Jump to content

geoff shotz

Premium Members
  • Posts

    153
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Posts posted by geoff shotz

  1. first off, i never complain about working, only about being tired and the lack of cute extras to fill my day! i agree with ron though, come end of season, you wonder where the year has gone! once we are in the loop, most of us tend to take a job on the heels of another out of fear of that being the last one ever. and once you are working regularly, it is easier to stay employed. in '09, i think i worked a pilot, into a pilot, straight into 'weeds', straight to 'vampire diaries' and i'm still there! if my calculations are right, i worked from the second week of february til december 8th straight through. no breaks! i think that's somewhere around 200-215 days! holy hell! really? no wonder i have no life! i know how lucky i've been with my timing and i'm thankful every day! in comparison, 6 years ago, i probably worked 30 days all year. indeed the rates are getting harder to get and the work more demanding in pace, but i still love my job every time i show up for work and i know that it is my choice on every job. for that, i am incredibly thankful! i just hope there is enough work for everyone soon, really soon!

     

    geoff

  2. xiao su han- i commend you for sticking this discussion through! most impressive. if i felt like sticking my ass on the line as a director and had a spot planned, i'd trade you steadicam for free for the use of you and your gear for my spot. i agree with this being a business, but this is a business built on relationships more than money. you have offered to stick your ass on the line in return for a favor. and if someone takes you up on your offer, it may be the beginning of a great relationship, both creatively and personally. hopefully! we are all in this to make a living, but money can not be the only factor. to the newer guys, i know that this is much easier to say now that i make a good living. you have presented your situation well and have recovered from a badly worded introduction to this community. sometimes we forget the beginning of this creative journey we are all on. over the years, i have taken many favor, free, or worse jobs. many i regretted. some i walked from. some i gave everything to and got nothing in return. some have created the business relationships that have paid me back a 1000 fold financially. always though, i took the 'job' knowing it was my choice. you have made a choice to dp and have used the red as your way in. it may and it may not pay off, but it is no different than me buying a steadicam to become an operator. i hope you find someone to do your job well and maybe in return, you'll shoot the short that gets them a great director gig! if you are in l.a., i'd be curious to meet you. give me a call.

     

    geoff

  3. wow! doc's prices have really gone up! i'm making one for $74.99, shipping included! and if you order 2 or more, there's a free tube of lisigav included!

     

    g.

  4. jens- if you want to try the ergo handle, stop by walter klassen's booth at cinegear. erwin and i will be helping him out and we'll have a rig with the handle on it. a test run will help explain how it feels more than all our words. hope all's well!

     

    geoff

  5. i'll check tomorrow, but i should have an old school 35-3 specific low mode bracket that can adjust to most of the crap that has been added or modified on those cameras. i'll happily lend it to you if i can find it. call me tomorrow if you're interested.

     

    geoff

    310/ 880 2233

     

    p.s.- alec- i hope you haven't used ron up too much! us westcoast boys are warming up the lisigav for his return!

  6. joel- i used to rent david lee's steadimags when i was in singapore. not sure if he's still there or in bangkok now. ask around or try him online here on the form. that or you have to bring them out of australia like louis said. hope this helps!

     

    geoff

  7. jens- i'm going with charles on this! i don't think sony would agree with them being the same! effective, noise free asa on the f35 is up to 1000asa. i don't think the genesis gets that high. and, even if you unlock a genesis, the control you have with the f35 from the dit and the latitude you have in post with the new s-log is night and day to the genesis. don't get me wrong, i love the images from the genesis, but wait til you see what the f35 can do! and for the record, i just finished another genesis show and am currently on a series with the f35.

     

    geoff

     

     

    p.s. the eyepiece and eyepiece assembly on both, still sucks! getting better, but still sucks!

  8. this would be a lot less offensive if the writer of the ad had even an ounce of humility regarding how asinine his request was! they ask you to be creme of the crop and make them look good because it should be your privilege to work for them!? what? get over yourselves! be humble, ask for good help at a low rate, and sell the project, honestly, as the low budget reality it will be. if he wants all that experience out of you, i'd ask to see his resume! and while you are at it, get a deal memo for his upcoming million pound features up front as payback for making him look good on this one! someone will inevitably take this job and i hope they gain great experience doing it, and i hope it leads to much work, but someone bring that producer back into reality!

     

    geoff

  9. viewing the picture again, i now realize that the c4 under the rig is just like the anti-missile defense system that tanks have. as impact occurs, the c4 explodes and blows the object impacting (read- car!) in another direction! actually a good plan if it all occurs as the straps are cut by the slamming doors at the same instant! this would throw the operator away from the impact and he would land on his knees, saved by the knee pads! genius! thank god i looked closer and saw the brilliance of this plan!

     

    geoff

  10. i just read somewhere that this incident happened several days prior to his getting arrested in london for assaulting his mother and sister! he was there doing his press junket for batman and supposedly exploded at his family. so much so that the hotel called the cops! i'd say that boy needs a vacation!

     

    geoff

  11. eric- i'm with ron, i'm high! no wait, i mean.....? don't dash my dreams! that p-d touareg is straight off the factory floor! that way i can actually have one too! strangely, i was watching robbie just last night driving in baja! man can he drive! now, i'm all worked up, so i'm rewatching 'dust to glory' tonight. i love that movie!

     

    geoff

  12. i'm just gonna throw this out there. with all the new and evolving technology/cameras, are we gonna have to start dividing up the rates not just on the budget of the project, but maybe also what level of gear could actually do the job? if it is indeed a $1 mil movie offering $250 a day, but they are flying say an ex-3, is the rate terribly offensive if you could do the job with a package that really only cost $10k? what if a flyer or pilot maybe (forgive me, i don't know the weight or price ranges on these rigs) will do the job. i own a big rig, but if i had a smaller rig and they only needed that for a job, how offended would i be at what rate? if the camera is not too heavy, it's not that abusive on the body. and if the gear is cheap, my overhead and payback are lower and quicker. can i afford to sell my experience cheaper for small projects without being offended is the real question. there are too many release venues these days. i've met a lot of people that are doing movies out of their pockets with pro-sumer equipment. all they are trying to do is make a project for festivals or dvd or their church in one case. of course this all goes out the window if they need the big boy toys for $250 a day, but what about all the truly 'indie' projects or you tube music videos out of someones garage? maybe we should all pitch in with the other ops in our towns and buy a light weight rig for those kind of projects. maybe there is a middle ground where we aren't feeling offended by producers offers and they can get an experienced op for a day without being too resentful of us. plus, all the newbies could do the 2nd or 3rd days and get experience, make some money, and not bring real rates down in the process. i propose a conversation that involves rates vs. camera vs. budgets vs. equipment needed so that we can stay true to ourselves and keep us in touch with the emerging nature of the market. things are only gonna get tougher in the next year or 2, so let's try not to kill each others hard work all these years through possible desperation and the obvious greed and dirty politics of productions. i'm sure i'm opening up a tempests storm here, but where are the lines of what is okay? let it begin!

     

     

    geoff

  13. well thank you to all of you! it's 5 days after my b-day and, i swear to you, my hangover just wore off! that's what i get for drinking with a bunch of 20-something pro kiteboarders! never again! i appreciate the well wishes. it does help me stay young knowing i belong to such a talented and insane group as all of you! may it be a great year for us all! oh, and michael, they're referring to my classic diesel toyota landcruiser (lc). ron is jealous that i get 400 miles to the tank and can fill up at any fast food restaurant! i'm trying to get him to switch engines, but he likes horsepower! something he's compensating for probably!

     

     

    temporarily clean and sober,

     

    geoff

  14. i'd love to join in, but since all there are are crickets in town right now, i'm on vacation til the 17th! just to make you jealous, will arnot and i are in transit to the british virgin islands for 8 days of kiteboarding and surfing around the islands on our rented 46' catamaran! i told you to learn to kite bj! we'll even install a stripper pole on our boat so you could earn your keep! crappy dances walk the plank! otherwise, i'm in for feb and i'll bring the rum!

     

    geoff

×
×
  • Create New...