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Teddy Smith SOC

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Everything posted by Teddy Smith SOC

  1. Does anyone happen to know what the thread pattern is on the two holes highlighted in the attached picture below? I'm making some custom brackets and would rather order one pack of screws from McMaster.
  2. My new Zephyr is proving to not be able to handle the weight of the last three jobs I was offered so I am looking to move up and try an Archer 2. I am interested in buying a full Archer 2 kit or doing a partial trade for my Zephyr if you happen to want to move down to something lighter. My Zephyr HD-SDI kit was purchased new in December and - besides practice runs - has been flown for exactly one day on a commercial shoot. I like the Zephyr it's just my plan to fly Alexa Minis isn't really working out since literally my last three calls have been for flying full size Alexa XTs with anamorphic glass. Oh well. PM me if you have anything!
  3. It's actually the arri version of the cinetape that came in the kit from the rental house, the UDM-1. It had a cable that connects directly to the camera. I don't exactly remember how it all hooked up but it all worked once I got everything plugged in correctly and made the custom lens profiles. You would think it would be able to work with just the lens data from the Cookes. But it doesn't seem to work that way. Maybe in a future firmware update. The good news is this would actually work with any lens even non LDS lenses. Just manually enter the lens values, store them in the SD card, and the camera remembers it.
  4. Here is what it will look like once you get it all setup right. The green arrow is the focus reading coming off the cinetape. You can even press a button on the WCU-4 to autofocus to the cinetape!
  5. Yes I have been through this recently. You have to manually program the values into the SD card in the camera. Even though they are showing up on the handset you still have to manually input around a dozen points. Once you do that the depth of field gauge and other cool features will pop up. It took me about two days of prep to figure this out. The manual input is on the camera side. You have to make a new profile for every lens and then manually switch the lens profile when you change lenses. It only takes a few seconds so it's not as a big of a hassle as it seems. My focus puller loved the system once we figured it out.
  6. One more thing.. Saying "all these punks" probably isn't a good attitude to have. You should be making friends with these guys and learning from them directly. Who cares who made their gear if they can operate it well and they have a good attitude? There is a lot more to operating than who made your sled.
  7. Yes all of us local 600 operators from New Orleans are moving to Atlanta thanks to our ex governor killing the tax credits. Negotiating rates is tricky and could probably cover an entire book (if it doesn't already). I don't do "half day" rates anymore except for established commercial clients who I know are legitimately hiring me for easy 1-2 hour gigs. If I don't get a prep day then I have to factor in the time it's going to take to pack and prep my gear. Not to mention all the phone calls and emails you have to deal with to do the gig. A 4 hour "half day" easily becomes an 8 hour day with prep, wrap, travel, etc. I don't want to get into rates too much but generally the rate depends on the budget of the production. You should expect to get paid more for shooting a Tier 3 $20m feature than a Tier 0 $2m feature or a $50k no budget feature. Secondly, you should be negotiating two rates; a day rate or hourly rate with a 10 hour minimum and, secondly, a kit rental. It's important to establish a base hourly rate because when your "day" turns into an 18 hour day you will want to have something to compute overtime off of. Even if it's a union gig it's easy to get screwed on this if you don't know what you should be getting or if you don't know how to fill in your time card properly. I always bring up the kit rental once I have my rate locked or if I am having trouble getting a decent rate for myself. If a producer just can't pay me a decent day rate sometimes I can get them to make it up on a better kit rental. That must come out of a separate budget in their spreadsheet or something. I aim for 1/20th the value of my kit per week if it's a weekly job. A bit more if it's just a daily job. Now regarding why they aren't calling you back.. do you have a reel, references, and a decent IMDB/resume? When I get a call I have a pretty impressive new client pack that I immediately send over with recommendation letters, a reel, etc.
  8. Attached is a picture of the blue thing I am talking about. http://imgur.com/pe1vFbJ P
  9. Hello everyone. I did some searching and saw a few other posts about this subject but I couldn't find a solution other than to call Tiffen. Anyway, the blue piece that connects the handle to the gimbal on my Zephyr is loose and has a lot of play in it. After just a few days of use the screw will back all the way out and come apart. I know I can tighten it down by taking the handle off but if I tighten it too much the blue piece binds up and doesn't swing freely. If I tighten it just enough so it doesn't bind there is still quite a bit of play in the connection and the screw backs out after a few days. It's almost as if there is a spacer or something missing. Any suggestions? Is the play in the handle normal and I should just add some lock tite to the screw?
  10. I just got a Zephyr. The very first call I got for a gig was to fly a fully built Alexa that was way out of the Zephyr's weight range. I haven't even got a job yet and already need a bigger rig.
  11. I have the Tiffen level and love it. It's the coolest feature about my Zephyr. I don't see any issues with it going crazy when I pan fast. I run around the house with it whipping like a mad man and it seems to hold level if I do. The only problem I have is trying to keep an eye on the level and the monitor at the same time. Today, the assistant whispered I was dutch. I glanced up at the level and sure enough I was in the red. Gotta practice watching the frame and the level somehow.
  12. I would like to buy the 12/24v Battery hanger for the zephyr in Anton Bauer mount. I have had one on order from B&H for the last few weeks with no ETA in sight.
  13. Got my Zephyr! Thanks to everyone for all the help.
  14. Found what I was looking for. Thanks everyone for all the help.
  15. I am interested in buying a Marshall level indicator V-LCD-HI for the monitor on my Zephyr. Hit me up if you happen to have one. Thanks!
  16. I am interested in purchasing a Zephyr kit through Amazon because I have a large Amazon credit that I can only use there. Amazon selling fees are actually cheaper than eBay on big ticket items so it won't be much different than selling your item on eBay. If anyone has a Zephyr kit and willing to work with me on this then please get in touch!
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