouldn't be looked at for at least 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS!!!!! Last week, the third of the shoot, one of my receivers on my Bartech stopped working. Jim patiently explained that it was a potentiometer problem and I should send it back and it would be repaired the same day and sent back promptly. Jim lived up to his promise. At the same time, Jerry Jacob, who lives down in New Orleans, was kind enough to lend me a back up for the Bartech, and let us rent his Modulus for the shoot. The moral of the story is this; I love Bartell for his patience with ludities like me, I am impressed by the service and care that Imp has shown. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of Jerry Jacob, and I truly hope to find an alternative to the Modulus....... Its all about feeling like someone out there is looking out for you. Someone has your back and you can relax knowing that they are out there. So without getting mushy or sentimental, which is something that I am known to do after the first beer, thank you Imp, Jim, and Jerry. I look forward to repaying you for you kindness and professionalism someday. Its been a long day, I'm shot.

I have been in the business for about a thousand years, I have been an operator since 1994 and working as a Steadicam operator for the past 9 years......... In my humble opinion I would say that you should do nothing but research for the next year at least. Don't buy a thing unless it comes to you at an incredible price. The equipment is expensive, the business is large, the options are many and the future is vast and unclear for a young person coming out of school and into the "biz". If you do buy, buy a good used rig; hopefully from someone who is "getting out" or upgrading and interested in getting some quick cash. Also for 3000 pounds you should be able to get a 3A arm, which is about 100% better than an EFP arm. Finally, define the type of work you are interested in and what you think your near term future prospects are (3years) and cater your rig to that time line. Good luck. Jamie.

It really all depends on what you want and what you want to do with your cash........ Remember one very very important concept: Its not the equipment, its the operator..... I love the PRO arm and might buy one were I not perfectly happy with my Masters arm. Yeah it has cool features and is incredibly smooth, but my Masters arm is great and I have never had a problem with it in the 8 or so years that I have used it. If you have the money, do what you want with it, but if you are pinching pennies, wait and start to make a living before you mortgage the house for a PRO arm. What ever arm you buy won't dramatically improve your operating. So put your cash into sensible appropriate equipment and learn to use it well.

Given my choice I would always use a geared head. I like both Arri and Panavision, and I don't really have a problem switching from one to another. My advice to you is to just use the head whenever you can. Have a fluid head available and if you find a shot that you cannot operate with the geared head, just have the assistants bring you the fluid head. My advice is to do this quietly so that you don't bring attention to yourself, and don't do it too often. Try to make the geared head work and it will work in just about every situation. Your operating can only improve by learning another tool. good luck.

Regarding water resistance. As with all electronics, regardless of guarantee of water resistance, I am very careful about protection. Electronics generally fail when wet so I never try to tempt fate by not covering my monitor/follow focus/modulus and bottom stage for that matter, from rain and heavy mist. So get good rain gear that fits well, keeps the water out, and goes on easily. By the way, used the rig on Rescue Me today in both interior and exterior locations,as well as interior/exterior locations and have absolutly no complaints with the monitor.

Several items: When I bought my Blackbird, there were virtually no other LCD's as bright on the market. Secondly, I have a pre high brightness Transvideo, so I compared it with my original. When I bought my Blackbird, I did so because I knew that ZGC was a very reputable company in the US. That was important to me. Guy from ZGC was very good about spending time with me, both patiently on the phone and in person going over the monitor. We saw certain problems with the monitor and they were corrected. We saw certain opportunities for making the monitor better for Steadicam,and they were considered and some were adapted by IMP. So I felt extremely comfortable going with ZGC. And I have continued to feel the same way. They continue to be very responsive to my questions and ideas. Secondly I bought that version of the Blackbird because it was less expensive than the MK-V version. I decide at the time, and correctly so, that the size of the monitor would not be of any consequence at all. It is not large enough to impact the way I operate, considering that my steadicam arm extends out on one side of my body and my body is on the other side. As for which monitor to go with, I would suggest looking at both Blackbird and Transvideo, seeing what the price differential is for the two, thinking about which would suit your type of operating best, and based on those criteria, make your own educated decision. Good luck.

Matt; I have only good things to say about the Hummingbird/Blackbird monitor. I have used it almost exclusively on HD Jobs (Rescue Me, American Justice), so I can't honestly comment on what it is like with a film tap, but in all situations it has performed as I had hoped. Good in sun, good at night, stable frame lines, good in the cold weather, easy enough menus (for an analog kinda guy), good weight for the front of my sled. I don't have a MK-V version, so I can't comment on that model, but I can only say that at the price, I was very happy to make the purchase. If there are specifics that I left out, please ask and I'll try to answer those.

Just a short note: The Humming bird from MK-V is only one of the Hummingbird models. There are the plain Hummingbird (no frameline generator, no Lemo connector) and the Blackbird (with a FLG and Lemo). So if you are interested in Hummingbirds (they work wonderfully) you can get info about them not just from MK-V but from other vendors as well. Additionall, the high brightness Transvideos are supposed to be very very good as well.

I own a Blackbird and a Transvideo 6.5". They are both great, but, I love using the Blackbird all the time. It is plenty bright during the day and just fine at night. Easy to use and a great weight for the rig. My Transvideo is not the midified version, for a running rig it is a great and light monitor. For the price of 1/2 of a high end CRT, I have two LCDs..... It made sense to me.

Nikk; It really doesn't matter how well you operate. Even I get jobs.......... What is of utmost importance is what kind of jobs are you doing/losing. So with that in mind here are a few steps: 1) Size up your market. Don't over or underestimate, be honest. Get a rig that is appropriate for your current needs 2) Look at your pocket book. That is the most important issue. You can't buy what you can't afford. 3) Make the rig as flexible as possible. It should be able to grow with your needs, hence the reasoning behind not buying an old Masters rig, not very expandable. Maybe you should think about getting a 3A arm in excellent condition, and a PRO 1 Sled, with a good LCD monitor. That is one way to start and it won't hold you back. Also think about getting an upgraded Masters vest or a PRO vest if you can find one that fits you. As for follow focus, talk to the guy at the Playboy mansion, I hear he has something available, if he is not too busy that is.

Benjamin; I would imagine that a dry gimbal is prone to have damaged bearings due to pitting. I use roller blade oil, as per Greg Bubb, but I know that Alec uses ARRI lube, with provides less friction, and which I am going to try in the near future.

I own and love the XCS Gimbal and I think that the Ergo handle is a wonderful modification. I honestly don't know what I had done without it in the past..... I use rollerblade oil and I am probably going to switch to ARRI in the near future. FOR THE MONEY, the XCS is a pretty great deal, but I think that the PRO is also a fantastic Gimbal as well, not to mention that I have heard good things about the MK-V. My advice, try all 3, see how much each will cost and then based on experience and budget, take the plunge. But you really should try each to see what they are like. After all its only a ton of cash you are spending, so the best way to be happy with your purchase is to do the research. Good luck.