joe mcnally

Hi Kevin my suggestion would be to start getting other people and disciplines involved. That way you can start learning about the choreography of movement of actors or talent. Also when working with sound and lighting and directors etc things that you may not of considered start to crop up. On a more practical level I find a good exercise is to put up a couple of lighting stands about 10 feet apart, with maybe a baseball cap on each one, then practice doing figure of eights and circling being sure to reverse direction periodically. Try to compile some great shots from films or TV work on tape that you can refer to. Try to recreate these shots yourself and with friends. Hope this helps a bit and good luck. Regards Joe McNally

Thanks Rob perhaps I will leave it as is until I find the correct part then. Its no big problem sticking out a little. Thanks for the help Joe

It was the encoder that done it ! I have replaced the said encoder and all is working dandy. Unfortunately the replacement encoders shaft is 1/2" too long. :( Would anybody know if it is safe to take a hacksaw to it or is the encoder a delicate senstive thingy ? My thoughts are to clamp the shaft in a vice and then gently saw the offending portion off. My electronics book ends at potentiometers. Maybe if I am good and I can be very good, the girls tell me (30 years ago) ;) Santa will bring me a more up to date electronics book. thanks for any help or advise Joe

Hi Paul I know it may sound obvious but maybe there is a little contamination with grease or something slippery on the post. Have you tried cleaning the post area and inside the clamp ? I have found a little lubrication helps on the shoulder of the clasp, where the grub screws bite, makes it easier to close tighter without over stressing the locking mechanism. Good luck Joe

Hello Ben, Jason Missed the first half unfortunately and Emmerdale ! Who was the operator ? I thought all three answers were correct I'm going for © Tour Operator though :D Did you get my message about Friday Ben Cheers Joe

Dooooh, well the penny has dropped ( I ll tell you the story behind this, unless somebody else would like to) Of course, wish I'd paid attention at the electronics class in fact now wish Id gone to more than one class ! Thanks Jim it all makes some sense now. Where is the ancestoral home ? Bartechcelona or maybe Irisland ? If its anywhere in UK, Londonland give me a shout love to meet up. UK 07973 226532 Thanks for putting me out of my chin stroking. Have a good break where ever it is Cheers Joe

Hi Mikko well lots longer than 4 hours now but dont call the emergency services I am fine and the rig is recovering from the trauma. The battery is gc5.5v1.0f japan 521 I think it was a red herring though and is not the cause of the problem. The 5.5v battery I assume is for keeping the frameline and bubble settings when the 28volt battery is removed. The symptons now are that when I switch the sled on the bubble and frameline are there. However when I try to adjust the framelines the dimmer/encoder only works one way so if you tried to adjust the horozontal bottom line then it will just go all the way to the bottom and off but not back up again. Similar for all other functions. Are the encoders prone to failure ? Anybody have a circuit diagram ? Thanks for any help Joe

OK you guys you've had enough time the iron is coming out, standback as someone may get hurt. If I havent posted again in 60minutes assume the worst. Joe

Thankyou Jerry my biggest suspicion is the small button battery. It reads 4.3 volts. I need to desolder it to get it out. Would anybody know what voltage these batteries are before I get the iron out. I cannot see anything on the button battery housing except Japan 521. I dont want to bother Kyle at the moment as he has been exceptionally helpful on another matter recently. I have gently reseated any of the visible board connectors. Thanks again Jerry

My Ultra 5" crt monitor has been broken. The case and most of the rest of it is OK so I am hoping to find a perfect condition used tube or whole monitor at a sensible price. Any help appreciated Joe McNally

Ladies and gentlemen, just wondered if there was any simple reason why the frameline and bubble have dissapeared from my monitor. Is there any internal battery or anything needs periodic replacement ? Thanks for any help. Joe McNally

Afton I am afraid the simple answer is yes it is serious. It may of course last for the next 10 years but the likelyhood is that it will fail catastrophically at some point probably on your most important shoot. take it to a carbon fibre expert or Tiffen maybe they can patch it up but I think they will say new post, sorry. PS I am no expert and may be wrong, I hope I am. Good Luck Joe

Get a video tap camera and set it onto the viewfinder then take your feed from there. Or get production or yourself to find an HD LCD, Ultrabright, Panasonic, Astro, to velco or attach to your rig. Hope this helps and yes I no its easy for me to say. I think the tap option is most realistic Joe

Any chance the Handsfree will be demoed in UK in the near future love to have a go ? BTW Chris finally got my old computer to download the AR demo from Howards site and got to say I was mightily impressed. Who was the operator I noticed Howard in one of the shots so was it you behind the camera ? When are you bringing the AR to London next ? Joe

Hi Bryan I have not seen a price for the G70 but I bet Brian at Bees could make your arm dance and sing for a tiny, tiny fraction of the G70 cost. Joe

Hi John the camera slips into the V shoe at the front and there is a screw at the back that mates with the camera. You then tighten the screw from below and there you are rock solid no wobble and a 1kg saving in weight. One little warning the Sony plate has a bar that goes across the v shoe so it the pin does not quite mate then the camera althoough very wobbly should not fall off its mount. With the Baer Bel plate you need to be sure the screw is mated properly not difficult at all. If you let me have your address I will send you one over on approval. You can use the plate as a normal flat dovetail plate too by simply removing the V piece. You can also add 15mm and 19mm bars to the dovetail for motors and accessories these start at about £10-00 Any colour you like to match your rig. What rig do you have ? Price is £290-00 plus post and VAT. I think about £20-00 extra if you need a geared rack like 3a/ EFP. BTW the secret with the Flyer is just to screw the Flyer Dovetail direct onto the bottom of the 570 camera be sure to use a good quality screw. Call me if you like on 07973 226532

Hi Bob very close but still too complicated. Got to agree about the Baer Bel Sony eliminator every home should have one. We supply these in the UK if anyones interested. Note does not fit on the Flyer. Joe

Hi Mikael If I tell you all then I'd have to kill you all and I havent got time :D. OK then think about not using the Sony snap plate at all Joe

Hi Ben just putting my teachers cap on, did you mean 'Chrosziel' perhaps this is why not many replies to this post (kidding) Well Ive been testing out the Hummingbird and Transvideo recently. Ive seen the Sunbird briefly and I was very impressed. Very strong build and a quality look and finish to it. Seems to come with lots of options like tally, framelines ect. What distinguishes the Sunbird from the MKV Blackbird ? I believe the above except the Transvideo, are all the same screen from IMP ? Is the Sunbird shower proof ? Ive had the Hummingbird for a day or two on approval and I do like it. A lot heavier than I expected but manageable weight for brackets etc. SDI and composite inputs Also went to see the nice men at Transvideo, ICE,London and again totally impressive product lots lighter in weight and again all the options you could wish for. At the moment I am in favour of the Hummingbird basic package. The size doesnt worry me too much. Very hard to make a decision though. So IMHO Sunbird and all the others are good. All these monitors I am sure will become the norm for director monitors too soon as Directors expectations rise when they see these lovely pictures from these products the old 7" Panasonic is looking very sad indeed. Marrell UK have some exciting products available and in the pipeline. BTW has anybody got a 5" tube for the Tiffen Masters/Ultra they would like to sell. The mail service in the UK kindly broke mine and I cannot claim from them or my insurance, doh. Bye for now Joe

Dont worrry about having a small battery on the camera Li ion if poss. Power the ff from the Hirose or the Anton Bauer tap on the camera handle (50 Watts ) The camera Hirose is only good for 1 amp. It would be OK for the Genio but not sure about bigger motor drivers The connection from the sled to the camera is a 2 pin Lemo, not Hirose, to 4 pin Canon XLR If you pop around I can let you loan one of my modified cables that has a 4 pin hirose pigtailed off the 4 pin Canon. Get reasonably big/heavy, PAG Nicad lock ons maybe, batteries for the sled. Joe

Hi Chris would be great if Tiffen would put a blow up drawing of parts for their range on their website then we could be a little more specific, hint, hint. Ill try to take a picture ASAP. With the arm in front of you forearm on the left and socket pin on the right. From the right travel along the arm past the rod end bearings to the bottom of the first arm section. at the top is a knurled screw that adjusts the arm tension below this is a circlip, pin and bearing below this is a 1" slot where the tension adjustment move is made and below this is another circlip, pin and bearing. This is the area wher the bearings failed. Having replaced them my suspicion is that whoever installed the original has accidentally disturbed the cover for the bearings when installing the pin this has led to the ball bearings falling out and all sorts of knarling going on. Just out of interest my original Flyer arm has double bearings at some of the joints. Cheers Joe

Hi Imran depends which focus iris kit you are using Genio I would say yes. Whip the viewfinder off, I have another neat trick please phone me for information, its top secret. Preston I would say its very close to limit. Basically yes you should be fine as if they have the Flyer for you I would bet they do not own a Preston Maybe they have a follow focus thats been made in Preston but thats a whole new topic. Regards Joe

Ooops. sorry that should have been 'Brian' at Bees Engineering and yes Brian I should be in bed and if I'm not in the next hour or so I'm going home Joe

Hi Afton you sound like a very honourable person. One or two thoughts Is your UK buyer VAT registered. If yes then ask them to reclaim the VAT for you this would be very easy. If no then contact the UK VAT office and ask for a refund you are not liable for this charge, worth a quick letter I would say. Assuming you are in business in some way then all the shipping costs attract tax relief for you so may not be such a worry. Alternatively as you say just put it down to experience but it is not the way transactions should happen UK to USA, it is exceptional. I have just purchased quite a large ammount of equipment from B and H Phot NY and if its any consolation it has been a complete nightmare. A year or two ago these transactions were fairly simple and cost effective. Maybe parnoia but I feel the tax authorities of both nations want to discourage trade between each other. Also Fed Ex, DHL seeem to delight in stacking up the fees and yes seem very unhelpful for companies that do this type of thing day in day out. Hope this is helpful and not confusing Joe

Hi Chris just a quick note to say a big thankyou. The bearings arrived yesterday and I have put the arm back together again. All seems good for the moment. I like the idea of the bushes but I will give the bearings another chance maybe they where just fitted badly. This is the second Flyer arm that has failed badly after one or two days use, new buyers be very beware I will try to locate some replacement bearings to send back to you as soon as I can. I have been speaking to Bryan at Bees Engineering, UK. He has a huge range of replacement parts and knowledge of arms and rigs. Big thanks again Chris and hope I can return the kindness soon Joe