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

Hello all. I'm on my second Alexa series and am running the camera off one Dionic HC through my sled with no problems. On the last show, before I had a right angle cable made for the camera, I was using an onboard battery. The Alexa with an Angenieux Optimo 28-76, clip-on matte box and eyebrow, Wevi or Boxx and a battery is just too long for me. An Anton Bauer hot swap adapter would only add to that. I had the cable made and that extra two and a half inches less really makes a difference. I actually hit myself in the head a couple times while panning with the onboard battery. The single Dionic HC works fine for the camera and all accessories except I power the Boxx from the accessories out on my sled. It's power hungry and I find it drains its battery almost as fast as the camera drains its. I get decent run times and change batteries at about the same rate as I would on a film show. Sean

Hey Ramon I had a short right angle cable built for the job I just finished. I was flying the CamWave on the camera and wanted to power the camera through my PRO2. Six weeks lead time for the right angle connector. Not a popular connector and NOT cheap. The cable cost me over $350 and that was a good price from a friend. It might be different now because the Alexa is really popular. Get on it ASAP. Good Luck Sean

while your at Pro buying that arm get fitted for a vest, best purchase I have made I'll second that, Rob. Love my PRO vest. I don't know why I waited so long before getting it. Seriously, best investment I've made in years. Sean

Hi Roger I often shoot in -20C conditions. Years ago I was on a show where we were shooting in -40C and the lens froze almost solid. Couldn't even turn it by hand. We pointed a 2K at the camera from about a foot away and also wrapped the lens and camera with a plug in car battery warmer between takes. Did the trick but by the end of the shot we had to heat it all up again. What lenses are you using? I've never had this problem with Cooke S4s or Primos but older lenses, yes. I'll agree with heating up the lens. We did not have any condensation problems. Probably because it was so cold we only heated the grease in the lens. If you can, try "Hot Shots" taped to the lens. They sometimes work and give a constant heat source for a couple of hours, don't weigh much and don't get in the way too much. Good luck and stay warm. Sean

Hi Alan When I did my Steadicam course in L.A. back in the day, we were learning how to run and also how to spot. Everyone in the class would take a turn with the rig while another student spotted. When it was my turn to spot, a similar thing happened. The op took about five steps and basically tripped over his own feet. Down he started to go and I started hauling back on his vest. The bottom of the sled hit his knee, the gimbal popped off the arm post and the sled went flying. He went down on one knee and was alright. The sled (an EFP with an old defunct video camera on it) came crashing down hard but was essentially fine. The instructors, Jerry Hill and Travis Clark, had never seen this before. I haven't seen or heard of this again until now. Perfect storm, I guess. Cheers! Sean Jensen

Hey there. I probably have over 30 cases for various pieces of gear. From the micro Pelican cases to large Clydesdale cases for my sled and other things. What I bring to set depends on the show. Right now I have on the truck: Clydesdale - sled/monitor Pelican - Preston/brackets - full kit Clydesdale - chargers Modular 51 vest bag & arm bag Modular 51 FIZ bag for on set Modular 51 Steadi on set bag full of tools, bits & pieces and rain covers C-stand Custom Steadicam cart (modified Backstage cart. Like Erwin's) I don't do many dailies so I don't need to bring everything with me when I work. I've streamlined my kit over the years but still have a tonne of stuff. It all lives in my basement on shelves. Sean

Just got an Evite from PRO to come "celebrate the unveiling of their new HDSDI sled" on June 20th. Should be interesting. Wish I could go.

Hey Jeff, I've just done two seasons on a hand held show and honestly don't think I would have survived without my EasyRig. It in no way stabilizes a shot like a Steadicam, but is perfect for those awkward in between shots, shooting from the hip, long masters, shots from low to high angles etc. I didn't use it every day, but I was able to do shots that aren't possible to do in the traditional hand held sense. I know guys who use it for all their hand held work. I don't but always have it ready. There is a small learning curve to it. With the camera hanging from it's handle or bracket, it moves differently when panning or tilting than if it were on your shoulder. It can really save your back. Worth every penny. Sean

Sad to hear that. Some 20+ years ago, when I was young, stupid and just falling in love with that machine we all love to talk about, I gave Bob a call to ask him about Steadicam. Called that number on the back of American Cinematographer. I probably came off as a dumb kid but he still took the time to talk and answer my questions. Since then I've had quite a successful career with the Steadicam. I never met him in person but he definitely inspired me in my fledgeling career. Cheers Bob & thanks Sean

Hi Job My insurance company (in Canada) covers my gear ONLY while on my property and en route to the job site, NOT while on the job site when being rented to productions. This is standard practice and is why I must get a cert. or I won't do the job. A PM once told me it only takes production 5 min. to add my gear to their insurance coverage. No big deal at all. I've said it before, try pulling this on Panavision and there'd be no cameras on set. PMs need to understand that our gear is NOT KIT RENTAL but EQUIPMENT RENTAL. Sean