Robert Starling SOC

I don't know about Paul Taylor's workshop but I'm a big supporter of the International Film & Video Workshops in Rockport; so much so that I personally funded a scholarship for young film students there last year and will likely do so again this year. All the programs are generally well-run and the workshop experience itself is priceless.

Super Model Amber Smith just posted this shot and one other of "us" on her MySpace page. I'm starting to kind of like this Steadicam thing. Uh, yes my grip is all wrong and yes I'm holding the rig in the wrong hand but it's where the other hand is that counts.

Why should Mr. Nicholson waste time posting here? I've just spent the last few days personally researching and reading EVERY post this fellow Howard has made on the Forum and he's clearly more than capable of single-handedly ruining his own reputation, alienating his clients / peers (no pun intended) and running his company into the ground. Go read for yourself, this thread is simply the fruit of the seeds he's been sowing for a long time. Like most of us here, I don't know boo about the AR or much about the parties involved but I sure thank my lucky stars MK-V and Mr. Smith never got a nickle of my hard earned dollars for any of their products. And if they had, I'd be unloading that gear like there was no tomorrow before they go belly up.

Talk about a man who puts his profession, integrity and friendship before money.... Will, you're in a league of your own on this. It's a shame the selfless acts of guys like you and Lynn are shadowed by the selfish act of another.

Hi Jeff, it's always very windy here in the desert so I'm trying to learn to work with it too. In the other thread a few ops said they'd have a tough time saying no to a Director; but I did exactly that two weeks ago shooting on the corner balcony of a 20th floor penthouse here in Vegas. Maybe I'm a wuss but when the gusts nearly pushed me and the rig over the balcony I said it was unsafe and IT WAS unsafe for me and the grips with double doubles. Last week I was shooting tennis pro Ben Becker and others here in 20-25 mph with 35 mph gusts. We knew during the scout it would be windy the next day so I asked for and amazingly got them to wrap the court fencing and standard tennis wind break with 200 feet of Duvatine which I'm sure was a bitch of a problem to do in that wind and keep it attached. At that point we had good protection but still gusts and wind eddys coming over the top that would catch the rig no matter what. I don't have antlers but I think they would have caught more wind and have been tough to shield with all the movement. I called another op on the way to the shoot that morning with the same question of whether to balance bottom heavy or more neutral. Bottom heavy worked for the wind but created too much bottom inertia for the runs, turns and quick stops so I ended up going completely neutral.

There was a similar thread recently you should read that can give you some insight on your question: http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...amp;hl=workshop

Hi Sergie, did you ever get your PDR-100H from Chasecam? I spoke to Randy about a month ago and "operators were standing by" ready for the big shipment but I never heard from him after that. Anyone else have any purchasing/customer service/product experience with Chasecam? Thanks!

Uhhhhh..... and how would you know this? :blink:

Harkening back to my days as an amatuer radio operator I tracked down an antenna company today who will custom cut and manufacture video transmitter antennas to your specific frequency requests / needs. An antenna is only truely (at least nearly) perfect on a specific frequency; the farther you move from that center, the less effective the antenna is. Transmitter power is robbed by high SWR and dissipated in the form of heat. You can easily loose more than 50% of the power especially with multi channel transmitters. The better quality transmitters have "tuner" circuitry inside to fake out the transmitter so it doesn't burn up but you're still not getting the power to the antenna where you need it. Considering you can only have optimal performance about 5 mhz to either side of a tuned frequency, and if you look at the fact that a Modulus spans about 225 mhz, if you're only using one antenna you're loosing ground fast. The company is Smiley Antenna 1-800-527-5439 and they've been around for at least the 20 plus years since I've been licensed. They only make antennas. The basic product is listed as a Slim Line 1/4 wave 440 mhz antenna but they custom make them to your frequency specs (amatuer radio is not allocated in the 500-900 mhz range so it's not a stock item). Here's the link: http://www.smileyantenna.com/product_info....;products_id=48 Here is a link to the frequency list for US TV broadcast channels. http://www.rf-links.com/tv_channels.htm The good news is they're only $16 each with BNC connector. If you want more information on antennas and radio wave characteristics here is a link to a Forum posting I wrote a few months ago: http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...ic=3882&hl=

At under $700 my guess it's probably not the cleanest signal out there and the truth is ALL transmitters and antennas create and produce spurious harmonic signals. Some are just cleaner than others and there is a huge range. Something as simple as one little piece of wire or circuitry inside one device can become the perfect antenna for a specific frequency or it's harmonics from another device. Jim, what happens to a BFD with interference? Ghost focusing or erratic behaviour? Nausea, muscle pain, headache, dry mouth? ;-} Email a few ideas for tests and I'll torture it with the RF-Links during some down time.

I think the BFD manual mentions something about this high channel issue but in the last two days of operating pretty much all day with my Bartech I have not seen a problem... yet. I also am mounting the transmitter low down on my sled quite a bit away from the BFD. I'll test it up high this near the BFD or camera. Jim would be THE MAN for the answers. Thanks!

It was his Mod-Quad; I actually recommended the guy for the gig but it'll be the last time he ever gets a referral from me and the client wasn't so pleased with him either. That "I'm the only game in town" attitude. Anyway, back to the Mod-Quad, it really would have been nice to have it set up properly or at least to have experimented with antenna type and placement which we had plenty of time to do. The PSC yagis look to be about 30% smaller than the CIT sharkfin but I don't know the specs on them with regard to gain and directional pattern.

I just worked on a job with the Mod-Quad two days ago with four PSC yagi's in a Tennis court using a Modulus 3000 and testing a RF-Links SPX-68s transmitter. It's no-frills plug and play. There were still ample drop outs with it but the video assist guy just set the antennas up linearly along one side of the court pointing straight ahead; I would have liked to have seen the antennae positioned in all four corners but he was too lazy to run the cable and was not interested in discussing options or the directional characteristics of yagi design. A more interesting and effective approach might have been to use two yagis and two omni's. Antenna selection and placement has everything to do it. So the short answer is, in the configuration we used it in, it didn't wow me but it did work decently.

We've used Marshall Enterainment Insurance in Orlando, Florida for 12-15 years. They've been around a very long time and specialize in equipment and Producer packages. The great thing is they understand the nature of the business, including the perils and pitfalls of insurance / claims with high value items. 407 363-1537. Tammy King is likely the person you would want to talk to there to start. My experience with them has been very good and when we need an Certificate of Insurance, it just takes minutes. After-hours they have an online portal for you to issue Certs yourself but it's not quite as quick to process.

Can't imagine NOT having the tilting stage on my rig. It's just manual; no motors but I use it on almost every shot. Regarding Tiffen Customer Service; just yesteday I had a technical question and sent a email to them and left a voice message during lunch. Within two hours I had two responses with schematics, by this morning I had a response from the Senior Engineer and by 9:30 a.m. a follow up phone call on the set to make sure I had it sorted out. Hard to ask for more than that!

I just purchased a RF-Links SPX-68S transmitter and had the opportunity to compare it today side-by-side with a Modulus 3000 I had on rental. I compared it using a professional four antenna quad diversity receiver on set (outdoor tennis stadium) and a el-cheapo handheld $149 7" LCD "Directors monitor". Basically, there was no difference in the signal or reception with relation to distance or obsticles; they both looked equally good or bad however you want to put it. The 68S is a nine channel (61-69) unit so the Modulus beats it there and clearly the Modulus has it beat in design and "apparent durability". As in it looks more professional and durable that the RF-Links unit. On the flip side, the RF-Links unit cost under $700 USD, plus $50 for the Hirose cable. Mike Wilder at Image Gear was super helpful and very responsive. The only problem I had was they sent the wrong connector for my Steadicam sled but he got me the pin configuration within hours so I could have the fix done locally. Not a very scientific test and who knows what RF demons lay ahead with regards to shielding, spurious harmonics and interference but so far it seems to be a good starter unit and hopefully will last long enough until the new 4000 if it ever comes out or the Canatrans. FWIW...

After reading an old 2004 posting by Dave Chameides about stolen gear and Production challenging him as to whether he had the gear on set etc., I'd like to find out to what extent other ops are going to to protect themselves from thieves and snakey Production companies. Ironically, I started on a new HBO / CineMax series this week and while I was out shooting B unit Monday some IDIOT (but I'm not bitter) left my sled and vest case out in the pouring rain, unguarded next to the camera truck. That's how I found it when we came back, thankfully it was in hard / sealed cases. I was pissed! It was originally inside the location we were shooting and the A unit 1st AC was going to "take care of it" while we were out. Later that night the 5 ton props truck was stolen ten feet away from that same spot (yes, the whole truck). Needless to say my gear comes home with me on this gig. I have my own equipment insurance and always require Production to provide a Certificate of Insurance but from Dave's posting and replies it sounds like some of you are going so far as to lock your cases at lunch etc.? What are YOU doing to protect your gear and business? All tips, questions, comments, suggestions and war stories are welcome. Thanks in advance!

My guess is you're dealing with Galvanic Action; the corrosive affect of other metals/alloys in contact with steel. Aluminum is considered a very "active" alloy when in contact with steel; if you're in a damp or salt water environment it compounds the effect.

Hi Charles, are you referring to the little VAC 1x4 DA powered by the 9 volt battery? Thanks!

Hi David, Will, Afton and others are right on target. Custom orthotics helped me with some repetitive stress issues I had/have as a competitive cyclist. For me the issues were telegraphing and manifesting in other areas around my knees and hips but originating in my feet / shoes oddly enough. Until I looked into it I had no idea it was interrelated but riding 200-250 miles a week eventually caught up as I'm sure it would operating with the extra weight of a rig adding 20-50% total body weight to your frame. I've moved on to custom carbon fiber cycling shoes now but still use orthotics in my daily footwear. Once you do a "fit kit" which is basically very soft foam in a box where the Podiatrist makes impressions of your feet, you can have multiple sets made relatively affordably. The soles of my feet were tender the first few weeks with the customs due to the proper realignment of the footbed but my feet, legs, hips and back are all happily working together now. All the best!

Hi Victor, I can't speak to the past but I've bought two rigs from them since August and they've been super prompt with the warranty service / replacements when needed. One instance was a dead pixel cluster on my monitor and they had a new one here the next morning; no questions asked. The second instance was creaking in my G50 arm and I had the fix via email from Tiffen within about 12-14 hours including diagrams. Minor issues no doubt but you can pretty much speak directly to anyone in the company all the way up to the inventor(s) and engineers. Companies go through ups and downs, particularly through transitional periods but I sense a new commitment to growth, product development and service from them; at least in the dealings I've had.

Hi Marcus: Your posting was specific to PRO owners but I want to share my workshop experience and opinions with you. Take it for whatever you deem it's worth. ** I simply cannot imagine where I would be today without the two Steadicam workshops I've taken! ** I purchased a Flyer in August and took Peter Abrahams workshop a week later. Two months later I lucked out and got into the SOA five day workshop due to a cancellation by someone. I sold my Flyer a week later and bought a new Clipper 2. As soon as I heard there would be a Lake Arrowhead / Malibu workshop I called Tiffen to make sure I'd be among the first to know and I immediately signed up when registration opened. So basically within 8 months I'll have spent about $8,000 on workshops and $50k on rigs/kit. There are a few things I've learned in business; you can always rent equipment but you can't rent a client and you can't rent experience. For me, I don't just invest in gear, I invest in training and marketing as well. I've been a camera operator for 28 years and frankly cannot put a price on the value of workshops over the years, especially Steadicam. I'm a new Steadicam operator, but I'm working and making money with my rig almost every week now. The great thing is I've made dozens of contacts from classmates all the way up to Garrett Brown and Jerry Holway and they've all bent over backwards to help me succeed. As have so many other operators here on this forum; Afton, Erwin, Dan, Chris etc. regardless of their choice of brand. Thank you all....this Forum is like an ongoing workshop on it's own. In the scheme of things I'm a "Steadi-nobody" but everyone is inceredibly supportive. I send them clips, they provide critique, I get jobs, they give advice, I need equipment, they point me in the right direction. How do you put a price on that kind of support? I never heard the Tiffen crowd or any other "crowd" for that matter so much as imply a derogatory word about another brand. There were other brands of sleds, arms and vests at SOA. Like anything there are loyalties and opinions among everyone but when it comes to quality instruction and long term business / operating practices it seems most everyone is on the same page of supporting one another. To me, workshops are the express lane to success as long as you put in the practice behind it. I'm in this for the long haul, but that doesn't mean I have time to waste. The workshops provide the tools and it's a matter of time now to build my experience and abilities. The workshop with Peter got me started with good habits. The SOA workshop expanded my knowledge, pushed my skills and I got feedback on bad habits I had picked up. The Lake Arrowhead workshop will be yet another great opportunity for instruction, technique and critique to make sure I'm out there doing my best for my clients, my business, my body and my profession. Sorry for the long post.

A client has approached me about flying the Visario G2 high speed camera on a tennis shoot in a few weeks. It's basically a box with lens and internal memory that will store from 1 to about 16 second clips depending on the frame rates. It is and can be controlled and tethered to a laptop via ethernet cable but the media cannot be streamed out live so a shot is the shot until you download the media. It also requires a power inverter from 12v to 120 but the power consumption is only 25 watts. http://www.weinbergerusa.com/SpeedCam-Visa...g2-l1cat19.html Anyone have any experience / comments / suggestions flying something like this? I spoke to the mfr rep here in the US and he said "Sure, we had a guy fly it on a Steadicam from a helicopter". Oh brother... just what you need to hear! Thanks!

I love my little Archos AV500, size, weight, capacity, image quality but the image size is smaller and the quality does not match with all the nicer pieces on my demo reel when I cut them together. So far it's been mostly easy to get full-rez clips from projects but that won't always be the case. Is there anything else out there that is solid state / HDD or is my only other choice to go to a little miniDV recorder? Thanks!

Hi Adam - What I started doing was downloading all the PDF manuals to the most popular cameras and keeping them in binders. The manuals usually have all the tech specs including weight. Whether its a Steadicam gig or not, if its a new camera or updated model for me I study the manual before the gig and I always take the binder with me on-set. The same goes for accessory items but those manuals are harder to come by. I never tried the F900 when I used to own a Flyer but I did fly a Varicam on it one day. It was totally stripped and totally bottomed out and it was very difficult to balance; I never could achieve dynamic balance with it. That was just my experience though, maybe someone else here has had better luck with it on a Flyer. Does anyone know of a resource for downloading manuals on the various film cameras? Best of luck to you!