Anthony Violanto

on 2/7 i'll be relocating to the LA area. Not sure where I will be living. I have a lot to learn about the different neighborhoods I suppose. I was thinking of either downtown (i'll be working @ LA Live) or Los Feliz? Anyways, I look forward to throwing a party once i'm in town! ~Anthony

What type of bracket did you use to attach the monitor to that original swivel plate? I find without the original CRT, the little plate will swivel right off the rig (maybe i'm missing some sort of bumper...)

thats what she said sorry- i just couldn't help myself B)

It looks like Sachtler will be bringing the Carbon Fiber arm. Even though I would not buy it, it is by far the sexiest looking arm I have ever seen. I know there are pictures on the forum already.. They will also have their newly designed vest. I tried this vest out when it was a prototype and it was pretty cool. The pads are made out of this new material which is really soft and supportive. They put a lot of thought into this design, and it will be interesting to see the final product. ~anthony

HD World is not really steadicam specific, but I will be there on October 15th. If anyone else on the TV side of things were planning to be there, let me know. It's always good to put faces w/ the names. ~anthony

First off, the bebob is great! perfectly smooth and i love it much more than the j-7 or stanton's mammoth grip zoom, which I hate. If your controller is 8 pin you should be all set for canon lenses. I know Stanton sells a canon-to-12pin fuji adapter for about $100. And would probably be the easiest option. As for angenieux, I thought they were also 8 pin, but I could be very wrong- they are not nearly as popular. If you still want to make your own, i'll try to find the pin info in the next couple days if you have no luck with your research. let me know ~Anthony

I agree with my co-worker Erik and hope the rig stays with the truck. When College Football season is over, as always we will fax the rig out-- fix anything that might have broke-- and it will remain in Bristol until it is needed on another remote. Just curious, if you feel this hasn't been an issue any other time of year, what other events have you used this gear for? If you could supply me with the dates, production titles and who gave you permission it would be greatly appreciated. Anthony Violanto ESPN Production Operations anthony.violanto@espn.com

the very last shot made me laugh

The steadicam 6.5" HD monitor. It works pretty well, but Peter Abraham just stopped by ESPN and we used this new steadicam HD monitor (not sure of the model or name) and it was much nicer. Very good picture! I'm curious what the cat-5 input is for though... On the Ultra topic, I believe the HD Component cables are broken. It might be some time before they are fixed. Until then, running a bnc outside the post doesn't bother me.

Yes it is the original Ultra, so this would explain it. Thanks for the tip.. I will try the component cables when I have some extra time and let everyone know if it works out.

I was browsing the web, and came across this picture. it was from steadicamguy.com- I hope the operator does not mind I posted this picture from his site. I really like the teleprompter in the photo, and want to get one ordered... If anyone knows the make or model, that would be great. I tried contacting andrew through his website, but did not hear back and I would like to get this bracket sooner rather than later. In a different teleprompter post, there are pictures of a prompter bracket I made- this one is a very similar concept- just much more pretty, and looks to be a bit more versitile.

It is not the ultra2. I suppose the 4-pin hirose in/out is not HD-SDI compatible on the ultra as well? Other than running through a down converter, has anyone been able to get an HD-SDI signal through any of the inputs?

Hey All, I cannot seem to get an HD-SDI signal down the Ultra. If i go directly into the monitor from the varicam I am fine, so I know it is not the monitor. I was trying to go through the HD Video In (4pin hirose).. I also tried going into the video (bnc) input I dont have any spare bnc-to-hirose cables to try narrowing down the problem. Any info would be great. ~anthony

haha! dont let Michael Scott see that pic!

In my opinion, this is where your vibration is coming from... one thing I should have said before: dont over tighten the bolts, make sure you have the correct amount of tourqe. I dont know much about how the Flyer is built though- anyone have an idea which screw might be loose?? ~Anthony

If you put the rig on, and shake it a little, can you see where the play is? I had a similar issue with Sachtler's Artemis Pro. I tracked the movement down past the camera to the block which controls the fore/aft side/side adjustments which was begining to loosen up a tiny bit. On camera it looked as if the lense or camera was a little loose and only if I moved quickly. The allen screws were accessed by removing the dovetail plate. I dont know how the flyer is built, but I would double check every screw and bolt that you can see and cannot see. I have used the JVC with that same tripod mounting kit and have never had a problem. It is small and looks cheap, but seems pretty solid. ~Anthony

If no flyer, does anyone have a clipper or an archer? I am trying to avoid the Camera Companys Model IIIA at all costs... Thanks, Anthony

Does anyone have a flyer that they could rent out in the Boston area? Thanks, Anthony violanto@gmail.com

If you blink between your left eye and right eye, there is a slight change in perspective- 3D works off this same principle. Now, open both eyes and hold up a pencil. As you move the pencil closer to your nose, you will get to a point where you can no longer focus on the object, and you see double. When you shoot 3D keep this in mind. When you get really close to an object, your editor might not be able to adjust the convergence to something that looks realistic. As for the video on the monitor, I think I was viewing the right channel. If you had 2 monitors displaying both, I dont think that would do you much good. The guys from 21st Century had these fancy 3D glasses that displayed the Left and Right videos in real time via a wevi transmittor. cool stuff. and one last note: Quantel (the editing company) came out with a realtime 3D editing application which is going to transform the world of Television in the upcoming years. Very exciting technology that is getting very sophisticated. Imagine going to a movie theater to watch the superbowl live in 3D- or from your living room- new DLP High Def TVs are now 3D ready- if you ask the guy at bestbuy how it works you might not have any luck getting an answer though haha!

While balancing your rig- assuming you have different sized batteries and no complex weight issues- Do you A) shorten the post as much as possible, using heavier batteries? or B) lengthen the post using the lighter batteries? Advantages of either? I have been experimenting both ways, and can't really decide what the difference is. Thanks for the insight- i'm just trying to bring my operating to the next level... ~anthony

First off, I thought the reel was great, and don't think it should be under "Seadi-Newbies" Second, and not related to the reel- I have the new Final Cut Studio Pro, and NEVER have anything to edit. I would be willing to play around with someones footage in my downtime if they are looking for a reel.

What are the advantages of having a gyro system? They seem to be quite expensive, and I am wondering if they make a huge difference or are more of a gimmick? When a gyro is activated on a rig, how exactly does the rig respond?

If you don't mind me asking... How much power does that ring light consume, and how are you powering it?

Erik and I don't like the rig wobbling around like a kite, but to each his own... ;)

That makes me feel better. I am 6'3 but only 155lbs, and I get heckled for being too small. This summer I was in a pretty major motorcycle accident. I landed on my back and tumbled down the highway. That day I was not allowed to operate- my assist and I swapped roles, but the very next morning I was sprinting up and down a basketball court with the Harlem Globetrotters (with a fake smile on my face, of course!)