David George Ellis

Whuddup Y'all After losing my original cage, I want to start over from scratch and make one that will serve me in practice as well as in practical situations. I have a prototype mock up and want to get some additional suggestions. Here's what I've figured out so far: -Assuming that the specific weight of steel is @.283 lbs/inch cubed, or 7850kg/meter cubed, a plate; Length 13.5" or @34.3cm Width 6.5" or @16.5cm Height .625" (5/8") or @1.6cm will equal @15.5lbs or @7kg. Subtract for holes punched into it will come to @13lbs or @6kg per plate after milling and tapping. -Mounting solutions for cameras designed with 1/4-20" and 3/8-16" along with the locking pin you normally find with them. -Slotted holes for 3/8" quick-disconnect camera mounts. -Holes for the camera mounting dovetail plate to the bottom weight plate as well as the top/low mode plate. What I'm having an issue with is the interior height b/t the plates. My original had a height of 7" or @17.8cm. It wasn't enough to fit certain cameras w/AKS and I had to mount it high up on the top/low mode plate which made for a boomtastic adventure. I was able to remedy that by stacking the plates together. It then sucked to hear the Director moan when the image was upside-down in low mode, which is something I wouldn't have been able to avoid regardless of the setup I had. So what I'm curious to know is what the interior height should be. I believe that the DV low mode cage offered by Tiffen has variable lengths of 7.5" - 14.5" or @19cm - 37cm. I was wondering if I should have rods in different lengths to facilitate different height needs as well. If any of you beautiful people have an idea that you would like to share, that'd be much appreciated. I've seen some really slick designs out there, but I feel there are some details that haven't been addressed fully and I want to take advantage of the opportunity to make something for everything. Thanks Bredren, David

Hey Dan, Have you talked to your tax advisor to see if you can get that back come April 15th? There may be some way it can be written off as a business expense since you're paying that in order to get gear. That way, you don't cheat Uncle Sam and you may see it as a bonus end of fiscal year. Couldn't hurt to find out...

Damn Job, Just looking for a civil war, eh? Both arms have stretched the limits of technology using individual approaches. Both have amazing ranges in boom and weight capacity. Either unit would be a viable armament at your disposal. I flew each for the first time, on the same day. Both made my Master feel like my Model III when I first got my Master. Each arm has an argument to be made. They certainly seem like two of the best. Each has performance advantages over the other, albeit almost negligible. I remember the logic of that day. My buddy was kind enough to let me try his arm to compare and I gotta say, if there was a gun to my head to choose that day, I might've died. As time went on and emotions set aside, I made a decision based on my personal criteria. Customer service/loyalty and field serviceability/self maintenance: -Though I have never tested Tiffen's service, I know of GPI's. George, Ashley, Jack and Adam are unrivaled. -If my PRO I sled were to fall into the ocean, I'd replace it with a PRO-based sled, so that answers loyalty. -As for the field, the PRO is considered to be more rugged and can be stripped down rather easliy if necessary on set. Not sure how much so with the G70. The PRO arm is time-tested, whereas the G70 is still new. 5 maybe 10 years from now, it might be a different story. I feel there isn't enough anecdotal evidence for the G70 to get over the PRO for now. Being a speculator, I know you need to invest in something with great long-standing fundamentals as well. So my choice today would be the PRO. Garrett, Jerry, Frank and co. are all outstanding people with outstanding track records, but the G70 for me still needs some time to really prove its dominance in the field as the arm of choice. Believe me, I hope it is received and does well. Just so much passion all around in the belief of their product. Good luck to us all.

Since you don't always work with one lens on set, you need not to stay with one lens while you practice. It is wise to learn both and be as good with one side of the spectrum as the other. And all in between. The wide-angle is forgiving. In the belief of keeping subjects in frame, but it gets everything else in frame. Stands, frames, areas that haven't been arted-up yet, the furny-pad covering the vent on the AC to keep soundy happy, etc. Also, wide lenses challenge you to keep horizons flat as opposed to tight lenses. While working with tight lenses may seem like more of a challenge to keep things in frame, it corrects for the things mentioned in the paragraph above you normally deal with in the wide. It WILL teach you to be better at working with your slow, soft-game. Especially working at keeping only the eyes in shot, for instance. I'd say do everything and record it for review. Switches, D.Juan, binary foci figure 8's, stairs AND Lo-mode. All on wide and narrow lenses. If you haven't done so, take a workshop. We're asked to do a variety of things, so prepare yourself with a variety of exercises. Good luck.

Oh yeah, the matter behind the art. I was trying to retrain the cable to keep the centerpost compact. That consequently caused me to turn the battery hanger and torque the wires out from underneath. I'll never do that again. Thanks for the painful reminder. All in the hopes of learning.

Just wanna go on record... Thank you Afton (you know, the SteadiShots guy), for taking the time to look over and repair busted solderings on my lower junction box. I had a fit on Saturday night shooting a live event. Having your rig go down on a Saturday night is probably the worst time of day to have failures. I sucked it up, called to cry to a buddy of mine and finished the night. The next day, took the rig apart, and found the problem. Two wires had separated from the Lemo and I couldn't power my upper box. I was suggested to call someone who may be able to help. That was Afton Grant. He graciously let me come over on a Sunday evening and properly diagnosed the situation and went right to work. Even offered me a Spaten brew. In a matter of minutes, the red light on my Bartech was firing up. Awesome!!!!!!!!!! So once again, thank you, Afton. And PRO I owners, if you have an issue striking your peripherals, you may want to look at the bottom-side of your lemo connector on the battery base if you've tried everything else. Now I've got to try to put this thing back together after getting attacked by a feral kitten I was trying to save in my building. And yes, they are strong enough to bite through your fingernail. Mystery solved! Little bastard...

I own a 2002 Chevy Astro AWD. Barely looks crammed with all my gear. I fit individual cases for sled, vest, arm, batts, vid. assist, ditty, vehicle mount, tools, stand and Magliner JR. I took the 3rd row seat out and the only thing that peers over the 2nd row is the strap from my Klassen Vest case. I can also fit my emergency car fix duffle bag and an enclosed 12" subwoofer. This thing comes ready with an HD factoy hitch and DTS system for plugging in lights for trailing. The AWD takes me over sand dunes, snow and mud. I did get stuck in the dunes in Little Sahara, Utah by nearly going over a 10" t-bone drop-off coming to a complete stop at the top of the dune. I intend on doing a 5" lift and adding off-road tires to help me get over all terrain without bomb sweats (Don't worry Alec, I promise not to tip over). Since I love the road trip, I also carry my tripod, a 3-chip video camera in case and AKS, 35mm SLR, bookbag, cooler, luggage, CPU with AKS, food and a random AC or DP. They especially love my Sirius Satellite radio, high ride and uber-tinted windows. She fits in Manhattan traffic and parking is suprisingly easy. Good torque on the streets and passing power on highways. Gets 20-25 MPG and rides solid like a friggin tank. And I haven't even begun to do the roof rack as well as the hitch attatchments like an India Mount. Another plus is that it has (4) 12v cigarette adaptors (3 in front, 1 in the trunk), so I can charge or power just about everything with a 300w inverter. I gotta say, it's a pretty popular van on exterior location shoots, almost too popular, and I can never imagine owning anything other than that. Since starting in film, I've gone thru 4 cars, this being my 5th and final. I would rather keep fixing it than replace it. Anyway, my final analysis is that the 2000-2002 Astrovan with AWD is an awesome rig. Very reliable, goes and fits just about everywhere for work and play and, looks cool in a sandstorm. ONE, David P.S. To add a classic touch, this thing came with a CD/Cassette Radio. The cassette player is great for plugging in an adaptor to get crystal clear sound from my i-pod. Screw the FM transmitter, and I didn't want to pay extra for the mini plug adaptor. And did I mention panty-dropping leather seats? I did now and just did.

Hey Y'all, I've got an XCS gimbal with the 1.5" sleeve and the helicoil for my tooless kip handle dropped a crunk on me. While a C-Clamp seems en vogue, it's not much fun to fluck with during balancing. I tried Greg, but he may just be at the Rhino. I believe the correct unit is an M5 Internal Thread Size with a .8mm Metric Thread Pitch with tang (as per McMaster-Carr), but I don't know what the Insert Length is nor whether it's a Helical or a Screw-Lock Helical insert. If you guys and gals could guide me closer to the desired solution, it would be much appreciated. Thank you. David P.S. Found it!!! Greg came to the rescue and informed me the correct size is 10-32 and it's very hard to find. If you have questions regarding how to install it, call him, he's really great. Very informative and more than willing to help. Fine product and even finer cust. svc. If you NY'ers run into the same problem, give me a call. I've got extra helicoils and the insertion tool to complete it all. Take care. ONE

OK guys, Since Mr. Sainthill opened the floodgates, I would like to add one of my favorite videos I operated on utilizing a Steadicam TM. Mind you, hide the kids and don't tell the misses "Honey, check this out" until you view it first. I'm not saying there's nudity (everything is blurred), but it is kinda racy. Definitely one of my most "unique" experiences. Enjoy!!!! Click here to see Mobb Deep Feat. 50 Cent "The Infamous" On a side note, I wish y'all could have seen what happened that wasn't in this video... Oh man, the things I saw... You wouldn't believe me. Just imagine, 200 strippers and 100 DJs in 50's big F'ing house!!! The song should be called "THE DEBAUCHERY"

For the "Rocky" shot, tune to 4:00... It really is priceless. In this world of friggin' remakes, it's all about Chappelle rewriting history for me...

Hey Kapil, Click Here for search results!! Dunno if you tried it, but I found some interesting convo's, G. Scroll through the threads and you should find the words "drop" and "time" highlighted. Some tell you a lot of things. Some tell you what you need to know. Enjoy! ONE

Fig Rig, Schmig Rig... Y'all need to check this!!! No longer do we have to deal with outrageous vendor R&D costs nor sending units back for repair. The shot results sequence is a little long, so forward to minute 6:00ish for genius last words b/4 you stop it. Chappelle Camera Stabilizer The Merlin doesn't stand a chance once this hits the market!

You're right, Michael. I never was an AC before but I never stated it above. Good deduction. There's a first for everybody and I don't piss myself when I encounter an AC who's never pulled for Steadicam. I just become more aware of them and help guide them to save face. I go to preps to make sure we have all the proper AKS and my cables mate correctly. Didn't someone have a problem with a Panavised Moviecam once, or twice? Going to the prep could help you overcome those obstacles so that on the day, you don't say, "Crap, I Should of..." BTW: What are the prerequisites of being an AC? Camera PA? PA? Intern? Film School? Born with silver spoon? Never did any of those, either. It also develops the warm and fuzzy b/t you, the DP and the AC. Me being a newbie, I can use all the warmth and fuzziness I can get reading a new crew that I'll be a part of. That's the social being in me. I'm almost curious as to what works for you, Michael. I may have boned an AC in the past, but who hasn't? Who hasn't been boned by the AC? Or the spotter, or lights, or that beer bottle Art Dept. never swept from set? I'm sure you get the gist. To laugh at a DP instead of help calm him and finish the day? My first 1st AC was Doug Hart. Author of the Assistant Cameraman's Handbook. He didn't laugh while I fumbled. He showed class. He helped me. Even taught me the Sea Breeze Bandana. Issues come up. Build a bridge and get over it. Maybe some guys need to go back and give back by teaching to remember what it's like to know nothing all over again. Back to topic... Here's something to look out for. People in this community and world for that matter, yearn to find ways to pick you apart. They smile nice nice to your face while passively/aggressively attempting to discourage you from advancing yourself and elevating your career. I've had two occasions so far where I've met operators who've made remarks like, "Everybody has a rig these days", or "Why would you want to move here to LA?" These jag-offs are either scared about food being taken off their plate, or are just so cavalier, they don't remember Ramen Noodle & Tuna Night, if they were ever even poor enough for that. Instead of closing tabs at the bar, they're keeping tabs on the net. They lie in the trenches of upper suburbia, playing cyber/phone thug cuz life's too ordinary now. You may know this guy. Watch out for that guy. Don't let him jade you under dark clouds of conventionalism. You may be that guy. STOP BEING THAT GUY! There is a new breed of us looking up to you as inspirations for the future of filmmaking. By being divisive, you cannibalize our industry. Look at the Operator position. If you're of true heart and passion, you may learn something from mentoring those seeking purposeful advice. My father was an educator of languages for nearly 40 years. He died while waiting to meet with one of his former students that turned teacher. What if Garrett Brown decided to take the secrets of Steadicam to the grave and never reveal them to the world? Where would you, THAT GUY, be? What if teachers discouraged kids from becoming teachers. Who would teach us? We're all full of energy. Let's collectively channel it where it needs channelling. Upholding and defending the Charters of Freedom and making movie-making fun. Amendment #2 is for you, BJ. Come to think of it, so is #4. Thanks for letting me rant this space. David

Hey broe, Just wanted to wish you well on this day, punk. And I want to thank you for all your support and encouragement. You're one of the TRUE real stand up guys in this community and I can never forget you saving me from the burning truck that is college. I won't keep this long cuz you always make fun, but a special thanks goes to you for your recent influences on me. Nothing fahjzey, just thanks for waking me up to a new world of realities. Remember, I'll watch mine just like you'll watch yours. From your good friend and ASS-hOle-Cee-I-hATE, David

Hey Erwin, Happy belated and many more belated birthdays!! Hope to see you at Cinegear and later at Gladstones. Or maybe, the Rhino. Is there a guest list for that? Either way, eating oysters off PCH or watching clams chew dental floss, I'll be glad to see you. Take care. David

I'm in 97%.

SOLD

Not adding anything new but, not going to the camera prep. Especially if you never worked with the camera b/4. I had an experience with the G2. I disregarded the warnings to be heeded by my fellow seasoned ops when I was starting out about "flying" this monster and ended up eating crow followed by a pity cheeseburger for my efforts. The DP was very understanding (to my face at least), and I have been too embarrased to send him my reel even two years later. Another big mistake is doing any frantic fighting shots without a matte box and being able to cope with the consequences of injuring someone. The last show I did had four incidents involving Steadicam and uneven terrain (mud hills and sand), and a 6mm lens. I ate the mud hill, snapped a Hi 8 camera from its 35 adaptor and bruised my forearm nicely. Thankfully the PM was gorgeous, she treated me and sealed the boo-boo with a kiss (thanks, Nurse Christina). Two days later, we had a fight sequence w/out a stunt coordinator nor fight coreographer and I literally took a fitness model's tooth out. The sound of someone's face running into a lens is brutal crunching one. Imagine a hammer breaking tile, then oxidated DNA dripping on my monitor. Needless to say, I broke down in tears over that, but everyone at Vid Village saw him coming in too hard and too close. I think the shot will make the movie, so it was worth it I guess. As for the model, there were no hard feelings and he shook my hand, bloody chicklet and all. And from there all the beefcakes had a new sense of respect for me, the rig and the spacial boundaries that are needed to be set.

Hey Brad, Normally when I fly, I carry my arm on board with me for just the same reason you mentioned. Weight and arm safety. That gives you ample room to carry extra junk underneath. Since we're allowed two carry-ons, I take my overnight bag and the arm with me. Plus, it's fun to see how security looks at it. They treat it like some erector set bomb. Of course, you know never to mention b-o-m-b, or, a-s-s-a-u-l-t r-i-f-l-e. Go with that and I don't think you should have any problems. Good luck and happy shooting. David

Hey krashtest, I'll second (or third for that matter) on checking with Mr. Bartell about the last time, if ever, there was an uprgade, or is it an update?. I had the same weird dropouts in the strangest places. Like, in the woods, with no RF, not even a TV signal, and still had problems. I blamed it on a tree. Must've worked b/c they called me back. After sending for the software, the two chips were installed pretty simply (thanks again, Alec), and I never had a problem since. Jim actually told me there had been 4 versions of the software since mine rolled off the assembly line (ser. #64). Great backstory behind it all, in my opinion. Actually, I had one problem with interference... I was in Boston for a gig where I was soft-mounted to a doorway dolly and there were 4 Grips, 2 ACs, 1 DP and 1 AD all around the rig at that moment. All of them had walkies on. All of that RF bleeding, in such a tight proximity, issue. Once they were shut off, all was good. Until the Pana Platinum died, aaaaand that's a wrap on Steadicam. Just wanted to add that as a possibility in case the software was addressed. Especially if sound was having problems as well. Good luck. David

Wassa matter John? They never taught you Spanish in school? I know (hope) you were joking, but when it comes to not understanding cultures or languages, we have the Internet to solve our problems. I just wish our social/political leaders would employ similar tactics. It just may alleviate any air of confusion or potential racial/cultural apathy. If you need anything translated, goto www.freetranslation.com If you're too lazy right now, Steadigap (sp?) roughly said, NO GUSTAVO! NO NO NO NO.......... TO THAT SON OF A BITCH, ONE MUST LEAVE HIM THE BUM. IF YOU WANT, TELL ME WHERE HE IS, WRITE IT ON THIS THREAD AND WE'LL DO HIM A GOOD ONE "COLOMBIAN STYLE" (OR THE COLUMBIAN WAY). WHY DIDN'T YOU GO WITH THE BARTECH? I CHANGED MY PRESTON TO A BARTECH AND I KNOW 4 OR 5 OPERATORS THAT ALSO MADE THE SAME CHANGE. -end scene- So please, only in the informal company of friends, should one make epithets like the one you mentioned in your post. Not trying to play culture cop, but as said b/4 on this forum, people from around the world learn English to communicate with us heathens. The LEAST we can do is try to learn their language, quote by quote. They're already self-conscious with the limits of their grasp of our language. Try making love to a Spaniard. Even if you are joking, it may still hit a nerve. And they may hit you up COLUMBIANADA. Damn, gotta go. My fried chicken is getting soggy and the watermelon was just cut. ONE, David

Hey Thomas, True story. I was shooting an off Broadway show for pennies on the dollar and had just received the monitor to relieve my power-hungry PRO monitor while I await a battery recell. So when I put it up to my sled, I saw there was not enough crushing power on the Transvideo monitor bracket screw to keep it in place. I decided to use the PRO screw in conjunction with the Transvideo bracket. Not knowing the thread size for the interface b/t the mounting bracket and monitor arm was a different size, I created a vortex of suck when I ruined the original screw from my PRO and the bore of my new Transvideo mount, rendering all useless. Mostly me. SO, I did the show with my PRO and took what was left of my pride and put my Dremel to work. I bored the mounting bracket to allow the use of the original PRO screw threading and Mr. Paddock peformed some miracle surgery to repair the cross-threading on the PRO (thanks again, George. Check's in the mail). Painful learning experience, but at least I have two complete mounting systems mated to my scissor monitor arm and don't have to fist around too much when doing a monitor swap. Hope this helps, or at least makes you remember not to try screwing things from Europe without checking the size of the hole first... David

Hey Y'all, It was brought to my attention that I should mention this just in case no one got the memo. I use the Transvideo III A SuperBright as my primary and I can honestly say I rarely have any viewability issues regarding sunglare, viewing angles and the like. While I was in the Valley, I stopped by the old shop and spoke with the lovely woman who's name I can't remember at the moment. Anyway, we were discussing the market for smaller plasma screens and how they will match up to the current LCDs. I mentioned this b/c sometimes, I had viewing issues while operating and wanted to know if there were options for the future. This lovely lady showed me on the floor demo what to do in order to correct that. She took that same monitor and flipped it and performed an in-monitor vertical flip and gave me a 70 degree angle of incident viewability. Worlds crumbled and then collided. Big eye-opener. So, for any of you who have the III A, try mounting the monitor upside down and you should see an improvement in your image. Don't know if this was in the manual b/c I don't read too good. hope this helps!!! David

Hey guys, Took a lot of lumps these past two weeks and now I'm looking to maintain my gear. It appears I need a new helicoil for my motor bracket and I'm trying to find a hardware store that would supply those. The particular size is 5mm and it goes on the receiving side of the bracket (closest to the motor). I've already tried Greschler's in BK (thx Alec), but they only have as small as the 6mm. So, if you NY DIYs know of any place, that would be greatly appreciated. Tomorrow, I may have to convince the DP to set a hyper and that may not be so bueno. Thanks, David

Chances ar if you've worked on a set with grip equipment, you've worked with MSE gear. They are a metal fabricating shop. www.modern-studio.com You don't even need a diagram. Just bring the item you need to have a custom plate made for and Cino will take care of you. David Bumps and scratches come at no additional charge.