RobinThwaites

Excellent news my friend. Robin

Tiffen International are delighted to announce two new Steadicam workshops scheduled for this autumn. First we have a BRONZE TWO DAY Workshop on the 18th and 19th of October at Sywell Aerodrome in Northampton with award winning Steadicam operator Andrei Austin (Waking the Dead, Silent Witness, New Tricks) as primary instructor. This is a new joint venture and Andrei is keen to pass on his vast experience. As usual the BRONZE Workshop is a two day event using Steadicam systems up to the Zephyr. Secondly we have a SILVER THREE DAY Workshop running from the 21st to the 23rd November at our usual SAE Institute Headquarters location near Oxford. This will be with the usual Tiffen crew and maybe a couple of guests dropping in and will be with all sizes of rig up to the Ultra 2. Please e-mail either me, robin.thwaites@tiffen.com or Danny Hallett dhallett@tiffen.com for details and an application form, also details will be published on www.flysteadicam.com and FaceBook FlySteadicam. Robin

Hi Rusty I have done it with ropes and pulleys, a huge screwdriver and a metal chair but without a jig it is tricky and you are likely to a) damage a finger, B) damage the finish on the arm. Robin

Sorry, page 20 for the sled base. R

Kurt http://www.steadicam.com/userimages/Archer2_Manual_11-11_sm.pdf page 15 Robin

Happy to talk maintenance but not here. First time I took a G-70 apart was on my kitchen table with no manual, instructions etc. E-mail me direct if you need to find out more. Robin

Hi Cameron Try reducing the drop time/bottom weight. As per the setup DVD this should be around 1 second, too much weight on the bottom will make it swing around. Robin

TIFFEN INTERNATIONAL SILVER 3 DAY STEADICAM WORKSHOP AUGUST 2012 The next Tiffen Steadicam Silver workshop will be located in the town of Sitges near Barcelona in Spain from the 1st to the 3rd of August. The Silver Workshop is an intensive course for all sizes of rig designed to get a good start in learning the basic techniques and operation. This workshop is hosted by aFilm and endorsed by Tiffen, for details please see FlySteadicam.com or contact directly to aFilm http://www.afilm.es/Steadicam.html . Bring plenty of sun block! Robin

No Matteo, it has to be at the factory. Robin

Hi Matteo As I have mentioned to you in our direct personal e-mails 1/yes you will feel an improvement 2/the arm needs to go to the factory because there is machining involved and 3/if you go that route you will get a 1 year back to base warranty from the date that it is done. Robin

TIFFEN INTERNATIONAL 2 DAY BRONZE WORKSHOP, OXFORD, UK. 26-27 APRIL 2012 Greetings! Tiffen International Ltd would like to announce our next BRONZE (2 day) Steadicam Workshop to be held at the SAE Institute, Oxford, UK on the 26th and 27th April. This is a great opportunity to work with some of the lighter Steadicam systems up to the Zephyr in fantastic surroundings. For further details please see www.flysteadicam.com, the FlySteadicam Facebook page or contact Tiffen International directly on +44 870 100 1220 or email dhallett@tiffen.com or robin.thwaites@tiffen.com. Best wishes Robin

All To clear this up the Standard vest is standard size but versatile enough to fit most people - especially with the Zephyr vest which is very adjustable. The compact is for smaller frame operators and also shorter body length. If you order the HD Zephyr you will get an 800 nit 7" monitor which will take HDSDI so should work for you and is not much more expensive than the SD version. Betz are a good starting point and very helpful then we also have Tiffen International in the UK (my office). Robin

Hi Andy Phone me. Robin

I am blushing! Robin

TIFFEN INTERNATIONAL SILVER 3 DAY STEADICAM WORKSHOP MARCH 2012 Tiffen International will be holding a 3 day SILVER workshop in the UK between the 21st and 23rd March at the SAE Institute near Oxford. There are a limited number of places and the event is quite soon so if you are interested please contact Tiffen International for an application form by e-mailing direct to either Robin Thwaites robin.thwaites@tiffen.com or Danny Hallett dhallett@tiffen.com or call to the Oxford office on +44 870 100 1220. Many thanks Robin

Hi Luis The compact vest is for people who are not as tall as you! Robin

Hi Phil Tiffen make the cables that you are after and we usually have a selection in stock in Oxford - or go to our friends at Optical Support, we don't have a problem with that. Robin

Hi Michael Tighten the screws as per Jens comment making sure you hit the flat on the pin and then if the holes are deep enough and you could follow it with a second grub screw to lock it in place. Alternatively clean the area and use a little threadlock. Robin

Hey Amando Have a good................whatever! Best Wishes Robin

Hi Guys Recommendation for the Merlin is generally 1 second and with practice would go to nearly 1.5 but 3 is seriously long on a handheld rig. The problem is often that many people count seconds too quickly so make sure they are one elephant, two elephant etc... The symptoms indicate that it is definitely too fast at the moment. Robin

Thanks Rich, just one small thing, let's spell Steadicam with an "I". :) Robin

Hi Rich For the record I'm not entirely comfortable being mentioned in a public forum in association with something which may end up as a legal matter. Many people know me here and know that I normally only contribute on technical or factual matters, issues like this have a way of exploding. I will refrain from commenting on the rental company or state of the rig except that the docking bracket would have had a balancing stud on it and clearly, from the photograph, they also have something to learn in terms of operation and setup. As I mentioned on the phone, I believe that with a lightweight rig like the Pilot, most experienced operators would have balanced the sled on the arm and saved the shoot but you were not to know that. One point from your e-mail is that it seems that a non standard 8" monitor was fitted in place of the 5.8" version which would have affected balance so some knowledge of the principles of operation would be required here as well. Steadicam operation in the field needs training, planning. I understand that the pressures of modern production means that clients expect anybody and everybody to "throw Steadicam in" with the rest of the shoot however anyone is welcome to make a quick call to us before embarking on the venture which could save later pain. Best Robin

Hi Wolfgang Looks like you broke the adjuster screw. You should not need to tighten this to the point where this can happen to get a good lock. Send me an e-mail at robin.thwaites@tiffen.com with your details and I will send a replacement. As a note to Europeans the American threads fitted to Steadicam are coarser than metric threads and you need less turns to make an effective adjustment so go easy with the Allen wrench and "feel" what you are doing. If the gimbal clamp feels really tight to get it over centre the screw may have moved in transit or with use so don't try to force it. Robin

Hi All Sorry to disappoint any conspiracy theorists out there but we just need to re-vamp the price lists to include new part numbers and reflect our inclusion of Transvideo monitors in the range. Because this cuts across most products it seemed best to do it all at once rather than bit by bit. Prices are still available from either our US or UK offices and any of our partners. Robin

Hi Jake, all, To avoid confusion...... All Archer 2 systems come with the G-50. Archer 2 manual stage Archer 2S stage motorised in fore and aft axis only Archer 2SE stage motorised in both directions, leather vest, 2 batteries and a charger Stage remote motors can be added later so at this stage you could use that money towards the HD monitor. Robin