Bryan Trieb

As usual the advice is bang-on. I would also suggest a combination of cardio and resistance training exercise routine on a regular basis. Also, if you find your back is in a lot of pain after taking a workshop AND adding an exercise routine to your lifestyle, try a Klassen Harness. Many different combinations of different elements work for different people. There is usually no instant answer. Trial and error is paramount. Goodluck and I hope you enjoy your new rig immensely! Bryan

Hey Jens, Just curious, what exactly needed repair with your topstage? I had issues with mine last summer and am curious to know if the repairs were similar in nature. Thanks! Bryan

Speaking of HD fibre jumper cables.....I've not come across a mobile that has them available. Any advice on who could make this particular cable? Fred Davis perhaps? Thanks!

Hey Chris, Look up Fred Davis on this site, he will have your answers. For the most part, from what I've encountered...most triax seems to be King connectors. Sometimes they are amphenol, or adc (not sure if that's correct) You're best to ask the mobile engineers which triax connectors they use before the gig if you can. Different triax connectors do work but don't communicate quite properly to each other. You risk your triax jumper failing if you connect to a different triax connector. With HD, some cameras use regular triax, while others use fibre cable, which isn't very bulky and you'd get away with not using a jumper cable if you manage your cable well. Hope this helps!

Since I have a wide foot, I find that Nike or Adidas or the like are not for me. Just recently bought a pair of Merrel's and love them for outdoor operating, as well as the New Balance model Eric posted. Still, for studio/stage operating I swear by my skater shoes...DC's, Vans, Etnies, Circa...all rock for me, however I don't use custom orthodics or in-soles, so typically I'll change my shoes at least twice per day to keep the pressure points on my feet changing. I find this keeps me "fresh". My camera peers always get a kick out of my "set-bag" filled with enough clothing/shoes for a weekend get-away! Operating barefoot????...damn, that might look cool but how dangerous, non? Fly safe y'all!

Ron, let me know when you're coming! We'll show you some fun : ) Cool bunch of Toronto Steadi-Bretheren here. Matt, you joker, we both know there's nothing you'd like more than to NOT drink your favourite imported beers and assume responsibility for our guests behind the wheel, don't be in denial dude, just admit you want to be the DD. Cheers!!!

Ron, if I lived out there you'd definately have another wing-man! If you blokes ever fly to Toronto, let me know! Cheers!

I thought steadicam operators who have their rigs all paid-off were the minority! :P

Jerry, Very interesting that you bring this idea forth.... My Masters arm was working without failure for 5 years (I think I'm the 3rd owner) until just recently. First day on set using my new Klassen Harness, my Master arm snapped...top bone as you've described being the one with more stress. I justified it as coincidence, but your point makes me think perhaps otherwise....either that or there was a small nic in the spring and the lesser stress from my frontmount harness was keeping it at bay....then switching to the backmount harness might have increased the stress and boom. Out of curiousity, how do you guys measure the level of stress? I'd be really curious to know this measurement on different arms....which arm shows less/more stress I mean. Steadicam....it NEVER ends!....Pervertedly happy about that I think! All the best y'all!

My Master Arm snapped on me recently while working as well. Had Rob Luna do the fix and upgrade the bearings as well. Not being able to finish the day of shooting because my arm snapped was such an awful feeling. I decided that having backup gear for everything is the way to go for me personally. The next day I ordered my Pro Arm. I thought to myself this would be the most efficient arm because of the interchangeable canisters. No matter which arm you have, if it's based on spring/pulley design, and it snaps on the job...you're screwed....I would be so bold as to say the same could happen with the G50/70 arms everyone seems to be excited about. G70 arm will cost an estimated $19k USD....possible failure....Pro arm is $22k USD with full set of spare canisters. The choice was easy for me! Gonna buy a new sled next year, not for sure which one yet but it's between the XCS and Nexus. How many of you roll with full backup gear?...Just curious!!!! I know it's an expensive way to go, but business wise....I think it's the only way to go for me. Cheers all!

Nikk, I'm sure we can all relate. Bottom line is....it takes money to make money, and in the big picture of your career, is $40K really that much money? The answer is NO my friend, it isn't a lot of money. You love what you do, and when you invest in yourself and your business you will love what you do even MORE. Believe in yourself brother, there's nothing you can't accomplish when your intentions, integrity, and business plan are clean and efficient. Sometimes, adding pieces of gear one at a time is the way to go.....use what you have, and rent what you don't have...so many ways of doing it though. I just bit the bullet....bought the Klassen harness, Pro arm and had my Master Arm fixed/upgraded by Robert Luna (it snapped on a job recently...D'OH!!!) BTW...Klassen/PRO/Luna are all amazing companies for customer service and quality of product/service in my recent experience. So am I feeling a bit of pinch from this recent spending spree? Sure, but how happy am I with my new gear and investment into my business?....DELIGHTED!!!!! Invest in the gear dude...you won't regret it...invest wisely with the used stuff though!!!!!!!!! Respect, Bryan

Hey Guys, I'm now on my 2nd unit from Charles and I'm still having "drop out" issues. Sometimes the unit is solid, sometimes not.....have any of you guys had this experience of the receiver blinking or dropping out while the tally should be solid? I'm using a Master Elite sled and powering the Xtally with cables from my sled. I really love this unit but just can't seem to get it happening solid all the time. Any advice would be much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!

I would take one off your hands if you make a new batch! Thanks!

Dude, what's your real name? Email me, I'm curious to know what you have in mind for this gathering. I know you said the meeting is free, but who's going to pay for the booze and who should bring the bong? All jokes aside, welcome to the forum and I applaud your enthusiasm!

This is great to hear .....would love to hear more testimonials from other ops using the AR. I have a question: How much vibration shows up in the frame when flying full sized cameras? Been debating this with some of my steadi-bretheren....because we noticed vibration in the frame in the AR demo videos. Also saw some of Will's work in "Rent", and didn't really notice any vibration, but I wasn't viewing it from a clean DVD source (web clips). Of course we all realize that 1st generation technology will have bugs to work out....however the issue of any vibration in the frame would completely eliminate my desire to purchase the AR. We're spending so much time and effort to eliminate vibration from steadicam frames, for many years. Another question: I noticed in some pics of Will's rig, that there is a cable snake going from the bottom of the sled, up the outside of the post, to the AR cage. Do cables have to exist this way when flying the AR? Does it make a difference if the rig is an MK-V Nexus, vs. an XCS Ultimate? Last question (for now....): Has anyone op'd the AR on a live multicamera event...with the dreaded Triax cable? Thank you all for sharing your valuable input of experiences!

Eric, would love to see a pic of how you did that with the lite panel. I have one and love it..... Very cool stuff guys!!!!!

Matt...did you make your call time this morning?..... :P The next Toronto meeting will be late June, early July....when the pool is open and the lovely models are flippin steaks on the BBQ.....I might even sneak in some more German food for Nico! I encourage all Toronto Ops to get in touch for the next gathering, you don't want to miss it!

Hey Mike, I use a 6ft triax "jumper" cable that goes from the camera, through the shoulder strap loop up and over the shoulder down the back side of the harness to the triax bracket.....the jumper end then connects to the triax that basically goes to the "truck". Both connected together they sit in the bracket at the back of the harness. If you look closely at pic 1, there's a small velcro tie looped onto the leather handle right above the triax connector....just loop the velcro around the cable and it sits in there really nice. The beauty here is....my assist can take the connected triax out of the bracket...let the jumper triax out of the leather loop on the shoulder strap...and voila!...walk away from the rig, still with harness and arm on my body to go discuss whatever with the director, stage manager, talent, other cameras, hit the bong, whatever! I love the walk-away set up without disconnecting the triax and/or having to remove the harness. Your idea about the clearcom is a good one. The models I'm usually issued for a show have a nice clip on the back end....might even be able to clip that through the loop on the shoulder strap. But I'm going to try Erwin's idea too and see what works. Either way I'm gonna find something that works well and the beauty of living in Toronto is that I can zoom over to Walter's shop and get a modification done easily. They are extremely accomodating! I'm on a multicam shoot in a week or so....I'll post what I've figured out then about the clearcom placement.

You must find the proper balance of cardio, resistance training, and other things like yoga/pilates/martial arts training that works for you. Personally, I do cardio and a wide array of resistance training movements....such as deadlifts, squats, lunges, quad extentions, hamstring curls....hyperextentions for the lower back and tons of ab work. Basically I find the most important body parts to train are legs, back and abs. A personal trainer is the way to go, and also consult chiro/physio specialists to assess the current condition of your body. This will give you a very accurate and personalized structure from which to work. Of course as previously mentioned, proper operating techniques rule over all. Don't forget good nutrition! Goodluck!

Last time I flew with my rig, I was told that the limit for check-in oversize baggage was 70lbs...anything above would need to be shipped seperately. I typically pay around $40US per trip for the extra weight. I have my arm in a large pelican along with other accessories, so I've never had a problem with its protection during flight. It's always best to phone the airlines before hand to get the details. Be prepared to open up your cases to let security "swab" your gear with their substance detectors. Hope this helps!

Just an update....picked up my Traditional Deluxe from Walter's shop today and I'm stoked!!! Snapped some pics of the triax bracket as well as the leather straps to hold the triax cable in place on the shoulder straps of the harness. Can't wait to test it out!!! Another pic... One more...

Thanks guys. It was a cool trip...lotsa DonJuan on those ramps, so it was tricky, but a great challenge...and everything BUT boring! Did I mention that Pamela Anderson hosted?...and when she lifted her skirt and flashed her butt I was behind her holding the reverse....jokes man. This sure beats working for a living! : )

Hey all, I'm such a big music fan and love shooting live performances, thought I'd share some clips of one of my fav shows....the Juno Awards. This year the challenge for me was, no floor access while shooting. Only from these narrow winding ramps and up on stage. So yes, I do have a few unwanted cameo appearances...but the producers and director keep telling me that it makes for "good tv". This year the I experimented with the Lighting Director by mounting my LitePanel on the camera with the Noga Arm. I wasn't a big fan of op'ing a live gig with it because it adds almost 6inches of potential shadow height, and the follow spots were coming in at a very low angle....but the LD swore he loved the way it added a twinkle in the eyes of the performers when I would traverse in front of them on stage. The other downside to the light was that it was really easy to see me on stage from the other camera's shots....anyways, the powers that be were cool with it all, so it was a cool experiment. Props to Benoit Fortin from CBC Montreal who was the other steadi op on the show. I hope this addy works: http://www.ctv.ca/mini/junos2006/static/pe...nces_video.html Cheers and Fly Safe! Bryan

Some great advice here, thanks guys. Erwin, I like your idea about clipping the beltpack where you've suggested. I'm quite used to clipping it on the back right of my Masters vest. Also, the way you've explained your "walk away" set up with the earbud is cool. On many occasions for myself, I'm using double sided headsets, or even the "Clarks"...u know the really large double sided headsets that really eliminate outside noise....so the walk away setup may not work for me. Please keep the advice coming....love hearing how ops have different ways of dealing with these challenges! Thanks!!

For those of us who work solo, it's not because we're choosing to do so. Not everyone has the luxury of a budget with room for hiring a focus puller+gear. Sure, I could hire one and the gear and slice half of my dayrate....but who the hell is going to do that? Jeff I completely see what you're saying and agree that a focus puller is the best way to execute on live events....however this perfect world isn't always going to happen. I do keep putting this bug in the ear of the producers however. Just out of curiousity Jeff, what's the day rate plus gear for a puller who works with you? Do you include the FF system as part of your rig rental rate? Also, would love to hear any advice on how to "sell" this to producers...aside from the standard soft focus arguement. Trying to make a change for the better up here....and as we know, massaging, polite and strategic manipulation will go further than refusal to participate on a gig.