Kris Torch Wilson

Thanks for the input all. It seems Brad may have nailed the problem. I tightened the screws on the opposite side of the knobs and all seems better. I'm a knothead for not pulling out a screwdriver right away. Too obvious I guess! Will monitor the situation for a few days and unless you hear from me again, that was a pretty simple fix. Jerry, Thanks for staying on top of these kind of things. You are one of the reasons I chose the Ultra 2 and I'm very impressed with all the support I've received. Kris

Happy Easter All, I've had problems with my socket block slipping. I have a new Tiffen Ultra vest. I enlisted all of the grips and had the big boys tighten the hell out of it by hand. It still inches its way south. Do I dare put pliers on it or will I break the knobs? Any ideas? Kris

Rob, Stop by JKL and you can look at mine. It is impressive but it is big. Maybe too big for the kind of tight spots you and I find ourselves in. However I am adjusting. Only hit one varilight this week! A new record. Kris

Morning Brad, I'm shocked that the episodic guys are getting beat up as bad as they are. Life is actually very good in the live world right now. I've emailed you our rates and am happy to share those with whover needs them. There are no secrets and no penalities for being the new guy. If you get the job you get the rate. Kris

Hi Mike, I experienced the same pain. I starting making small adjustments to the vest length until I found the sweet spot. Also, if I don't stand up straight it puts pressure on spots that don't like to be pressured. I've ask my Utility to poke me in the neck when he notices me stooping. He gets too much perverse pleasure out of doing so but it helps me. Kris

Brandon, I'm glad Afton chimed in because my single camera days are long ago. In the multi-cam world of TV audio is not our worry. Audio feeds are sent directly to the truck independantly from us. Yes, there is some influence on the rig from the cable. The smaller and most flexible you can use , the better. This year however we were threatened with having lights mounted to the hand helds and perhaps even the steadis. As they have not figured out a way to coontrol them remotely the idea was killed. There was NO WAY we were going to control the lights for the LD. Too much going on. A show like this is a logistical nightmare and to introduce that into the mix would lead to a melt down. If you have never done a multi cam event and are asked to do so, try to get to one as an observer and get on headset so you get a feel for it. It is overwhelming at first. Gotta go, Kimmel is walking to stage. Kris

Is it the norm to have cables coming off the camera sending signal to the powers that be? Hi Brandon, While there are rf systems out there, they are not used very much here in L.A on entertainment shoots. Hector does use one on "Dancing with the Stars." The bulk of the time out here we are tethered either with triax or fiber. In both instances we use smaller jumpers for the last 4-6 feet. Plenty of posts on these in the archives.

David Eastwood and Ted Ashton were listed on the credits. The usual suspects. You're half right. Eastwood and Hector Ramirez. Teddy ran the extending jib backstage right. Dave and Hector are freaks. Four full days of rehersal with a dress on Saturday night. Another four hour run through on Sunday before the show and then the show. Did you pick up on the dueling steadi moves on the James Taylor song. The challenge is not the moves but the logistics of a live show. The dance that goes on between staging, lighting, talent, cameras and our damn cables is an art form of its own. Hats off to Dave's and Hector's utilities, Charlie Fernandez and Mike Wilson (no relation). Kris

Robert, You may be a steadi newbie but your post speaks volumes about your experience as an operator and your professionalism. Many forget that we are operators first and that the steadicam is one of our tools. Your advice is right on and I'm proud to call you my friend. And now back to my fifth glass of wine. P.S Marcus. Go to the workshop! Kris

While I agree that IMDB has problems I have to chuckle at our own glossy and expensive rag of a magazine. This month's issue continues to have me listed as an operator on a game show that I filled in on for a couple of days FIVE years ago. Perhaps it's the production company's fault but embarassing just the same. Kris "I don't want to be associated with the Feud" Wilson

Victor, I have had great service from all the guys at Tiffen. Parts, info, advice. They are really trying hard and I am very happy. I just bought an Ultra 2 and am very pleased. Check out my rather lengthy post under sleds. I assume you are in L.A. since they loaned you the G70. If you would like to check out my rig it is parked on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Hollywood Blvd across from the Kodak. Shoot me an email and I'll give you my mobile # and set it up. This holds true for anyone else interested. In case you didn't know the show is Live TV and the rig set up accordingly. Kris Torchcam@pacbell.net

Good day all, As suspected I love my new Ultra 2. I can really only compare it to the 3A I have been using and its like comparing one's old reliable truck to a new luxury car. SMOOTH. Still tweaking and adjusting and I'm sure I will be for some time but here's what I can offer at this time. G70 arm. No tools. Can't really appreciate this feature until you throw your allen wrenches at some fool in the mosh pit. Adjustments are so easy I feel guilty. Arm can go at least a foot higher than the 3A and I don't feel it in my back until I hit the very top. Bottom height is about the same but no fighting the arm to get there and no strain. The arm is a big beefy looking thing but weighs within a few ounces as the 3A. Sled. No tools again. What a dream to make adjustments. Light and stiff. I can't fairly compare the gimble to the 3A. This thing is so smooth. Can't stop playing with the remote motors on the top stage. In the live TV world I'm constanly changing focal length and this feature allows me to trim headroom as I go. Everyone around me laughed and thought this feature was just for you film guys but so far I'm using the hell out of it. Don't see myself using the tilt head very much unless doing a concert from the pit. Then it will be great. It works slick, just not enough time for me to use in the type of I show that I do. Wireing is well thought out and Rob at Tiffen was most helpful in walking me through how to "assign" the connectors to my needs. There are a series of dip swiches inside the sled base that one can use to send signals/power as needed. Since my camera is powered down triax the draw on the batts is only for the monitors and focus motor. With this in mind it is fair to say I will only have to chang batts once a day. The new power cubes are light and fit tight. We will revisit batts after a year or so in service. Monitor. The big Ultra Bright is... well big. Maybe too big but we'll see. It does make a gorgeous picture. Have not used it outside yet. The knobs on the back for adjusting frame lines should be changed to the pop out type pots if one has a tendancy to run into things. Varilights, audio monitors/ audice members' heads have a habit of jumping out in front of me. Those knobs will get sheared off for sure. I took a very lightweight piece of angle and velcroed a cover for them. Now I will leave a nice little crease in the back of some poor fools head. Vest. Again it would be unfair to compare to the older one. A bit heavy but lots of padding and comfy. Easy to don and adjust. Price. Tiffen is selling sled/arm/vest/6 batts and charger for just under $60K. Sorry foir the long post but lots to say. Kris

Just took delivery of my new Ultra 2. Pushing into service Jan 2. Can't wait! I will report back. Until then many thanks to Frank and Kyle for getting it out the door. Kris "giddy as a kid" Wilson

Michael, Job is right, take the viewfinder, mic, anything you can off to lighten up as much as possible. Dock it as often as you can and get off your feet. I have a bar stool handy to sit on during commercial breaks. You said something about always feeding a shot. That's crazy talk. If you are not needed for a particular number/entrance/exit then relax. If "they" want you to feed them something usable the whole time, you need to politely explain (not my strong suit) that you need to rest occasionally. Keep in mind that you are now working in the Multiple Camera World. There are/ should be other, even better cameras to be used at certain times and those are the times you rest. And it probably sounds silly but diet is important. On an hour long show thats high energy I can get away with eating anything and throw back a red bull, but on the longer shows I burn out if I do that. That's when I carb up, eat fruit and stay away from the crap. Treat it like a distance race instead of a sprint. My wife laughs at me that I act like I'm getting taped up for the big game. That's what works for me. Welcome to LIVE TV its a rush. Post is for pussies. Just kidding sprocket heads. Good luck and brush your teeth. Kris

Brad , Dan, Whoever, I know I'm in the minority here but I am absolutely not in favor of different rates for different ops. At least not in the live/ live to tape world. The rate has been set by the best and we have an obligation to hold that up. Hell, we are not in competition. The best guy AVAILABLE gets the job in our world. The call goes out to #1 first which means the budget has been set. If # 1 isn't availlable then the call goes out to #2 #3 etc. Don't be a fool and give it back to the producers. Better ops than me have covered for me on my show and have done so without reservation because they got the rate. Shoot me an email or call and I will gladly tell you what it is. You do a disservice to yourself for accepting less as well as give producers the ammo to continue to beat you up. Can you tell I'm. old and tired and my back is burning? Sorry for the lecture. Kris Torchcam@pacbell.net (661)212-2535

Jamie, I'm not up on model names but I have a few A/B batts. and have recelled them. Inside the case is a fuse that may be blown or a wire that came unsoldered. My batts are the older, really simple ones. Hope this helps. Kris

Hi Nick, The zoom is controlled by a rocker on top of the handle while focus is a little wheel built into the under side of the handle. You can order it with either rod mount or screw into the lens like a manual focus cable. http://www.jimmyjib.com/zoomfocus.html Kris

. The only question that really remains is when will Local 600 cover us? Brian. what do you mean? If it's an IA shoot your covered. If you are waiting for our business reps to organize a job for you, you're in for a long wait. It is up to you/us not to take non union jobs or raise your non union rate 20%. This is how many of us have "encouraged" production to go IA Kris

[Here you go Mikko http://www.jimmyjib.com/zoomfocus.html Kris

Hey Jeff, "Mr. David Eastwood, the real magic is his cable guy, Charlie Fernandez!" Sitting next to Charlie and Joey D here at JKL. Charlie says thanks. Apparently Eastwood never says thanks. Kris

The Stanton controller is widely used here on the west coast for live, live to tape productions. I haven't used anything else so I can't comment on how it compares. I can tell you this , if it's good enough for Eastwood it's good enough for the rest of us. Kris

Search came up without hard data. What would one expect to pay for insurance on a rig worth roughly $70K? Thanks in advance. Kris

"Are any of you Emmy Academy members in the cinematography peer group", Ozzie, Are you sure you need cinematography or will camera peer group work? Are you trying to join as a DP/LD or as an operator? If you want to join as an op I can help. What day are you going to be at Cinegear? Kris

Marc, I pulled the receipt for the coax and it is RG 174 mini 50. Kris

what class coax are you using? RG-6 or something more robust? RG-6 is probably too thin i would imagine... Hi Marc, I think the coax I use is RG 152. Really tiny. About as big around as the stem of a Q-tip. (I just got out of the shower) The engineer that helped me was very doubtful. He didn't think he would have full control of all the functions, matrix and a stuff I don't understand. But to his surprise it works like a champ. He was VERY careful when putting on the connectors. Making sure none of the sheild was touching the center pin. Says one can be a little sloppy when just sending video down a cable but not when it comes to all the controls that are fed down triax. The only problem we encountered was doing a "hot patch." Connecting the coax while the camera was in the 'on' position. Blew fuses in the tub (base station). As long as I turn the camera power switch off each time, make the connection and then turn back on...no problems. Triax connector is mounted behind my right shoulder. I have about 3 feet of the coax and equally tiny headset cable that I let hang straight down, makes a small loop then up through a caribeaner on my chest, then up and over my shoulder. The big loop to the knees that has been discussed on the forum is just not practical when dancing around vari-lights and band monitors. I put one drop of super glue every 6 inches to mate my cables together. much cleaner than tape, stays flexible and can be pulled apart easily if needed. Hope this helps. Kris the Torch Wilson