Domenico

You are perfectly right Janice, I must get more experience with smaller rigs, rather than buying something the probably I will not the opportunity to use at its full potential for a (long) while! Thank you Andrew for your suggestions, I will definetely get as much info as possible before making "the step"! And thank you so much for your kind offer, I will keep it in mind! However, I probably forgot to mention that I know a couple of cinematographers who owns their own cameras (mostly F7S and RED Epic/Scarlet) and they already told me that whenever I feel ready, they will definetely give me the chance to operate their cameras, so that's why I might need something that can hold at least a RED (which the zephir can do, as far as I know... the important is that it can hold a red without putting too much stress on the arm, for example what would be the heaviest set up I could safely use with a Red on the zephir, considering also a wireless FF? ... or maybe an archer2 would be "safer"?) Thanks!

Thank you so much Janice and Victor for taking the time to answering all my questions! I though that it would have been good to buy "once" and stick with the same steadicam for few years... but I must say that you are right, It's best to buy something smaller and then upgrate when time will come (probably the zaphir might be a good compromise). Thanks Victor for the brands suggestions, I might be interested in trying the pro arm and/or sled but where can I have the chance to try it out? Maybe optical support? Regarding the monitor, if I buy a really good monitor, then I would keep using it even when I will upgrate to another steadicam, so It's fine, I guess. I think I would go for the Axis1, maybe the teradek too, but I might need to do more research first. Anyway I will follow your suggestions and wait a bit before rushing buying, in the meantime I hope optical support will give me the chance to pop by for some testing/practice, I will also ask some operators I know (even though I don't really want to bother people for this, if I have my own steadicam I would just practice whenever I want/can). Anyway yes, I will kee reading and searching and hopefully some good deals will come up! Thanks so much, you are all amazing!

Hello everyone! I have just completed the Tiffen Gold Workshop, which was amazing and learned a huge amount! Now that I realized that this is the direction I want to take, I definetely need a steadicam, both for practicing and, hopefully, to start working and build a showreel. Unfortunately I am still not very experienced (the workshop was my first chance to actually operate a steadicam), but I have got few ideas of what I want... which I am writing here so that you, with your experience and wisdom, you can tell me what I NEED and hopefully if some of you has something second hand which meets these "criteria" maybe we could make a deal? I am based in London, so if someone from UK has an offer for me would be ideal, but I am absolutely opened to anyone in any country. Therefore, I would like to build with you a list, so I can use that list to focus on buying what I actually need at this stage. Ok, so: SLED - Something strong enough to support an Alexa, maybe an Archer? (I have heard many times of people who lost jobs because they couldn't use an Alexa with their steadicam) - Tilt head - Connectors... what conneectors do you think I should definetely have on the sled, in order to be able to operate a reasonable wide range of cameras? - stiffening system? (but maybe it might be too much a this stage for me?) - double-side battery plate? V-mount? VEST I tried few times the new Exovest at the workshop and I liked it. I know it's more of a personal choice, but if you have any suggestions about it please tell me. ARM I was thinking something like the G-50X? Again, please tell me your thoughts about it, if you have other arms/brands in mind. MAINTENANCE What should I need to keep everything clean and in perfect working conditions? Any lubrificant, cover (especially for the arm), way to clean the vest, etc..? DOCKING STAND I really liked the "Jerry Hill's" type of stand (the one that "clicks" when the sled is in position), I found the other ones a bit annoying to put the little pin every time you dock the Sled. SAND BAG? Maybe I need one or two sand bags, to put on the stand for when I practice at home? TRANSVIDEO MONITOR (or maybe you could suggest me something else?) - Not sure yet about the inches. - I was thinking something with anti-reflection coating - Flip and tilt on its CG - Framelines and artificial horizon, something that can help me to quickly check the verticals (I know you can check for verticals on the frame, but as I still need to practice, it might be handy to have some kind of tools to help me at the beginning, what do you think?) BATTERIES - I was thinking 4, plus one charger... would it be enough? And what brand would you suggest? FOLLOW FOCUS I know everyone would go for a Preston, but what about the RT motion and AXIS1? I found them not bad I must say. WIRELESS VIDEO TRANSMITTER Which brand would you suggest, apart from the Teradek? Even though I know that the last generation of Teradek is much better. BITS AND PIECES Anything else I should consider?Tools, cables, bags, cases, screws, anything? Sorry for this long message, but as you know, steadicam is something as beautiful as expensive! So I really want to be sure about what I need to practice effectively... and making some money out of it! therefore I am looking forward to every suggestions that can help me to build a precise and clear list of what I am looking for. Thank you very much for your patience, wish all of you a lovely day.

Hello everyone! My name is Domenico and I am a London based camera assistant who wants to get into steadicam and in need of your huge experience! I have attended a steadicam assisting course at ARRI, but now I want to attend a steadicam operating course. I have been lucky enough to talk with very experienced and nice people in the Industry who told me about the gold workshop this year, but I don't have much experience in steadicam, so it might be a shame if I am not able to get much out of a course like the gold workshop, being overwhelmed by all the knowledge the tutors will share. Besides, the silver workshop would be a good starting point for me, but they will not run any other courses until feb/march next year. Therefore I would like to ask you which one of the following solutions might be the best one for my situation: - waiting for the silver workshop next year (is it happening always in UK?) Even though I would like to start a course this year. - doing the gold workshop even if I am just starting up. - attending some other course this year (maybe the NfTS one? Do you guys know how is it?) and then attending the silver or gold workshop next year. Sorry guys for the long message, I am aware that this is a long path (attending a course, then practice a lot, working on LB projects to build a showreel and ... keep practicing!) it will take years, but I don't mind, I want to do it properly, so I need a good start. Thank you very much for your time, looking forward to hearing from you and have my mind finally clear about which course attend! Wish you all a great week-end! Dom