Rick Tullis

(I had a typo in the first version of this post. Sorry) Hi All, First, thanks for the advice. I'm always amazed at the wonderful people (particularly you Charles, and of course, Larry and Jerry) who care enough to take the time share their hard earned expertise with others. Thanks to people like you, I can make it appear that I almost know what I'm doing. Back to the topic. I think I should have put more emphasis on what was meant to be the key word in my original post. "Tricks". Besides normal operating techniques, has anybody found anything else works to help lock off a camera? For instance, in the past I have played with resting my left elbow on the top of my docking stand for a lock off and then easing my elbow off of the stand when I want to move. Very stable, but a bit tricky to get off of the stand smoothly. (I used my docking stand because that was the only thing I had with me that would let me adjust it's height to give me best advantage.) In a steadicam community that championed great innovators like Steve Marts, someone must have come up with something like this. Or I am just crazy? Rick Tullis Sanya, Hainan Island, China

Hi All, First, thanks for the advice. I'm always amazed at the wonderful people (particularly you Charles, and of course, Larry and Jerry) who care enough to take the time share their hard earned expertise with others. Thanks to people like you, I can make it that I appear that I almost know what I'm doing. Back to the topic. I think I should have put more emphasis on what was meant to be the key word in my original post. "Tricks". Besides normal operating techniques, has anybody found anything else works to help lock off a camera? For instance, in the past I have played with resting my left elbow on the top of my docking stand for a lock off and then easing my elbow off of the stand when I want to move. Very stable, but a bit tricky to get off of the stand smoothly. (I used my docking stand because that was the only thing I had with me that would let me adjust it's height to give me best advantage.) In a steadicam community that championed great innovators like Steve Marts, someone must have come up with something like this. Or I am just crazy? Rick Tullis Sanya, Hainan Island, China

Does anyone know what capacity cable the F35 needs to carry the 444 signal from the camera to video village? That is, what "Gz" cable? I have choice of either a 4.5Gz and a 3Gz cables. The 3 Gz is a bit more flexible so I'd rather use that if it is ok. Cheers, Rick Tullis Beijing

Are there any tricks to holding a locked off shot in the style Matias Mesa's amazing work in "Elephant"? Is there someway to brace the sled without getting a bump when you unbrace it and start to move it? Cheers, Rick Tullis Beijing

Alec, Oh, so you are choosing to take the obvious solution... Many Many Thanks! Rick

The Alexa doesn't draw 100watts it draws 2 amps at 24volts or 48watts I thought that sounded too high too, but there is a post on CML from Bill Lovell at Arri London saying that ARRI estimates the Alexa will draw 100 watts when recording on SXS cards and a powering a viewfinder. I had an Alexa on my sled last week for testing and it seemed to be ok. (That is, my sled didn't start smoking and smelling funny!) I wonder what the real story is....

Charles, Thanks for quick response. I was actually thinking that large power draw must be for the camera and deck docked together but I wanted to double check. And, the other question I asked. Any idea what a typical film camera draws for power? I saw where Arri says the Alexa will draw about 100 watts. Cheers, Rick

In July I'm going to shoot a feature on an F35 using a MK-V rig. I have read the posts on this forum about possible power problems using an F35 and this sled and it has left me a little confused. Looking at the F35 manual it says the camera head draws 56 watts. So, by my math, 56w divided by 14v equals 4 amps. Right? And that shouldn't be a problem. Someone on this forum said the F35 draws 12-14 amps. How can that be? Are they also powering the deck off of the sled? Or am I really missing something? As someone on the forum suggested, I sent an email to Phil Cremer at Panavision Toronto but I didn't get a response back. And, by the way, I tried to search for how much wattage a typical film camera draws (say an Arri Lite) but I can't find that info. Does anyone know how many watts an average film camera uses? Thanks, Rick

Jamie, Thanks for the information. But it is true, the Hummingbird doesn't have a chroma adjustment. Check Mark's email. He is also frustrated by it. It does have a brightness, contrast and a "Black Level" adjustment (either o.o or 7.5 ire), but that is all. I am very glad to hear that the PDL and the Blackbird work well together. I am in touch with Howard and Greg to try see what can be done with the Hummingbird. Thanks

Mark, Jamie, I wish you were right about the menu button, but on the Hummingbird there ain't no such thing. I think I have found at least part of the problem. The Programable Digital Level. When I take it out of the system (as Howard Smith suggested), the picture gets much better. I suspect that Greg designed his PDL with greenscreen monitors in mind and only worried about getting the lumminance signal right. I need to write to him and ask him about it. Thanks for suggestion. Rick Tullis Beijing

It seems that when I am in bright situations (daylight) there is a problem with the chroma blooming on my Hummingibrd monitor. I notice the problem as much in interiors. Has anyone else seen this problem? I have tried the monitor with and without the monitor signal going through Greg Bubb's wonderful PDL. Seems to be the same either way. Is there a chroma adjustment on the Hummingbird that I can't find? Is there a manual for Hummingbird on line somewhere? Rick Tullis Beijing rick@ricktullispictures.com

I am looking for tips on how to operate with a long post. I just started trying to use a long post and thought I would pick the brains of folks who might have been at it for a while.