Sean Jensen

Hi Fab. Mimic should work with your controller depending when you bought your MoVI. Otherwise you should be able to download Mimic from the Freefly website and install it on your M15 and your Controller. It works really well. No extra gear needed. I think using Mimic mode is the easiest way to control the roll axis while shooting if you don't own 3 axis wheels. (Klassen) All this info should be on the Freefly website or on their forum. Sean

Hello all. I am just getting into the 3 axis gimbal gear. I've been a Steadicam op for 22+ years. I look at this investment as a kind of longevity thing. Do I want to be running around with a 70lbs+ Steadicam when I'm 60? Nope. How long do I expect to be working? I'm 47 now. Is 65 reasonable? Will carrying less weight extend my career? Maybe. Do I want to be working past 65? All these questions are what's going through my mind these days. I love what I do and want to operate as long as possible. A 3 axis gimbal is just another tool in my arsenal. There have been many times in recent years when I thought a gimbal would get the shot over Steadicam. I have spent over $70K CDN getting a 'set ready' 3 axis gimbal set up. Will it pay off? Only time will tell. I sure as hell hope so. It's a really cool piece of gear and it's only in its infancy. Times are a changing. I have an idea of what my market in Canada will accept as far as rates are concerned. I hope my market agrees. Best of luck. Sean

A few years ago I was on a TV show where a stunt double was jogging in a military compound. On the rehearsal a big truck comes around the corner at considerable speed. They miscalculated and the stunt performer dives out of the way, narrowly avoiding tragedy while the truck swerves to miss her. I ask the DP what he wants for the shot and he says "You are running next to her and the truck goes between you two." I say "Absolutely not!" The DP asks why? I remind him that I would be exactly where the truck swerved to miss the stunt performer, while wearing 80lbs of gear. Grumpily, and a bit amazed I said no, he asks "Well, what do you suggest?" I told him we would do the shot from the dolly 100 feet away on a long lens. Begrudgingly he agrees. The shot worked perfectly the first take. Director was ecstatic! Said it looked way more dangerous than expected. I have refused work with this DP ever since.

Hi John. I used a 3A arm for years after buying my PRO sled. The 3A arm is a quality arm. Good, solid and proven. I do have a PRO arm now and absolutely love it. My sled has also been upgraded to HD. Personally, if the choice is between an SD sled and a PRO arm, I'd go for the arm. If HD isn't a priority for you then it's a no brainer to me. That being said... Do you use PRO batteries on your sled now or has it been modified? How easy is it to get batteries for your sled? How important is an HD sled to you? A sled can be upgraded to HD. Lots to think about. Sean

I had one snap on set in a remote field outside of Budapest, Hungary a few weeks ago. Mud and rain. I replaced it with no problems on a camera cart. Was so glad I had a replacement with me. I remember packing for the trip and thought "well..just in case" and brought my two spares. Was up and running in less than 10 minutes. I will agree with Alec, change them out every few years. Inexpensive fix for a potentially big problem. Sean

Hmmm. I ordered and paid for my monitor in May and still don't have it.

I ordered my monitor just over three months ago. Both emails I have sent were answered within 24 hours. Still no monitor. It does feel a little odd having sent almost $7K for products I don't have yet. I'd rather wait than receive something I'll have to send back to get updated. I appreciate that this isn't a big company, their product is in high demand and that they are still working some of the kinks out. Until then I'm happy using my TB-6. It is still working great after 10 flawless years of hard service. Sean

Hello everyone. Is a prep day always included before you start a long term gig? Friends of mine are getting shafted on prep days and production is blaming them for delays on set. Is this a common thing now? Being a Canadian I'm just curious how ops in the US deal with this. Sean

Pro Sled for almost 11 years Pro Arm 3 years Pro Vest 3 years

It is with great sadness I report the death of Candide Franklyn, as informed by our union, IATSE 667. I don't know if he was active on this forum but he was a very well respected Steadicam Op. here in Toronto. He worked on many big shows such as "The Da Vinci Code" and "Cinderella Man". Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

What about "Turn over". The kids these days wouldn't even begin to understand that. Mostly, it's my British colleagues who use that one but it is from another era. Haven't heard it in a few years now.

Hi Niko The part is called the Jamaica Aurora. No kidding. I would love to know who came up with that. Strange name. An op in Toronto broke one and ordered replacements from PRO. A little tricky to replace but not hard. Good luck Sean

Hi Nick. I recently finished a feature where I used my Gyro kit more than I was expecting to use it. The sound mixer just shrugged when I told him what I was planning on using and said that the scenes we would use them for would probably have to be looped anyway because of the wind. That being said, the Gyros I have are not as noisy as most would think. Earlier this year I bought them from Jens Piotrowski and they work great. I am really pleased with how well they work. I have 2 KS6s with all 3 PRO mounting brackets, two inverters and all sorts of cables. I had used Gyros before I purchased these from Jens so I knew what to expect. I was shooting from a pontoon boat to a dock. The grips had built a large raft for a small crane with remote head. That was the plan until the water got choppy. The crane became unusable and we went to Steadicam, hard mounted to a dolly, with Gyros powered constantly. The shots were great and everyone was happy. We were anywhere from 10 to 40 feet away from the actors. The sound mixer even said he couldn't hear the Gyros over the wind and was surprised how quiet they were. Last year I did a feature where we rented Gyros. I unplugged them when rolling due to the nature of the shot and my inexperience with them. The sound had to be replaced anyway because of the wind. If it was less windy I would have used my Antlers. Both are great tools. Both have limitations. Gyros, in my opinion, work better than Antlers for very windy conditions. Antlers are great when sound is an issue and when the wind isn't crazy. I'm glad to have both. Sean

Hi Mark I'm powering the camera in 12v through its factory 2 pin connector. The Alexa we are using has the V-lock plate and I don't own any of those batteries. I've only used Alexas with this battery mount. When it comes to powering the Codex, I'll cross that bridge when I need to. I imagine I'll need to have my nice right angle cable converted to a "Y" cable for that. Or just have a new one built. There goes another $400. Not sure what the draw is from The Boxx. I'm sure one of the tech savvy guys on this forum will know. Cheers! Sean

- You mentioned the Alexa will not run on 12v. Are you aware that the only way to input 12v to Alexa is through the Anton Bauer battery plate? Mark and Alec I'm on my second Alexa series, powering the camera in 12v mode through my PRO2 sled with a right angle power cable with no problems. That Dionic HC also powers the Preston, Cinetape and Redbyte. My run times are great on one battery. The Boxx is powered from the AUX port on my sled. It's power hungry and drains the battery at almost the same rate as the camera. I was told the Boxx gets "cranky" in 24v when it heats up. I suppose I could have had the power cable made for 24v but I wanted that AUX port for any surprises. Recording on SxS cards not the Codex. Sean