Eric Young

Yep. Everything is expensive in London, and forget about buying a house cheaply!

The BBC is probably the biggest single employer in the UK media industry - as such it sets a benchmark which other companies will at least reference when they set their own rates. There isn't so much work around that everybody can just keep saying no to the BBC, except perhaps in the short term. The unions were very much weakened during the Thatcher years, and governments since then have not given back any power to the unions - which is both bad and good in some ways. However, the BBC does still recognise unions in their pay negotiations, so fingers crossed that we can throw these proposals out the window! Also, as a publicly owned bureacracy, once a new rate is set it applies across the board (unless you really are exceptional, and the production absolutely demands you and no other) and it's well nigh impossible to change it!

Should that be live rats swimming or dead rats floating? :D

Yeah, but quite a bit more expensive! You might also consider the new Glidecam V25. Weight range covers what you want, and is dual arm. I love my Flyer, but wish the max load was a bit more.

Great link Sandy - a very interesting read, and proof that rich people almost can't help getting richer!

Hi Matt I finish work around 3.30pm Friday. Take me about an hour to get up to Elstree I would guess? Just emailed my registration. Any good for you? Eric

Going to try and get there from work Friday. Can you give more detail about times and exact location please? Thanks very much! Maybe see you there Matt?

That'd be me! I wish I was getting lots of interesting paid work, but sadly not quite yet. <_<

Just a suggestion - which in a way I don't like - but you could make the site password access only. No need to be secretive about the password - it could be freely available to users of this forum. But that way it's less open to the general public and not search engine indexable - so copyright owners may be somewhat less concerned about footage being easily accessible by the whole world! Or you could just leave it as a possible compromise if the copyright police knock on the door...

Hi Afton Just submitted the awesome backwards running up stairs "mirror" shot done by Greg Lundsgaard from Contact on your Steadishots site. Haven't seen the film in ages, but it's still one of my all time favourite films. As long as you're soliciting submissions - any chance of a "Shot submitted by..." field - first come first served. It might prove an incentive to contribute. :D There's another sequence where Jodie Foster is running from her car to New Mexico's VLA (very large array) radio telescope range control room in the desert. It's actually a running shot on location, seamlessly joined together with a running shot on the control room set! Don't know who the operator on these shots were as both Greg Lundsgaard and Mark O'Kane are credited as Steadicam Ops on IMDB. No doubt a study of the actual full credits may give a clue (by their location). Can't do it myself as someone borrowed my DVD and still hasn't given it back!

Hi Afton That's a very well put together site, and an excellent resource. You've obviously put a lot of work into it. Even if you get a cease and desist order and have to remove the footage, the references to the shots would still be useful for operators and tutors of Steadicam. Perhaps it would be good to have a time and duration with the shots so that we can find the shot on the DVD of the entire film and look at it in context too. And this would also work if you have to remove the footage. Regards Eric

DIP means "Dual Inline Package" - see here: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/DIP_switch.html Without knowing which receiver you have I'm just guessing that it tunes to other frequencies in the 2.4GHz band than the four available to the Raycar. Think there can be as many as 15 channels in the band. although don't quote me on that!

Looks like the JayCar has 4 channels in the 2.4GHz range. Have you tried switching between them using the little DIP switches?

Maybe you can post a link to some footage with the problem. It's hard to guess what else it could be, after all the suggestions already given, without seeing the problem.

OK, you've had the problem on two different Z1s, yet I've used a Z1 (UK model) on three music videos on a Flyer with no problems other than my novice Steadicam operating! It gets worse with foam between, and it's not the steadyshot, which was my first thought, but you've tried it with and without and it hasn't cured the problem. I did find that attaching the quickrelease plate to the base of the Z1 wasn't perfectly flat due to the camera mouldings and rubber pads protruding slightly. This means you may have to tighten the mounting screw slightly tighter than at first feels right for a secure mounting. Obviously do this carefully, and don't go overboard on tightness as you could damage the camera mount socket! Are you shooting at the wide end of the lens? Is it there if you're just locked off on a static? Is it actually vibration, and not some sort of shutter effect?

I'm jealous too Matt! Hope to catch up for that drink when you're down London way. Cheers Eric

Thanks Ben! For comparison - Does anyone else have other UK insurance recommendations they'd like to share? Eric

Hi. Any recommendations for equipment and public liability insurance in the UK? Thanks for any info. Eric

Ha ha! :D Was going to suggest washing up gloves because their readily available and protect the forearms too - but thought that would be too much like encouraging Beau to "have a go"! Also, washing up gloves obviously aren't designed to protect against very high voltages, so there's no guarantee they are sufficiently insulating. I still strongly advise against doing it yourself, Beau. So glad to hear you are going to get qualified help! Eric

Well spotted Mikko. Exciting developments indeed. Pity they're a privately owned company - I'd be buying shares right now!

Yes. I signed up before I realised the "real name rule" too! There should be a way to edit your forum name - like you can update most of your other details.

Norbert is correct, but didn't specifically mention there are very high voltages (from 100s of volts on the big capacitors, to 1000s of volts in the EHT areas) in a CRT monitor!! Now most modern CRT monitors are designed to rapidly discharge these when switched off, so in theory you should be fine if you remember to do this. However, some monitors have electronic "Standby" power switches rather than true hardware power switches, so just pressing the on/off switch isn't guaranteed to cut ALL power when you are rummaging around the insides with the cover off. The only way to be sure would be to remove the power source completely (the battery or power cable). During the trial and error cycle of switching it off, waiting for the EHT to discharge, removing the power source, loosening and adjusting the yoke, retightening, switching it on, checking the picture, switching it off, waiting for the EHT to discharge, removing the power source, loosening and adjusting the yoke, retightening...etc, it is very easy to forget to remove the power source at some point, resulting in potential danger. It's happened to me repairing a studio monitor, and it wasn't pleasant, but I lived to tell the tale! I really would NOT recommend doing this unless you are very sure of what you are doing (or preferably a qualified electronic engineer like myself!), and are fully aware of the potential dangers. At the very least, don't work on it alone. It would be sensible to have someone else present who knows how to treat someone who gets an electrical shock. (The biggest risk is heart stoppage if electricity goes across the chest - so using only one hand to adjust the yoke and not touching anything with the other will reduce this particular risk somewhat) Regards Eric

Sorry to hear that such a long established UK company has gone under. Robin - Glad to hear that you have something to fall back on. Good luck with the new position. Guess you'll be moving to Oxford! Best wishes. Eric

Can you elaborate on "don't work"? What about the Chrosziel Mag Fox - any experience of that model? Thanks for any info.