Kris Torch Wilson

Has anybody done some live Tv coverage? It just shocks me that this guys are flying full size rigs FOR 45 MINUTES!!!!!! I just can't imagine how do they deal with it. Do they get breaks? God bless our spoiled grip assisted fiction film sets! You are kidding, right?

"I guess when I think about it I am not making a jump straight from PA to steadicam, I am trying to learn steadicam as I transition to Camera." Now you're thinking correctly. Good luck.

I'm on my second set of molded in ears, ordered through the music dept on our show. Wireless is not an option on our show so I took the microphone from an old headset and velcro it to the side of the camera. Thus, the wire to my ears is tiny tiny and super flexible. Best money I've spent. And when things get really obnoxious I can put my Peltors over them. Quiet is good.

With the glut of new steadi operators on the scene we should be thankful for whatever it takes to thin the herd.

A feather here. A feather there. And a feather right where you're thinking.

Patrick, I can't answer your question with exact weights but I will tell you how I addressed this a few years ago when buying my first rig. I didn't want to limit myself to lightweight cameras. Can you imagine showing up for a show and finding out your rig couldn't handle the weight. I considered the worst case; betacam with all the crap; mic, sun gun, wireless etc. Well over 30 lbs. So the answer was simple. Go big or go home. Of course a big rig costs more, but that's the way it is. Either you're in or you're out. I started with a 3A and now have an Ultra2. Kris

I realize the info given here will be used for future reference but I am getting a bit of a chuckle out of all the advise Jess is getting AFTER he has already flown away. Torch

Colin, You won't have any problems at all. As Lawrence said, 600 covers Vegas as well. The challenge of course is not loosing all your per diem the first night! Torch

Rich, I use the remote motors on my Ultra 2 all the time. I only do live stuff so I usually don't have time to fiddle with the tilt head. I'll have a shot from on stage, then a few seconds later one from the pit, then half way up on the lip of the stage etc. The remote allows me to set a couple of memories and as I reposition, the top stage does the same. Makes it easier for me to keep headroom. While it would be better to use the tilt, so I could keep the post straight, I just don't have the time. I work with guys a lot better than me who don't have this feature and their work is super, but its a great crutch for a hack like me. Kris

Bryan, I was told not to bring my rig. That all rigs were being supplied. If they are renting your rig, are they planning on others using it? If so I would be more than a little nervous about not having insurance. Given the days and the dough, if I was the only one using it, I would most likely take the deal. There's a hell of a lot of money to be made here and my personal insurance would be fine. Having nuts won't pay the mortgage for the next 6 months, but this rental would! May take my vest but don't expect to be compensated for it. No way I'm trying to start something here, just giving my 2 cents. Kris

You're right. It makes you wonder why people would mourn a paedophile whose production company stiffed crew members. Kris

Marianne, Thanks for participating. It was great and gutsy for all involved to show up and put their products side by side. Transvideo makes a great product and will be on the short list when I need to replace mine. I'm NOT trying to pick a fight here but a couple of things. The camera was HD. If anyone had felt it was necessary to operate it, they could have. I felt the variety of images fed to the monitors was more than enough to see the difference from one monitor to the next. I also find it curious that you are making comments about how we (operators) do our job.My monitor is NEVER flat. Rarely if ever is my screen at eye level. In fact it is almost always pointed upwards. At 6'1'' my eyes are at the same angle as the sky. Never have I pointed the monitor at my belly and been able to see it. Not sure I agree with your comment "in theory some rig operators only want to see framing." This isn't theory but practice. I GET what you're saying about quality, but a little put out by what I'm perceiving as a lecture. Price CANNOT be ignored. Our business is changing every day. Budgets slashed, rates threatened. ASC DP's may very well be shooting weddings before all is said and done. I don't think you would be quite so defensive if we had not all seen monitors yesterday that we COULD live with for less than $3000. Kris

Jeff, I demoed one a couple of years ago and it might be worth having in your kit. It is great for long takes, man on the street type of things. No good for music, at least not the kind of stuff we usually do. To gangly, hard to tilt in tight spaces, a shadow maker. Not what one would call stealthy. Perhaps single camera shooting could get away with it. Maybe a little better than hand held for some walking shots but certainly not to be confused with a rig. Also not sure you would ever want Charlie or the boys to see you in it! :P Demaio says hi. Kris

YES to both Kris

I've got a family member at Lockheed. I've got him working on getting me one. Of course I've also got him trying to get me a F-22 so don't hold your breaths. Kris

Just out of curiosity, who would be interested in a something like this ? Rob, Count me in if you're going to make more. Kris

Rob, Did you check with Tiffen. I bought one for my pgm monitor.

Almost nightly I go through the same regime. I call it the Shaker Workout. Pour 2 oz of Stoli in shaker, add a touch of Vermouth and a splash of olive juice, 4 ice cubes and shake for at least 2 minutes. Consume at a leisurely pace. My forearms are in great shape. Remember when you look down, that is not a Beer Belly, it's the fuel tank to a love machine. Happy 2009. Kris

Happy Birthday Robert. Hope your day is a great one. Kris

We have really hard jobs with tremendous pressures to deliver all of the time, regardless of condition or difficulty. I was totally buying into your post until i read that. C'mon Jamie, we can BS producers and those outside our industry but we're all related here. ;) Kris "I once had a real job" Wilson

Manny

Having 'rights' is one of the things that makes our society so great. The right to strike is one of those. But having that 'right' doesn't make it right. With every 'right' comes responsibility. One's responsibilities trump one's rights every time. In the current economic situation: the responsible course of action DEMANDS that unions accept deals that may not fulfill all their wants but insure the continuation of working. Does this give the advantage to Producers? Of course, but ownership MUST make money. The members of SAG have been offered a deal that will continue to pay them long after the calluses from their strenuous jobs have healed. The folks paying them( and us) will continue to make money. And that is in all of our best interests. The more they make the better. Socialism will never work in our industry. We must remain capitalist. Or go back to film school and live in our cars! Been there, don't want to go back. Wine makes me ramble. Happy Thanksgiving, Kris

Didn't lose much work during the writer's fiasco did you Jess. If these greedy bastards go out, we will see a major disaster here in Los Angeles. They need to accept the offer agreed to by AFTRA and return to waiting tables so those of us that make the bulk of our income from THIS business can continue to do so. Kris Still Bitter Wilson

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things. Might try gaffing some batts on the bottom of the sled. Or if you can get by a sporting goods store, buy a pair of ankle weghts. Weight of cousre is an enemy on a long shoot but the trade off might be worth it. I am happy with my stanton, have used it on both Canon and Fuji lenses. It's not perfect but does the job. Be strong tonight and don't fall in the pit! Kris

Mike, Not much we can do to get you in shape while you're in the middle of this shoot, but try to get the rig off as often as possible. Have your stand close by. I bought several cheap black stools (Walmart c. $15) that can be placed nearby and never be seen. I try to sit, even if just for a few seconds whenever possible. 4 hours straight is crazy so you would not be out of line to inform them that you will be sitting out a few numbers or parts of numbers. If you can get the play list ahead of time and sit down with the director, you can come up with a game plan. Stick up for yourself! Did you strip the camera of viewfinder and anything else that is not needed? You MUST have some focus control. Really no excuse for not having. I know most budgets like the one you are dealing with are not going to allow for an AC but you should have something along the lines of a Stanton in your kit. $1800. Yes if you are just starting out it may be a lot, but if you're going to play the game...! Program feed, tally, all this should have been taken care of before you show up. I have found that talking about this with production is a waste of time. Find out who the facilities company or rental house is and call them directly. If they can't pay for focus they are not going to pay for wireless video so we won't bother going there. What camera, what is the cable situation? It's curious that they are doing a line cut, which leads me to believe an engineer is painting your camera, and yet you can't get return or tally.. "The Director figured" This one really gets me fired up. We don't tell them how to go about their job. I too have faced this and must admit I'm getting less and less tolerant as I'm aging. Certainly not a role model for you on this subject! I've rambled long enough. Next. Kris