Lohengrin Zapiain

Hey.... I just have to tell you... Hable is THE MAN, he has made all of my cables and every single issue that I have with my sled he is the very first one I go to... and he is a VERY nice guy, it is always a pleasure to stop and chat with him (provided he is not drowning in work), I just trust him 200%. I´m just grateful to have Robert Luna and Dave Hable to keep me safe from having to go to Tiffen every time something goes wrong with my sled. ... and as a plus you just might find Neufeld in one corner at his basement working in some complicated electronic repair... Loh Zapiain

It is a spring from an Ultra arm.... no heavy load.... surprisingly just an SR Advanced. The sound is certainly the same as the one of a small gun. I was flying the sled waiting to hear action from the director when I heard this noise coming from somewhere around my back and I felt the shift of weights in my body... I guess this is as close as it gets to being shot: An unexpected loud noise and a then a moment of confusion. Robert Luna repaired my arm and he said that it was bad luck. The arm was relatively new (I bought it from a guy in LA that bought it and never used for five years) and this was my second feature with it, so heavy stress had nothing to do with it... just bad luck.

has any of you seen something like this before? L. Zapiain Vancouver BC

Hi 4Mat, Neufeld and Leigh, somehow I threw myself into the void with my rig and I'm to begin my second feature as A Cam-Steadicam Operator and I already have a thrird feature waiting for me. Somehow is working for me and I feel that my timing was right to sell myself as a Steadicam Op Thanks

Hello everybody, I was wondering if any of you have ever had a broken/bent dynamic spin & docking bracket. I was balancing dynamically a 535 and I had some doubts about if my bracket (Tiffen?s original) would give up and drop my sled and Craimont?s 535. Is this going to hold a BL IV eventually? :( Can I trust the design and construction? Thank you Lohengrin Zapiain

I'm wondering what are the absolute Must-Have low-mode brackets for a basic Steadicam package. I know you won?t be able to mount a video camera or a BL without one, but for the new operator what are the essentials? Lohengrin

Hey Leigh, Thanks for the tip. In deed I'm using any available time to practice... a bit tired at the moment but on the other had I?M LOOSING WEIGTH!!! Can you send me some of your Steadi-videos to my mail? (My computer is broken and the only format that would reproduce is .mov so I can?t see your videos from your webpage) What kind of Steadicam do you have? lohengrinzapiain@yahoo.ca Thanks Lohengrin Hey Charles, I know about the amount of operators in town? not too much we can do but hope for the best for everybody. Unfortunately I didn't get my membership at the union till September so I missed the good times but everybody says this next 2 years are going to be really good? Rain... what rain... I don't ever notice it anymore? just got used to it.... How's been your year over here? Perhaps we would meet eventually. regards Lohengrin

Hey Matt, Thanks for your answer. As for how do I feel about my operating I know that I can mange to get the easy shots within the first takes but I know I won't be able to deal with the difficult set ups in the next while or at least to get a decent shot. I'm guessing it would take me at least like a year before I get there but I want to start shooting something different than my wall and my lazy dog (anyway a rig is a waste of money to film my dog... a hi-hat would perfectly do the job) I will try to get some of these low end jobs... great tip cheers Lohengrin

Hi, I'm a DP/Operator and I have being doing this job for the last few years. Before that I was a Focus puller in Commercials and Features. I took the SOA Workshop with Garret five years ago as I was already thinking about upgrading (from CA to Operator) but I never had the chance of buying my own rig till now, although Steadicam was always in my mind. Recently I moved to Vancouver in search of new opportunities and I'm starting (again!!!) over here as an IATSE operator. I recently got financing to buy a rig and I bought an Ultra and I have being practicing like hell this last weeks. Although I fell I have gotten much better (comparing to the first day I flew the rig again) I really fell that it is going to take me a long time to have the same abilities with the rig as I have in conventional operating. My question for you (and I feel that a lot of you had the same question in mind at one point) is when to begin selling myself as a Steadicam operator. I know I cannot wait a long time as I don?t want to do it and I have to start getting some rentals on my rig at some point, but I also want the Steadicam to be an advantage and not a Handicap for my career. Thank you and it is a pleasure to join this forum Lohengrin