Alec Jarnagin SOC

Matt, So, Burton is your last name? My first reactions was what happened to 4MATT (or was it format?)? Funny, I just realized how much avatars and screen names from certain regulars had entered my psyche despite having a personal policy of not answering posts from people who don't use their real names (prior to now, just in the signature was fine). Anyway, Matt - nice to meet you.

Ahhh, walking on the beach with crew members..... Never underestimate having them at your side.....

This is just criminal. The last time I checked London was not getting any cheaper to live in!

Guido has a good point. While I do use a PRO arm because I think it is the most bullet proof (and the performance is unbelievable too), the reality is the two times I've had arm problems over the years were with socket blocks (both on my 3a arm)! This can happen to any make arm because they all have socket blocks. While I've heard of entire socket blocks breaking, an even more common part failure is the rod ends in the socket block itself. So, I'm not sure I'd rules out the new G-series arms considering this, but that is a personal choice. Having said that, I opted for a steel socket block on my PRO arm, and eight spring canisters. Being in a major market with lots of near-by operators, this is good enough for me. I don't want to lug around a second arm on top of this as I think its too much. If I were ever doing a long term job in a remote part of the world, I'd consider ordering a back-up socket block and center hinge as this would be much smaller and cheaper than another arm or arm chassis. As for other back-up components, I have a second monitor, transmitter, tuner, and lots of spare cables and bits. Again, I'd loath to carry/pay for an entire second sled. I still own a front mounted vest so I suppose I own two harnesses, but I usually only carry the Klassen unless my stuff is living on a camera truck.

Afton, "Was that pun intentional, Alec? If not, it was the pun coincidence of the year. High five." I wish I was that clever, but it was just the new software for my computer, "i-Pun."

Dan, Jerry Hill: http://www.steadimoves.com/parts.html

Why just yesterday I got a call from a fellow NYC Op who just had the same thing. Sucks man, my heart goes out to you. Don't think it has as much to do with a heavy load as it does with scratch/flaw in the individual spring. Be very careful when sticking screwdrivers in your arm to remove covers, etc. Scratches in titanium springs are not a good ting.

Dan, Ummmm... dare I say... try balancing out of the win..... Seriously, try to shade yourself as much as possible for balancing (and hell, operating too, if you can pull it off). And, while it seems to be out of vogue, make the rig a bit more bottom heavy. Depending on your shots, I find it very advantageous to have a bottom heavy rig that behaves in a predictable fashion than a more neutral rig that flutters about in the wind.

Marcelo, Derek Whitehouse is a good lad and an honest bloke. Afton, I'm afraid you give us moderators more credit/power than we have. I wanted to do some stickies and guidelines, but alas we have no such power. Erwin, mail me your list as I was going to be working on it as per our discussion. Cheers,

Brad, "So what's with this?" It is a seat for the director so he no longer has to walk next to you while he chews your ear off. Now he can rest on his much deserved perch while barking out orders sort of like Peter O'Toole's crane in "The Stunt Man." Here is the deluxe version:

Rob, I think you did not scroll down enough. It is a privately owned hands free and the bid is for a demo only. I assume he is doing this to raise awareness of his services, but it seems a little odd to ask for money to demo a piece of gear you are hoping to rent.

Happy birthday, Jay. I'd love to come by the workshop, but it looks like I'm working. Cheers,

" 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." Bryan has echoed my own feelings on this one. There is no question that the prototype I tried on two occasions (a year or so back & again at NAB) had what I consider excessive vibration (just zoom the lens in and jog in place). Being a prototype, I have refrained from commenting on this in public out of respect to Howard - I always appreciate the opportunity to test any prototype and give feedback (I obviously mentioned my concerns to him). At NAB, I also had the opportunity to try the V2 production unit and I was eager to see if this vibration was still there. Sadly, it was a pointless exercise because the video camera in the AR's cage was mounted on a shoddy quick release plate (not part of the AR system, but a standard camera plate) causing ample vibration. So, I too, am curious from those in the field. I hope that in the future, Howard choses to demo the unit with a more rigid camera and plate set-up. Regarding rate. I think a few hundred more is not enough considering the cost. In order for me to justify the expense, I'd have to have a lot of people willing to pay a solid $1000/day for the extra gear. Sadly, in this day and age of cheapness and wanting to be ready yesterday, I am skeptical of the extra cost and set-up time. I have spent years simplifying my gear..... To me the most exciting thing about the AR will be when HD cameras are very small and light (it will happen... someday) and they will nestle in an AR cage nicely weighing less than the set-ups we are accustom to. The future is an interesting place. Oh, regarding the cables on Will's rig from "Rent." I believe he has had his XCS sled modified to run all AR data lines up the post (Greg Bubb leaves extra lines/pins up his post for custom needs). The cables you see are from his Preston Follow focus as he moved his MDR2 to the bottom for better weight distribution (but obviously, his motors are still at the top!). Cheers,

Robert Luna is in LA.

The older style Heden motor is: http://www.heden-engineering.com/default.a...6,57,92&i=92&n= Very light, but you need an Idler gear and a swing arm probably causing it to weigh as much/more than the mini-vertical motor: http://www.heden-engineering.com/default.a...0,56,57&i=61&n= (still no listed under products, but listed in the "News section." You'd want the analog version to work with a Bartech). I'm not sure the specs listed for the M-28VTP are correct since the same weight is listed for the M-28VP (no tachometer for zooming) and they list the weight of the M-28VT (no potentiometer) as a bit more than the VP version. The M-1 is a little heavy, but it is one of the (if not THE) most powerful motors I've ever seen (on any system). Yes, on a Flyer, look at Heden's Power-Drawf, but otherwise the M-1 is the motor of choice on any Bartech. Cheers,

Lars, I dunno, I think it fits well in arms (topic wise). I think if I was looking for a part for a G-50, I'd look under arms???? If you really want to though, we'll move it. Another reason it should be under arms is that I'm going to refer you to the arm guru himself, Robert Luna, for your arm posts. When I had a Master arm, Rob made a whole set of killer arm posts adapting the arm to an XCS gimbal. Robert Luna, 323-938-5659 (he's not too big on email, so call). Good luck.

Chas, Thanks or the info. I think I might even have a coiled adapter somewhere....... I think a free trade show gift.... Cool, thanks for the idea.

Tim, The excessive quoting was referring to the fact that each of his posts (including posts in other strands) included entire other posts. Not a big deal, I simply mentioned it because we are trying to reduce this. The requests for banning him are just that; we certainly didn't implement it. As for him being for real, I concur. I met with him today and we had a great conversation regarding the Segway. (And for the record, he was not hiring an Op, rather looking to collaborate with one.) Anyway, he apologized again if he offended anyone and I apologized on behalf of our community because I can tell he is simply excited about his services. Nice guy. Nuff said. Oh, his IMDB: http://imdb.com/name/nm0040585/ Cheers.

Thomas, That sucks man. My heart goes out to you cause our days can be hard enough without a horse's ass trying to showoff. You should have pulled a Tonya Harding on him. No seriously, all you can do is quietly get the DP and Director in your corner and see if they can help. With an ego like his though, sometimes its best to let him "come up with" the idea to slow it down for the camera's sake. Then he is the hero, feels good, and YOU get the shot. Sometimes, actors just get so pumped up they can't slow it down. I had a situation where an actor is running full speed to "save his girlfriend from being murdered". Luckily during prep, the DP asked if I wanted an ATV, which I of course agreed to - and am glad that I did. Our actor, Jonathan Tucker, could outrun me hands down even if I wasn't wearing the rig! I was just very glad to have the ATV, although, he continually outran that too. But, it made very dramatic footage and the various angles combined made the scene. Everyone was happy. In this instance, I assure you that there was no bravado involved as there is not a pretentious bone in this guy's body and he is very camera savvy. I was just glad that we were able to get the footage without asking our actor to compromise his performance. Obviously, different situations warrant different responses. Anyway, Thomas, I hear you get to work with my buddy, Milton, again as he is returning to do another film there. I'm jealous! Have a blast (and a pint for me). Cheers,

Charles, Keep me posted as well. Since my rig has a VDA, things need to be a bit different (I have a 6-pin Lemo versus the PRO's 5 - two pins for video because of the in/out situation). Also, this port puts out 12 volts on the Hill battery cage, so I need to put a regulator in the cable. But I'm curious about yours as mine will no doubt be similar. Also, where did you order your right-angle Mini USB cable from? Do you have a part number or link? Thanks,

Ben, B&H in NYC has the entire Pelican line as well as others, but if you prefer/need a custom A&J (wood/metal) case for your sled, contact me off forum and I'll send you to the A&J rep here in the city (he is an individual so I don't like posting private contact info on public forums). Cheers,

I almost slammed into an extra very hard a few months ago in similar fashion to Dave. I was moving very fast too and I know it would have hurt both of us big time. She even did the deer caught in the headlight thing by freezing up in my path. I managed to slam on the brakes and swerve practically pulling a muscle or two. Crazy. Keep in mind, if you cream the wrong person, it doesn't matter who's at fault, you'll be the one packing.

Another Moderator emailed me about this last night and I believe he is issuing a warning. I have just emailed this Itsi as well with the following comments: "The other reason I'm writing is as a Steadicam Forum moderator. I know you are just excited about your new purchase, but our community gets easily agitated by people they don't know coming in and posting all over the place about their new products. I've already received two requests to ban you from posting. Please be more careful on these matters as well as excessive quoting - if you must post, don't quote the entire post you are responding to!" For full disclosure, I was actually trying to arrange a demo at a local rental house with his Hands Free for local operators. Before I continue this pursuit, I'll see if things clear up here. Cheers,

I too got a lot of info from the guys at the booth. They mentioned that they are planning a vertical Steadicam Mag too! We'll see, but sounds good to me!

Brad, Are there other people in the water with you? Enough displacement and the water will be higher, but more relevant, they could cause splashes. If I were you, I'd only do it if there were exact predetermined shots coordinated between you and talent. I'd be skeptical of "just hanging out in the water" improving shots with a group of people sharing the pool. Learn more, talk to the Producers and see if you can come to reasonable terms that make everyone happy. Also, be sure you have their insurance policy in hand with a written statement saying they are responsible for the deductible and any rented gear while yours is down. Let's face it, one wrong step and your sled is all but ruined (best case scenario, a factory cleaning and rebuild).