Alec Jarnagin SOC

Most prosumer camcorders are a 1/4-20.

Tom, Yes, I remember you very well; a polite & curious young lad that is here to learn. I applaud your efforts and encourage you strongly. I'm well aware that there are many home built guys that are aspiring operators and that is great too. Like you said, this is a place for professionals and I make no secret of the fact this is what I advocate for THIS particular forum (and for the record, I firmly believe that there should be forums for the hobbyist, homebuilt guys, etc. - just not here). Newbies are always welcome to come and explore our world here too; I just want to keep things on track. I know I'd much rather read an article on Larry McConkey's latest views on gyros than how to make a $15 stabilization device of your own. That's all I'm saying. Cheers.

Hey folks. My wife (who is a DP and is used to Steadi-babble) and I are going to be in LA for a few days next week and would love to get some people together on Friday Feb 24th for drinks. I spoke with Charles, Erwin, and Jim about this but neglected to think of a place..... Anyway, I'd love to see/meet a bunch of you, so I thought I'd throw this out and see where we end up. What is the Steadicam Guild bar again? Is this good? Suggestions welcome and hope to see you there. Cheers.

I would like to respectfully remind anyone who may have forgotten (or never knew) that this forum was created as an alternative to the old AOL folders so non-AOL customers and the international community could partake. The purpose of both folders was to provide a forum for PROFESSIONAL Steadicam Operators to discuss the issues we face day in and day out on professional sets using professional gear. Novices were always embraced, but in turn they treaded lightly and respected the professional environment put forth by the members at large. In a nutshell, this forum was never designed to be a mass market forum, serving anyone and everyone. There are many forums out there for the casual enthusiast and homebuilt guys. We are not judging anyone; a mere matter of practicality. Surely one does not chat about miniature remote controlled Porches in the same place they discuss the actual cars? Thank you.

"I only wish Alec had told me of his method earlier...." Jerry, It never occurred to me that you hadn't been doing this forever and a half. I think I started doing this after an article YOU wrote (maybe GB). I remember thinking the gist of it all was to keep the CG of the camera just behind the center post to compensate for the monitor resting above the batteries. It seemed a logical way to approach it all to simply mount the camera with its CG above the post (or just behind) and use this as a starting point. Another approach is to leave your sled configured ever so slightly front heavy and then throw the camera on and after you have done a static balance (which now requires the camera to have been moved to behind the post), you'll be close. Like you said, once you get to know your sled, it is easier. When I switched from a 1.5" post to a 2", I found that I was off a bit because the larger post gives the illusion that the weight is still over the post when in fact the camera's CG has been moved back (you really have to think about where the center of the gimbal is versus the post).

This method works VERY well. It is the way I've always done it as I find it much easier on the brain. 1/2" increments may be too much depending on the type of set-up you use. I use Jerry Hill's battery base with a TB-6 (on an XCS sliding bracket) which keeps the monitor low in comparison to the batteries. Since I have a worm gear for the batteries, I'm just giving it a few turns on top and bottom and then a test spin.

Marc, Bob DeRose used to take a Sony tuner (intended for mobile homes) and mate it with a diversity unit (also for said purposes). He then housed the two units in a metal case with professional connectors and in a nutshell, it kicks butt. While tech specs may not match the CIT diversity, it is a hell of a lot more rugged than that overpriced fragile plastic box and it is really pretty good. Biggest short-coming is that it does not assign actually channel numbers to frequencies so you have to do that after you do a search. I have a bunch programed in (it lets you change the numbers to match the actual number - does that make sense?). Great tuner though I tend to use my Hermes more now unless I need the diversity. Oh, the other big problem - Bob DeRose is retired and Sony no longer sells the components (i.e. good luck finding one). Going back to the PAL thing. I've owned a few different tuners and have never had a problem transmitting PAL except the black & white thing (and sometimes needing to adjust the vertical hold).

"The school I attended has an old Glidecam V20" Old V20???? I have a model 2 sled in storage somewhere. I think Charles Papert still has a model 1. Must be that new generation of physics that came out last year.

Jay, How are you man? Yeah, your Modulus should be okay with a PAL camera (is your rig monitor?). As for the tuner, I use a Sony diversity but it has always worked too (you may have to adjust the vertical hold on the monitor). The only mild snag is that it renders the image black & white. Cheers,

Heh, shhh.... Benedict, don't look now, but your steering-wheel is on the wrong side!

Marque, Be patient. Wait for the workshop, then spend as much time as you can in the various styles doing the same shots. Chances are, you won't encounter a PRO vest there, but you'll see the Ultra (also a very good front mount), and Klassen's back-mount. Spend time in each, talk to the operators, etc. You're welcome to check out my collection (the latest generation of Klassen back-mount as well as a rebuilt model 1 front mount vest), but I'm on a job through mid-Feburary and I never have down time on set, so you'll have to wait until I'm done. Cheers,

Jeff, When I did my LCD backup monitor, Greg Bubb (XCS) sold me a plate to a TB-6 (with spud, etc), which I drilled another hole in and used. Since then, more companies are making Steadicam monitors and mounts. Marell has these listed on their web site: http://www.marell.co.uk/mounts/list/ Good luck.

Leigh, Before you spend 8K on a monitor, I'd take a long hard look at the TB-6. At that point you're talking about another 4K (a few days rental) for a bullet proof, top of the line monitor. Not only is the picture quality still the best I've seen, you get XCS reliability and customer service. Not to sound like an ad here, but its worth it. In another thread someone was asking about digital levels because their $1500 unit died and the company was no longer. A waste of money, indeed. Meanwhile my XCS level has done nothing but work and get the job done. Often, we do get what he pay for. If you can find a monitor that makes you happy for less than half the price, that might be something else though. Happy holidays.

Jamie, Like many things in life - its about communication and presentation. You presented your case well and communicated your reservations and you lived to see your children that night. God speed, man. I look forward to sipping a coffee with you and catching up when our schedules permit. Very brave posting, by the way. Peace.

Kevin, Wow, times have changed. What part of the world are you in? In a strange way, I'm jealous that you have these tools at your age, but... I suppose when I was in high school we got (then) brand new professional state of the art 3 tube cameras with 3/4" decks that set-up the foundation of my video knowledge. Funny, I couldn't wait to get into film and now these video skills have made the HD world much easier on me than some.

Brad, Hey man, how goes it? The Cooke 20-60 is decent. Newer alternatives include one by Century - it is very small and light. I think it is a 2:1 (maybe 16-32??? Can't recall, but VERY light with a fabulous minimal focus - Google it). If you can talk them into the Pana-Camp, Panavision makes two light wights zooms for Steadicam. The first is a 27-68 (T2.8 with a 3' minimal focus) and the LWII which is 17.5-34 (also a T2.8 with a fabulous minimal focus - I think 1.5'). Say no to anything bigger because you'll end up having to fly support rods too! Cheers, Okay, just looked up the Century. Here is the info: http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/film...enses/index.htm I used the 17 to 35 on a show once and it was fine. I see now that they have a longer one too. PL mount.

Jon, I also use the fold back mitt types (make sure the thumb folds too), but underneath I wear very tight, form fitting glove liners made of thinsulate (or some kind of synthetic - available at EMS or REI). Keep the mitt part of the gloves over your fingers as much as you can, but when it comes time to do a shot, you at least have the glove liners separating you and the metal. You're on the right track with the hand warmer packets for the batteries, but leave them on the battery while flying (put a small bag over the battery to keep the heat in).

Alf, Chances are you are getting a small bit of voltage drop from the thin cables up your post. Take a Volt meter to the battery and then test it from the cable out of your upper J-box to see. In most cases the drop won't really kill you, but if you have old batteries and a hungry camera you'll notice this sooner as the batteries are already dropping too fast. I have to give kudos to Greg Bubb here because he uses thinker gauge cable up his post and it really has made a difference for this sort of thing. By the way, I saw the latest Harry Potter the other day - nice work.

I also bought a Canatrans after meeting Emery and seeing just how well designed the unit is. Truly the next stage in transmitters - the board layout is genius. As fate would have it, I've been on an HD show since I took delivery, remaining hard-wired the entire time! Still, the Canatrans has come out of its box a few times to provide the director with a hand held monitor, etc. It has performed very well on these rare occasions, but the impressive day was one in which we were in Times Square and they sent the other camera up to the 9th floor for a shot looking down on the Square. They asked if they could use one of my transmitters so I gave them my Canatrans. To keep video village (as well as my CIT shark fin antenna) out of the shot, everything was hidden below one of the giant TV screens. So, in short, we had the receiver and antenna below (9 stories) the transmitter and the receiving equipment hidden underneath a multi-story high TV in the RF capital of the world - not an ideal transmission set-up, to say the least. Did the image looked hard-wired? No, but the fact that they had any image (all the director wanted) was impressive. Also, since I was doing a Steadicam take as they set this up, I could not really lend them a hand with advice, etc. I don't know what they did for checking channels, etc. I do know they opted for 1 watt output off the bat, which is something I don't normally recommend, but it may have been the right idea for this location. Lastly, they did not use my diversity tuner, but my single channel Hermes. Other times I've used the Canatrans on this job, I have always played with the video level function as this really is one of the best features. Just dial in the brightness level that offers your client a good picture and not worry about it messing up your monitor. One of many great Steadicam tools that I will now wonder how I lived without.

Dan, Rigidity, fit, & comfort. For front mounted vests look at the PRO (GPI) and Tiffen's latest version of the Ultra. I'm such a huge fan of Walter Klassen's back mounted though that I'm almost speechless when it comes to it. After a long day, I still marvel at the thing. Lots has been written about it - do a search. Remember, in the end, the vest is perhaps the most personal choice of all. Good luck.

Thanks Charles! Guess editing it is out of the question now! Then again, I guess I could change it and leave people wondering what the hell you're talking about. Alec "Licking his verbal chops" Jarnagin

Had an interesting problem on set this week. An AC managed to pull the BNC connector out of my PRO junction box when removing the camera from the rig! It wasn't a big deal because we were able to fit it back in place (the copper wire was not damaged - just the connector to its fitting) and tape the thing before we were needed to shoot. Got me thinking though. While my TB-6 includes a BNC on the back (thank you Greg Bubb for such a smart design) that still means video is not going through the sled and would therefore need to be T-offed to the transmitter, etc. Not ideal. Anyway, a great, simple, back-up for perhaps the most fragile connector on the rig occurred to me. I called Fred Davis and had him make me a small four pin Lemo (the connector for video taps & transmitters - usually has power and video through it) to BNC adapter cable. Now I can get video into the sled a second way from any BNC source. Despite being up and running with the temporary fix, Fred made the cable immediately and over-nighted it to me - just in case. Kudos to GPI and its modular design as well. At weeks end, we were in Time Square, where cars are not a good option, and it was great to be able to take off the J-Box, throw it in my shoulder bag, board a subway and bring it home to fix. It would have been a pain had I needed to bring the entire sled with me. Thanks to GPI for over-nighting the proper sized BNC too (had not realized there are several sizes on the rack side). Once again, modularity and customer service are soooo important!!!!!

Dean, Congratulations on finally getting the box going. Don't know if you still have the "Jarnagin knob" on it (the funny thing is that I don't even remember what it was - just that you listen to your customers' suggestions!). When you have one in NYC let me, I'd love to take a look. Truthfully, I don't think I'm in the market for one anymore as I couldn't wait and opted for a PRO DB3, but I always like to look. Your box looks smaller, lighter, and is presumably cheaper, so it sounds great. One point of concern, you have a lot of the surface area cut out (similar to a DB2), how do you feel this has effected its rigidity? I used to think it was great to have less material here, but I have found that my DB3 is solid and it is better protected form the elements by eliminating this. Again, please let me know when one makes it to NYC and good lick. Respectfully,

Sounds more like a company press release than an objective review (usually the way it seems to work now), but interesting none-the-less. Maybe we could talk this company into making some AB mount batteries for our use. http://opensourceenergy.org/C17/News%20Vie...lt.aspx?ID=1041

Rob, Contact Greg Bubb at XCS (Xtended Camera Support 805-531-0014; GBubb@adelphia.net ). I have been using his two inch post and gimbal for a couple of years now (gimbal for longer, actually). Been extremely happy with both! I think you might even get away with playing baseball with that post it so strong! MK-V also does a conversion and his gimbal is nice too. Top stage? Look under the thread about beta testing a new design from Rig Engineering. Otherwise, GPI DB3 is extremely good.