joe mcnally

Hello everybody I have an Ultra Rig that has developed some play in the side to side area of the stage. I have tried tightening all the external screws thereabouts but none of these seem to cure the play, about .25mm in the side to side. I have had the Master rig top stage apart in the past and have been able to do on site repairs with reasonable success. My question is if I start dismantling the top stage is there anything I should look out for before dimantling ? Or any major problems getting it back together again ? I am based in London UK and would happily send it over to Robin at Optex but I kind of like finding out how it all comes apart and together again, I hope, as sometimes there is no choice out on a job in the middle of nowhere. Before CP went to Tiffen there started to appear various blow up diagrams of the Master rig on the CP website. Is there anywhere to look for similar diagram of the Ultra ? Many thanks for any help or advise on this Hopefully Joe McNally

Hi Thomas you can spec the Catgriller with Kip Lock if you like that, dont think there's any price difference. Just that many prefer not to have it as it can get in the way a bit. I have Kip locks all over my mod 111 rig and they dont bother me at all. There are more elegant engineering solutions but it gets expensive. I am not totally convinced about this speed of getting the rig on to a tripod thing, its good to slow things down a bit sometimes for a breather. Funnily enough we used the Catgriller in Catford today. Just hope we dont have to use it in The Isle of Dogs or Barking ! If you want to loan a Cat griller or two for a while to try it out give me a ring. Hope you are having a good Easter Joe

Rob don't answer that last one for me, it suddenly dawned on me. Steep learning curve going on here. BTW Rob what tilt stage are you using is it your custom design ? Are you living permanent in Thailand now ? Joe

Another little thing to remember about Bar Bel Dogcatcher is that when you are not using it you can take it off in seconds. I am still not convinced Rob about the Tiffen Ultra maintaining C of G. It says it does in the manual but in practice ? I am not criticising the Tiffen tiltstage it is very nicely put together it is just in my limited time with the Ultra rig it does not keep C of G for a video camera when tilted and yo need to adjust fore and aft and I am happy to this no problem. Maybe a specific camera with a specific C of G would work better on the Ultra rig. OK it maybe nearer C of G but if you have to adjust the fore aft an inch or half an inch where is the real benefit. joe

I have seen the Chrosziel Tiltplate and it is a beautifully made piece of kit. It fits between post and stage so no tilting problems. Bar Bels Dogcatcher is also nicely crafted. If you attach your lens control etc to the Bar Bel dovetail then you can tilt up to 20 degrees,I think. If you have problems with the stage, just turn it all around 180 degrees. It is also useful for catching dogs ! We have an Ultra kit, and unless I am missing something and I often am it does not maintain C of G when you use the tilt stage so yes you do need to adjust for and aft when changing tilt though I would be very happy to learn otherwise. Hope this is helpful Joe McNally

Hi Paul looks really good. Ive only just got broadband so not an expert but everything seems to load well. The penultimate scene of B o B comes over very dark. Can you describe how you did the Auf Wiedeshen shot ? It looks like a crane and step off, no ? Did you do the recent series in Dominican ? The office scene is great and I did notice a lot of other good work in that series. BTW Russian Ark was on UK TV last night and I was very impressed. If I had your material I would put some of the Coldplay vid on your reel. I have been asked about 5 times by directors over the past year or so to shoot it like the Yellow vid. Hope this helps Cheers Joe McNally

Hi Erwin thats perfect I will order one shortly. Many thanks again Joe

Hello Mike good to meet you at the show last week. If its any help I would be happy for you to make copies of mine. I have a list somewhere of most of the common pin configurations and plugs required. I had some made up for the Steadicam and cranes by the guys at Marrell and am very pleased with them. There are only are few basic ones to have but you will need some way of customising on site ie always take your soldering iron and meter. Reason being a lot of the UK film hire companies have their own way have wiring non standard. I think you would appreciate that by the time you have sourced the plugs etc you may as well buy them off the shelf. BTW wold anybody be interested in a male and female triax connector Kings 7705-9 and 7703-9. What did you think of the Ultra Brite Mike ? Cheers for now Joe McNally

Hi Erwin, Eric and Marcus many thanks for the advise. I have ended up buying a Magliner off of an AC who overheard I was looking for one. Its great and just what I needed. A bit like the back mount vest just kicking myself I did not buy one years ago. Its a Mag Junior with big wheels and had very little use. I need to make up a mast for the docking bracket and a bumper. The cart seems very stable. I was worried from the photos it may tip over with the rig on but now I see it is very solid. I can also use it for non Steadi jobs. I havent seen anyone with the Yaeger cart in the UK are they popular in the States ? Again many thanks for the input Cheers Joe McNally

Hi Guys and girls. Joe McNally here UK Need some help please. I would like to buy a Magliner cart and I am getting a bit confused with all the options. Junior Senior ? One or two shelves ? Vest holder Swing away handles ? Width of shelves. Wheels ? Well just wondered if anyone has one of these carts and finds them useful. Is there anything better around ? Where is the best place to purchase in the States/UK ? Sorry for all the questions but if I can get an answer to one or two i'd be happy. Thanks for any help Joe

Hello Phil you could try these people too http://www.all-pelican-cases-4-less.com/de...lican_1500.html About $71-00. Remember the price you have in UK includes delivery. Might be worth paying a little extra for the lack of hassle. Remember customs fee,courier fee, import duty and VAT, phonecalls. Might still be worth importing just for the hell of it though. Good luck and let us know what you decide Joe

Hi John we can get a Master , Ultra or Mod 111 to you no prob to Paris. Just let me know. Would like another trip on the Eurostar. Hope youre well Joe Mc

Is it possible to use 12 volt batteries with the Ultra rig if you were just using a 12 volt camera and 12 volt monitor ? Joe McNally

Is it possible to use 12volt batteries with the Ultra rig if you were just using a 12 volt camera and 12 volt monitor ? Joe mcNally

Hi Kes I have had a short demo of the Baer-Bel plate and it is very simple and impressive. I do not know the exact weight but it is maybe an eigth the weight of a Sony plate. A simple screw locks the camera body to the plate very solidly. You can detach the Sony V shape to use it with flat base cameras too. I think you can easily add a piece to allow 15 or 19mm bars. Alternatively fit a Chrosziel or other manufactuers 15mm adaptor to the camera. Hope this helps and let us know what you choose Joe

Hi Peter I think Mike Scott has one for sale on http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll...rty=MetaEndSort Joe mc

Hi Erwin discussed this over Christmas time with colleagues in UK and our conclusion was if it can be avoided do not to take on the responsiblity of FF kit. We offer the Genio FF but are guarded as to how we promote it. We explain to client that it is not the best in the world but perfectly adequate for most TV and light film jobs. We recommend that client discusses ff requirements with 1stAC and let them specify what they want then source it, pick it up, use it then get it back to whoever it belongs to. This seems to work quite well for us. The hire company is happy the 1st AC is happy. OK so we lose a little bit in Genio hire but job is a lot less stressful. I personlly cannot see a time in the near future when I could offer a full Preston kit or Arri FF and not take a big financial loss on it. 99% of clients are delighted with the Genio system and its costs Cheers Joe McNally

Hi Erwin I have an early mod 111 vest and a Master vest. The mod 111 is what I would describe as useable but you would not choose it over a Master vest. If you where to read the original manual it seems that the vest as the rest of the kit is to always be used by two people. References to " have your assistant tighten the straps for you ". This is not always possible. Slightly off subject though is the fact that the Mod 111 rig can be put down on the ground in between takes with no fear of damaging anything. I am finding this a rare thing with rigs nowadays. The Master vest I have no real complaints about. The front plate has a tendency to work loose this was improved on the newer Ultras by using bigger screws and a serrated dovetail piece. The new snowboard type buckles are a big improvement at little cost. I believe it is simple to put in back straps too although I have not done this yet. Master rig can be carefully put on the ground too. I have tried on a DS vest only for 20 minutes and was not sold on it. However the forces on the body are totally different and I could see a big justification for having both types of vest and using them both so as to avoid over stressing particular back areas over time. I may buy one soon. Cheers for now Joe

Thanks Erwin for taking the time to reply. I can empaphise a little with the painful process youve been through. Also agree that at the end of the day its personal. I am still intrigued though as after having been through 7 PRO kits you are now using the XCS. I have never seen the XCS rig close up, only on their website and yours of course, so am interested in your opinions as to how it compares with the PRO rig, if at all. I have a mod 111 kit and a Master series kit at the moment. cheers for now joe

Hi Jason can you tell us some more information about the equipment you are buying ? Erwin in your reply to Jason you mentioned you have had 8 rigs. Can I ask you if you are happy with the XCS set up with the DS vest or are you still searching ? I am looking for a new rig and if you have a spare moment I would be interested why you chose the XCS over the Pro and Ultra or any other rigs out there. Do you know the what's the latest with the DS split up will the vests still be supported ? Jason sorry to sidetrack your question but not sure yet how to target my question good luck with wahatever you buy. Cheers now Joe McNally