Alec Jarnagin SOC

Works fine here. Must be an East Cost thing.

" I have no idea why anyone would place the bubble actually IN the frame, that seems ludicrous to me." Ah, Will. Another reason to love HD! No safety zone for the boom and no place to put your level except in the damn frame. Ben, I agree with all of Will's thoughts. I, too, keep the level at the top. Good luck.

Happy B-day Brad. And while on the subject, we all missed Jim Bartell's big day. So, happy belated birthday, Jim. Great seeing you and your lovely wife last week, too.

Mark, The problem is not with the Modulus, rather with your tuner. I have done a number of PAL shoots and not had problems except that my tuner (a DeRose modified Sony diversity tuner) renders the image black & white. Some tuners will also roll the image when receiving a PAL signal, which can often be corrected with a vertical hold tweak to the monitor. If you can live with a black & white image, you should be okay, but if there is time, test it first. Good luck.

"But I recall getting a quote of about 2400$ from XCS regarding the PDL about 6 months ago... " In fairness to Greg, the XCS level kicks butt. It allows you to do a tremendous number of things including altering the sensitivity, size of display, the degrees you have to be off before it moves, etc. I personally love the "slanted" setting that angles your bubble slightly as it drifts from center. Great engineering; great product; great options. Much better than the 3a level, etc. Of course I made do with a $2 bubble level glued to my monitor for years too. All depends on what you want. Whatever you do, I suggest mounting any electronic level sensor as close to the center post as possible. Of, I have not seen Ben's level and this is in no way meant to detract from it. Just saying that the XCS one kicks butt.

"i personaly think 3 second cuts is too quick. how does that show off one's skill at steadicam? wouldn't a 1:55 length reel with a handful of lengthier takes prove one's expertise more? any hack can keep a rig level for 3 seconds." Depends on who you are and what segment of the market you are after. In Liz's case, I don't think her intention is to say anything about holding horizon, etc. At the level of work she is trying to capture, that is taken for granted. By showing face after face after face, she is letting the Producers know that they are in good hands because she has worked in the big leagues time and time again with all of these famous people. If you don't have all those major credits and names then I would suggest showing more than three seconds per shot, BUT once the viewer has the idea on any given shot, move on. Save the long takes for showing to fellow Ops over beers - Producers and Directors are often easily bored. Keep your reel to 2-3 minutes. In my case, my reel is three minutes and I start with the faces for the Producers, then move on to some interesting, but quick stuff (long lens, slow subtle stuff) for the DPs and directors, then end with a shot that has no one famous in it, but it is a cool move to reward the DP, who is presumably the only one left watching at this point because as a fellow cameraman they are more likely to hang in there! So much of what we do has nothing to do with our footage.

Stephen, "I use a magliner jr. myself and have considered getting the steadicam nose conversion for a while but always felt nervous about leaving a few hundred grand balanced on the end of a relatively flimsy magliner. " Yeah, I hear you. This is why I toyed with the idea of a Yeager Cart. Another idea was to use a Magliner Senior, but instead of supporting the top shelf with an extended nose, come up with another support system so you could use the top shelf from a Junior. Now the shelf would not go from end to end, allowing you to place the rig OEVR the tires and inside the cart, but again I didn't have the time or energy to invent the thing - besides, I needed the full cargo room of the Senior.

Paul, I always knew you were a wise man - nice combo. I've always used the American rolling stand to carry the rig and a collapsable Rock'N Roller cart that reconfigures to various sizes for my cases. The huge drawback to this method is that you cannot carry the rig while built on the cart. On certain cobblestone roads this is a pain in the butt. So much so, I alas have ordered a Magliner Senior Steadicam cart from Filmtools (http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/steadsencar.html). Expensive and large, but at a certain point, I realized I was never going to reinvent the wheel (I've had plans to do something for years). Most recently, I was toying with the idea of converting a Yeager cart, but in the end, I opted for the simple click of a mouse and one stop shopping. We can thank Erwin for all his efforts, as this is essentially his cart. I suppose in a perfect world, I'd add a Murphy Cart to the inventory too, but I don't have the space for that many carts. In the end, you need to decide what works best for you in your environment, realizing that one cart may not work for everything. I know I'll keep my Rock'N Roller for some occasions too and be assured that I will always keeps the American stand on my Magliner too.

Howard, How are you? I seem to recall seeing pictures of Liz Zeigler with a Panaflex L.W. (or maybe a Compact) on her rig for this show. What, did Stanley just have it in for you? That is a crazy set up, man. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Hey Rob, Is that a face mask on your focus puller? Doesn't like the smell of Elephants? Sissy.

Grespolo, I agree that you don't need the latest/greatest toys to do your job. I think Ben might have said it better than I - I just think that non-linear hard drive recording is a technology that is changing faster than the rest of the stuff we use. The TB-6 that I bought in 1998 is still the best monitor on the market (yet, alas, the alternatives are getting much closer in quality), but if XCS had opted for an onboard recorder of that era, I might still be carrying a huge 8mm deck that was built in! Or perhaps a 15 second, low rez RAM device? As it is, I still opt to use my oversized, overweight mini-DV deck from 1999 (when I bother to use one at all). Still waiting for the hard drive units to find the perfect line between affordable and quality. Very disappointed that the new i-Pod is only for pictures; I'd been holding out to see what they came out with. So, perhaps its time to look at the Archos, knowing that in a couple of years there will be much better options (and again, why I don't want it built into my sled). Cheers,

"but i find that in the future this type of things gonna be included on the sled electronics...." I'm not sure this is such a hot idea. If I recall GPI was going to do this a few years ago, but opted not to. Probably a good thing; can you imagine having a $15,000 monitor with an onboard recorder from then? My point is, this technology is changing far faster than the rest of the stuff we carry on our sleds. You might end up carrying a second device before too long because you can't stand the obsolete one built into your monitor/sled. At the very least, make it SUPER modular.

Sebastian, Why run when you can ride? Obviously, this is not always an option, but if you know you have a shoot coming up with a heavy camera (or even with a light one) that involves tons of running shots, get them to get a vehicle of some sort (ATV, golf cart, etc). Hardmounting allows you to concentrate on framing instead of navigating. I don't care what kind of shape you are in, you can not run faster than a fit person who is not wearing a rig! You'll find that most Production people are reasonable when you explain it like this. All that said, get in shape for the shots when a hardmoount is not an option.

It has to be a DVD-R (or at least a fake). Some how I don't think C.P. or Tiffen would release a training video that pictures a PRO on the cover!

"The Hummingbird Classic does have a SDI input." What? Let me get this straight - it HAD an SDI input and you took it out for the Steadicam version? Why?

I have a couple of different laser pointers sitting around. They all have buttons instead of switches. Easiest cure is to take a rubber-band and put it on the shaft so you can simply roll it over the button, keeping it pressed when needed.

Leigh, If your sled has the ability to move the monitor and batteries, it can really help with longer lenses. By increasing the distance between your monitor and batteries (horizontally; i.e. make the sled longer) you'll add pan inertia that makes longer lens work easier. As for 128mm on a 1/2 CCD? I see no problem with trying this as an exercise, but don't let it discourage you or distract you from practicing "real-word" situations. What you are doing reminds me of the exercise using a laser pointer and trying to keep it on a given spot while you walk in and then out, switching from missionary to Don-Juen.

BJ, Things are well here in NYC. Weather is rainy this week, but it is a light week workwise for me anyway. Yeah, I've hooked up with David a few times. Just last week I did a day on a movie that he was a grip on, so it was good to see him. Ironically, when Ozzie's arm blew up when he was in town a couple of weeks ago, he called me to borrow mine, but it was sitting in a camera truck for my next day's job. I gave him some numbers and told him to let me know how if worked out. Turns out David was a grip on the show and upon hearing about Ozzie's problems went home and got his arm/my old arm/your old arm. So, in a way Ozzie did use my arm! Great community we have. Hope all is well in LA LA land.

Janice, How are you? Log time? Welcome; I'm so glad to you decided to join us again. Please stop by more often. Yes, cling wrap works great - I usually use it on the camera, but I like having a made to fit cover for the battery cage to expedite battery changes (although I used cling wrap for years). Another trick I do is to use a piece of Visquine sandwiched between the camera and the camera plate. It hangs around the J-Box like a skirt (clipped at the bottom around the center post), helping keep water out of the junction box. As far as camera plates slipping? Greg Bubb turned me onto a wonderful 3M anti-skip rubber material that I put on my plates (I use his plates too because they are crazy rigid). It works VERY well. He tells me that some Home Depots carry it, but mine only carries the kind with grit in it, making it like sand paper, which of course is a deal breaker. Cheers,

Rob, I think you may have posted while I was typing (or I simply hit reply before reading yours). The engineer who cut your cable is an idiot. Obviously, he has NO respect for your job and what you bring as a professional, thus he deserves equal respect. This of course gets you nowhere on set. These people are control freaks with huge egos that were probably bullied as children. Oh well, go over their head. I once had a similar situation where I was shooting a multi-camera interview, but each camera was isoed. The subjects were sitting in two chairs facing one another, in a controlled environment. The engineer wanted to have a hard wire cable to slave time code, a paint box, and a hard BNC (standard def). When I told him to jam the time code and pre-program the paint box settings, he refused as he wanted iris control too (on an evenly lit set!). So, I gave him a Bartech. He squirmed and then ran off and cried like a baby to the director and producer. So I calmly explained to the director that I felt the moves ought to replicate a dolly in look (the location prohibited a dolly in the first place, which is why they brought me in). To best achieve this look, I explained I needed to be tether free or else we risked replicating a boat movie. The moment I held my fingers up and mimicked a bad horizon the virtual sheers came down. End of story. Of course the footage was fine, the time code never drifted, and he never needed to pull iris. Stupid engineer. As for the audio guy monitoring final sound, that is a valid point. Again, they ought to use a DAT as a back up, or like on a job I just did, we sent a signal back to him to monitor via a light weight transmitter. If you are working with reasonable people, there is usually a legitimate answer.

Eric, Ahhh. Thank you. I read this strand last night after work and was too tired to reply, so I returned now to find your great post. Didn't we just list all this? Oh yeah, I guess it was deleted with the hack job. Eric is 100% correct and we need some con-solidarity here folks. Having flown too much HD lately, I have to say that much of the time, the DP really does need to see an HD image. These antiquated news ENG housings that the HD cameras are built into simply carry too much risk in them - back focus is a HUGE problem, changing more than some political candidates allegedly change their mind. Perhaps the new generation of cameras built from the ground up with increased latitude, etc will allow for a tether free life-style, but in the meantime I strongly recommend the ONE cable limit. Like Eric says, a short super light weight BNC WILL work (you can even buy it in true 75 Ohm and it is negligibly thicker; although, I have used six feet of 50 Ohm by accident without problems). Audio, if a must, needs to be wireless - I contact the sound guy before the shoot day and get him on my side! If the DP needs the paint box during rehearsal, I have no problem with that. Once we shoot, Iris is done with our remote system so there is no need for the paint box. If they HAVE to have all the crap, go fiber. Your best bet is to make allies of all involved and tackle these issues before you're on set.

Kevin, There is no such thing as a dumb question, but this question has been asked (and answered) so many times that it is painfully obvious that you have not looked at the archives. More than likely you can find the answer you seek in this years forum, as it seem like this question is asked on a monthly basis now. Otherwise, please look in the past years. In a nutshell, look at the various rigs, try them, and and buy what works for you. Don't be in a rush or just buy the first one because it seems good. If you have not taken a workshop then do yourself a HUGE favor and do so. Good luck.

Brett, "I have a cable that AJA sells that provides power via an Anton Bauer power tap on the camera. Hopefully the rental house will have the power cable and the camera has a power tap." The AB power tap only provides power out with a battery ON the camera, so if you are powering the camera from the sled, this will not work. I had cables made to go from my sled's junction box to the female AB power tap so I could use this method to power down-converters without being forced to carry a battery on the camera (I was sick of asking rental houses if they could give me a down-converter to 4-pin XLR cable). Sometimes the rental house will give you a cable to power the down-converter from the Hirose on the back of the camera. While this port remains active when powering the camera via the sled, I don't recommend it, as the amount of amperage can (in some cases) cause the fuse to blow in the camera. Good luck.

"Try some of Jerry Hill's 2-N-1 motor mounts. Or if using 16mm or video cameras fit lightweight matte box rods to the camera body. Careful with Aaton screw ones though if using a Preston, the motors are capable of unscrewing them." Second on the Hill stuff. I almost never mount motors from the dovetail plate, etc. It will cost you a small fortune, but Jerry's line of products will give you a diverse way of attaching motors to a secure place on the camera body. His Panavision mount is especially great, although it loses some of its flexibility when mounted to something other than a LW. As for the Aaton rods? I eventually bought a dob-leg that is the correct spacing for these rods so they can't spin.

Brett, "I would assume that the small Miranda fits on just like on the Sony?" NO!!!!! If you are talking about the RGB downconverter that sits on the side of the Sony, it will not work. The Varicam is native SDI out, so you need an SDI to NTSC converter. Evertz and AJA make models. Both are reasonably sized, but larger than the Miranda you mention. No fears though, as they Velcro is place nicely, require only two cables (one in and one out). Plus, the Varicam is smaller, shorter, and lighter than the Sony. Also, by having SDI built in, you can give the DP an HD image by running a signal BNC if needed. If you do this and opt to have a lightweight "jumper" BNC between the camera and vest, use 75 Ohm cable and limit yourself to as few elbows and barrels as possible because you can cause signal loss. Good luck.