Mike McGowan SOC

well it was nice knowing you guys. obviously i have to quit using the stead'Y'cam now :(

To all the stuff Erwin mentioned, id add, make it indestructible and water proof........ maybe fire proof as well, some operators :rolleyes: are pretty darn hard on their equipment.

In addition to all the great stuff mentioned above, I still like the 'backpack' option. As just about everything can be powered (in a pinch) by a standard power cable to a standard block battery which in the scheme of things weights nothing on your back.............

looks cool but you are quite literally putting your life in the hands of the grip. if he slips, or stops short or looses his grip your toast!

i was thinking the same thing......... but again, at the price point???

http://www.ravensclaw.us/products.html i clicked on the link at the top of the page, for the price point it looks really cool.......... but looks as we know can be deceiving. anybody actually use this device?

yes, wall of shame..... the whole office is covered with stuff like that. none of the classic 'actor and me' photos but the playmate pulling focus kind of stuff :D

I have all my invoices either as a pdf or a scanned jpg on a hard drive and on a second backed up hard drive in my fire safe. I have been with Walter Doll for 4 or 5 years now and though I've never had a claim to test their services, Ive been very happy with them in general. I have the 5k rental expense but I also use Russell Todd as my agent so I never do a job without insurance.

i like the antlers for added weight, good stuff! how did you get video to your monitor, is there a video out on the camera?

you saw the 'take your clothes off' video??? do you have a link?

actually, they work pretty well as a poor mans helicopter mount. fun little toy.

This is by far the best thread we have had on this forum in ages!!!!! A note on the vest... I got my first PRO vest in 1998, I think it was vest #5. I sold it as part of a complete package 8 or 9 years later. When I got a new rig I called PRO (about 9 or 10 years later) and ordered a new vest. They still had my measurements from the first vest. They sent it to me, I pulled it out of the box, put it on and started operating. It was like the same vest, fit literally like a glove. Cant say enough about it. And while I'm here, the arm. Everybody has already commented on the user preferences of each piece of equipment. I'll make a comment about the durability. I could not abuse my arm more if I used it as a door stop or a hammer. I beat the living shit out of it every time I use it. And I never clean it. When I say never, I mean the sand that got on it the first day I used it is still there. About once every 2 or 3 years I send it to PRO to have them service it and that's it. It works like a charm every time I put it on. In terms of adjustment, I hardly even adjust the tension. I use 2 black's and 2 blues and with a 435 and a Cook S4 it sits at about center mast. If I use an SR3 it probably sits a bit high and if I use something heavy it sits a bit low. I like adding a little lift or push to the arm. I guess that puts me in the 'keep it simple' category...........

I have never seen a battery on the back of a PRO Monitor. If you use a stock PRO from GPI, it will balance just beautifully. If you use an LCD you might want to use an additional battery... ^^ Yes, that's what I'm saying. Stock (greenie, 3 H50's and the stock monitor arm) balance perfectly. If you go with an LCD (to shoot HD for example) one good option is to replace the front Hytron 50 with a 140 (which adds more weight, the kind of weight you loose by going to an LCD) and the stock PRO monitor arm with the long PRO monitor arm (which puts the monitor's CG a bit further from the post, like with the greenie). The added benefit, is that you can leave your LCD on pretty much all day and never run out of battery.

I know operators that have the factory version of all three rigs and each operator 'Loves' their rig. I'd venture to guess that if you buy any of the top of the line rigs you will be happy with it. It's sort of like arguing which is better, a Porsche, Ferrari, or Lamborghini, they are all bad ass cars and an owner of each will tell you it's superior to the others. About the additional battery on the monitor of the PRO... You can also use a Hytron 140 for your front battery along with PRO's long monitor arm and it seems to give you the same dynamic balance as the stock short monitor arm, 3 Hytron 50's and a Greenie monitor. For my 1.75 cents... Go all PRO. I've been using one since 1998 and I have not a single complaint. Great customer service and great equipment. Finally, if I were buying a rig now, I'd for 100% sure buy a used rig. There are so many fully loaded rigs for sale you could get a hell of a deal.

Nice, good flow, nice music... My two pieces of feedback: Focus on more steadicam specific shots. There are quite a few quick cuts in there (that although they may have been part of larger steadicam shots) could have been done on a tripod or dolly. If it's not at least a few seconds of movement it doesn't really say 'steadicam'. Next I would use a few less shots from the movie with the blond girl in it. When you repeat the same show more than a few times it starts to look like you dont have good footage from other productions. Just minor critiques. mm.

lol, actually, i did the steadicam on 'im on a boat'... i almost pissed myself when they started to rap. i had no idea what the track was, who the artist was or that t-pain (who ive worked with several times) was in the video. i was just expecting your standard rap video with money and bitches on an expensive yacht. then those dudes came out and started raping..... i could barley hold the camera steady. and... i actually was wearing a white pair of warm up pants and a white long sleve t-shirt. i guess im a bit of a gangsta operator!

T-Pain wanted to play steadicam operator so I let him try the rig on. Surprisingly, he didn't immediately want to take it off. They actually played the song and rolled a few feet. I thought, if he's going to operate, I'm going to rap.......... Check out my smooth dance moves!

nice work, you seem to have some of the basics down already. here's my super critical review of your reel.... i agree, loose the reflection in the first shot. one suggestion might be to put a dislove over it (as if when you got the footage it was cut with another shot in the middle and you just cut it out). next, when the artist gets to the mirror, get out of the shot quicker, dont linger on the still frame unless its perfect. next, too many shots of the short bald black rapper. it looks like all you ever did was one rap video. take one or two shots max from each thing you work on. i realize this may be hard if your just starting to collect footage but it's better too short than overcrowded with shots from the same show. next, im not crazy about your choice for the final shot. aside from the fact that its from that same video, it's not the best lateral shot. finally (and i say this all the time), keep it short. i just re-edited my reel for the 7th time after 11 years of steadicam. it's about 3 and a half minutes and i really think it could probably be a minute shorter. your reel should be like a minute and 45 to 2 minutes tops until you have more footage from different shows. ive been privy to the viewing procedures of the dp and the director and while they are watching your reel they are on the phone, making notes, eating pizza and typing on their lap top. if they happen to look up at your reel you had better make sure it's got something good going on. a good way to illustrate this point is to go on line and watch a few other operators reels. i can get through about 2 in a sitting and then im board silly. even with my friends reels i have to make my self stay focused if it's over about 2 minutes and thats a reel im actually interested in watching. ........ now take everything i say with a grain of salt. you asked to be critical and i was just giving you a hard look.......... hope that helps, mm.

lol, yes, ive had that happen before. i generally figure who cares. if they couldnt put their reel together without stealing a shot, how good can they possibly be? i just re-edited and i started off with 58 minutes of footage on the time line that i cut down to 3 and change. as a counter point, i have worked on a movie or two that i shared the work with several steadicam operators. when i finally got the footage (when the dvd came out) i couldn't remember for shure which shots were mine, especially ones that were shot at the same location i worked but by a different operator....... i just skipped the whole movie as i wasn't 100% sure.

He's like a member of my family. My business wouldn't be half of what it is now without him. His reputation is as good as it gets. He is the man. If you have the option to work with him, run, dont walk. Feel free to pm me with any specific questions.

Were you using your AR Ramon?

Apparently, rather than get some sleep before I'm back on set tomorrow, I thought this would be a better use of my time. Photoshop has some nifty filters and effects you can apply, if you know how to create layer masks. Even added some bling. Personally, I find it was a fantastic use of your time!!! What filter/mask did you use to do that?????

I feel left out. I have lots (gigs and gigs) of pictures of myself but not one that's blurry. How does one go about getting a blurry picture?

Mike, Thanks for the offer. If you got the time and your rates for it are reasonable, I'd like to bring it to you. I've seen some of your work and besides the help I need, it would be cool to meet you. If however, you cannot do it, then let me know and I'll contact Dan Earl. Thanks for the info. Rudi Herbert ph: 305-815-3560 Rudi@IdeasinBlue.com The help is on the house dude... I just finished a show yesterday so I'm unemployed for the rest of my life (untill my next job). I live south (Cutler Bay) and I'd be happy to help you out whenever.

Im happy to help. You could also bring it to CineVideoTec and ask Dan Earl to help you out.