Alec Jarnagin SOC

Gus, Sounds like a bad run of plates to me; you shouldn't have any issues with their batteries. Once the new plates are in place, apply two small pieces of soft side Velcro to the plates (obviously, don't cover the holes). At first, it will be a little difficult to get batteries on & off, but it will soon wear to the point of offering a nice batteries wedge. This will get rid of that annoying little bit of play that the larger batteries seem to have because of their mass and therefore eliminate any battery vibration that can show up in your shot. If, indeed, this vibration (on the super post) caused your problems, this should help too.

Mark, How goes it? I think taking the battery base off every time you want to case her will drive you nuts - take it from me, when I put my sled together I opted for this method with a Pelican 1650. After a few months of doing this, I cross threaded the connector, but not badly at all (no damage). It was just a "gulp" moment as I needed to get the rig up and running. Cool head and some wiggling prevailed, but now I'm EXTRA careful with these connectors. That was the night I decided I was sick of it and then I went to the other extreme - a huge A&J case that holds the sled intact along with my Antlers and docking bracket. While this system works great (its been a few years), I'm rethinking yet again as I day play so much and I'm sick of hauling this HUGE case around. I may have A&J make another one that is much smaller. This would require removing the monitor, and rotating the battery base (Jerry Hill) towards the front of the sled (keeping the focus gear on). The monitor could then be placed in a space between the focus gear & battery cage. Only drawback is an additional minute or two of build time (and slightly less intuitive for assistants). But this is my thinking now (along with using a soft bag for my arm & vest, which I haven't done in years). Let me know what you find in your research because I'm interested as well (unless you want to go with the "no assembly required" case I'm using now and then we should talk). Best,

Nikk, Congratulations on the increased work flow. "Killer's POV?" There is a great bit of video from a German Steadicam workshop in the mid-ninteies with the late, great Ted Churchill talking about POV shots and how a Killer's POV would differ from others'. When I lecture at NYU on camera movement, I always show this clip! Regarding your onset suggestions, be mindful of how you go about them. While I'm a firm believer that we are more than camera mules, proper etiquette is a big one. Shot suggestions that could have a major impact on the DP's lighting (i.e. seeing 360, or the entrance to the arch) should always be whispered into the DP's ear first. Obviously, there are situations where one has a very good, trusted, three way dynamic between the DP and Director and suggestions may flow more easily and louder, but be sure that sabotaging the DP'S visual intent WILL get you NOT asked back. Cheers,

Here in NYC we were thinking of going "Subwaying." For the particularly courageous, we might even transfer to a bus. Don't forget to individually wrap your beers in small paper bags. Then, of course, we COULD drag race taxis up the West side highway....

Another technology, another kind of flat screen: http://news.com.com/Motorola+builds+nanotu....html?tag=st_lh

Chas, An Interesting approach! And here I was, ready to give him a bunch of feedback. Guess I should wait.... George, I noticed you are in NYC (I think I saw your name in the credits of a short film during the Fusion film festival a few weeks back). If I can be of any help, let me know. All my info is on my web site. Cheers,

My first arm was a black spring arm with my model 2 and I had the same arm when I got my 3a sled. The black springs could accommodate 51 pounds and while I found I could put a Moviecam Compact of them, I did eventually put in gold springs because I found I needed more lift for real world situations. If you intend to do any 35mm work, you'll need more lift. True, many cameras come in within the 50 pounds, but you need to be prepared for added accessories, odd situations, etc. One day you'll show up on set and they will have gotten a full size Millennium instead of the XL, or the DP will want to use a ring light, or the primadonna twenty year old director wants to sit on the camera for the actor's eye-line..... This does not mean the G-50 can't work for you; they offer different arms at different prices because operator's have different needs. I think its safe to assume it is only a matter of time before a heavier version of this arm is released to replace the existing Ultra arm if this new design is as good as people are saying. As for cost, my understanding is the $8000 is on the low end of the estimated retail price. I suspect it will be a bit more so that the jump in price between the G-50 and whatever comes next (G-65, G-70?) won't be so drastic (I can't imagine the "top of the line" arm being significantly cheaper than its predecessor or the competitions). So, once again, I'm recommending patience, and an honest assessment of your equipment needs.

Greetings all. For those of you using a Klassen vest with the curved carbon fiber door AND as metal hinge, Walter has come up with a great add on part. I had mentioned in a previous posting that I was torn between buying the hinge for ultimate rigidity and the duel ratchets for fitting diversity. In the end, the hinge won out. Now, you can have the best of both worlds as Walter has come up with a metal spacer that extends the hinge side of your vest by 1.5?. It simply slides between the back of the harness and the door?s hinge and is held in place with a pin (just like the door). Two seconds to install (or remove), solid as a rock, and keeps the curve of the door in the right place. So, if you want to put another layer of clothing on, but don?t like the fit of the front door when this is done, just add the piece. Yet another simple and elegant solution from them chaps up North.

Mike, sorry for the typo. Charles, granted my goof was with a person's name, but compared to some of the typos here, I think I'll still hold my head high. I worry about the twenties-somethings who seem (in force) to have no idea that "there" and "their" are separate words with distinct meanings.

Charles, Was the Segway owned by Mile O'Shea or was he just trying it out? Just curious because he lives out here. Thanks.

I do agree that the real future of the AR rests with these new generation HD cameras (and one's yet to be built). The thought of a tiny hi resolution camera in a small rotating ring for a combined weight similar to what we are used to (with 35 rigs) is an exciting one. Personally, this excites me far more than the thought of trying to squeeze an LT in there (although a 235 sounds cool). Howard, congratulations and while on the east coast, let me know your plans - I'm curious to see the changes you've implemented since your last visit with the prototype. The future should prove to be interesting.....

Brant Fagan and I had the pleasure of splitting the two days of Steadicam for the Segway sales tape (the one that shows endlessly at at the US retail store, Brookstone). Needless to say, we both had to give it a whirl with the rig on (this was almost two years ago). We both concluded that it would be a cool tool for Steadicam, but required major modifications. The designers were open to the idea, but I think we dropped the ball on follow-up so I'm curious what was done and who did it. As stated the handle bars need to be removed, but this removes the steering control. What was put into its place? Also, to go forward one leans forward which is a little nerve racking while wearing the rig. I suggested more conventional controls (maybe even via a remote that a grip could control or you could place on the gimbal!). If the shifting of one's weight were removed from the equation then you could build a speedrail "T" behind the operator like we do on cranes for you to lean on as you ride; this would also facilitate step on and offs. Anyway, I have not thought much about it since then, but now you've got me excited again. Cheers,

Paul, Great to see you here! Thanks so much for taking the time to visit our little party. You've been a great help to me over the years and I really appreciate all your advice. I'm still using the Hytron 120 and Performer combo we talked about a year or so back and it has worked well. Hope all is well with you. Best,

Chris, How are you? Hope all is well. A few months ago, I posted on a few Klassen topics after my visit up North. While there I tried a prototype of the front/back mount vest. Here is a link to that post: http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...st=0entry8365 Hope it helps.

Hi, I just used a Provid arm for the first time in my career. Five days in Barcelona with a rental rig (my wife was shooting a project for a friend of ours and last minute they were able to convince the Producer to add Steadicam, but it was too late/too expensive to take my rig, so we rented locally - thanks to Juan and all those who helped to make it possible). Not knowing how this arm is supposed act, the only comparison I have is with other model arms. Suffice to say, I was not impressed (I've owned a 3a, late series Master, and now a PRO). Each bone had a mind of its own and they were stiff. Yes, it works in the general sense and I was able to pull off all the shots, but to say that I missed my arm (and vest for that matter) would be a gross understatement. In my expeience, the 3a arm is a MUCH better arm (if you need an arm with less capacity, the EFP behaves the same as a 3a arm, but with lighter springs). On that note, I feel the EFP was/is a better rig on all fronts. If I'm not mistaken, the Provid was the replacement for the EFP too.

Will, Congratulations. Nice seeing you at the check out - I only wish I'd had the time to stay longer. Very cool stuff. Jendra tells me you were shooting down the street from me the other day too. That subway stop makes it into more movies.... Anyway, good luck with the show. We're off to Spain on Friday, so I'll talk to you in when we get back.

One thing about the single riser version. If you use a super post, you'll need that second riser. Hating long posts, this is a very rare thing for me, but when I rented one from Greg Bubb recently (he now rents a 2" post with PRO connectors; two pieces and solid as a rock - the inner tube is still 1.75") I found I needed both risers. I second Charles comments on the wheels. SO, Charles, IF you ever get around to it, I need a set too.

Other nice things about the American stand: the footprint is half way between a baby & a Jr. Steel construction so it is heavy, combined with a higher center of gravity makes sand bags a thing of the past. The risers are as thick as on a Jr. stand but he butt plug is welded in place. Remvable wheels on casters. Great stand.

Matt, Mark, Hopefully we get the footage in a museum as an art installation (Christo has to approve it though). The goal would be to have it endlessly projected in 3D, set to music. The director has some great ideas for this, but given that it is his baby, I shouldn't get into much. I haven't seen any of the footage yet, but one of these days, I'll get around to it (I have to swing by the company that makes the camera). I believe for now, I'd just watch it in a set of special binoculars that he has (he used them on set to). Each eye sees a small LCD screen of each camera. Very cool stuff. It might be awhile before anything is shown in public, but if/when this happens, I'll be sure to post. And yes, Mark that is the new Klassen vest. And it does kick butt!

Rob, Thanks (I knew you would enjoy this setup). The steel plate IS the plate from the bottom of my practice cage that I brought along on a hunch that I might want it. James, The two M-1 motors are there as a failed experiment and for additional weight. The DVX-100s have a built in lens (non-interchangeable) with an internal forum mechanism that goes from a scale of 1 to 99 (can you say duh? There is a conversion chart out there, but why not just use feet/meters in the first place!). Jason, the inventor, added 32 pitch gear so a modified follow focus may be used (there is a picture on his web site) and it controls both lenses at the same time. Being a manual setup, it is no good for our purposes but it gave me the idea of using two motors to do the same thing. The right way to do this would have been to have a slave cable that controls both motors from one control pot. I have not had such a set up since my old Seitz days (with the little horizontal heden motors). So I tried using two motors, each powered form its own receiver/control pot but set to the same channel (frequency) so ONE hand unit would control both motors. Since mechanical pots are just that, they will vary slightly causing the two lenses to disagree by a couple of percentage points (this should not be confused with inaccuracies within a given receiver/pot setup) . Given the depth of field one has with a 1/3 inch CCD and being outdoors on a sunny (and snowy day - thanks for pointing that out Rob), I don't think this would have been a big deal. Jason (the 3D expert) thought it better to forego this method and simply use fixed focus and depth of field though. I left them on though for the photo op! No, seriously, I wanted the weight and thought it would be nice to have the option for a shot should we really want to focus from near to far.

Three close ups of the camera....

A few days ago, I took a stroll through Central Park, shooting Christo's Gates (the crazy expensive two week art exhibit for those not keeping track of New York events). I thought people might be interested in this rather cool setup. 3D rig made from two Panasonic DVX-100As. Total weight only about ten pounds. Didn't feel like sacrificing the green screen for an LCD and fly a light load on this windy day so I had to add the steel plate. Still light. Check out the guys web site at www.21stcentury3d.com for more info on the camera. Might just be the most innovative use I've seen for the little DV camera yet.

Keep in mind, the heavier the camera, the higher it will be in low mode (and lower in high mode) because of where the gimbal lands. So, I'd strip as much as you can, including the handle. For low mode, leave the camera upside-down & invert your image in the monitor (if you can), then flip it in post. To get the lens on the deck, think about hard mounting to a doorway dolly.

Benjamin, Greg told me that some have chosen to use his gimbal without lubrication. To each their own, but I should add that most of us are talking about VERY small amounts of lubricant here. I literally use one to two drops of the Arri high speed oil (this is the same lube George Paddock recommends as well). ACF-50 as wonderful as it is, is heavier. Will it ruin your gimbal? No, so you could try it. Again, to some degree it is preference.

Jerry Hill makes some good toys.... http://www.steadimoves.com/parts.html