JakePollock

i've been flying the ultra from a rental house for a while and had gotten pretty spoiled by the simplicity of one brick on the sled... ...but now i'm starting to fly an artemis which uses the three brick system. the rental house (different from the one with the ultra) bought some chinese 14.4v v-lock li-on batteries. but when fully charged, they're really 16v. combined to give 24, they're really giving 32v which is more than the sr3 can handle. and when we tried hooking up the 435, we had no problems with power to the camera, but couldn't get the tap to work as the voltage was too hot. any ideas on how to solve this problem? are there 12v v-lock batteries in the market? and for those with proformers or hytron 50's, when fully charged are you getting 14.4 or above? the other odd thing about the artemis donkey box is that even when hooked up to both bricks, we get 24v (in reality 32) only through the camera power. all the accessory ports read 12 (15v). currently the rental house hasn't bought a wireless focus system, but aren't most systems 24v? and what about wireless video? the box has two ports for camera power, but i don't know if there are amperage issues with running everything off the cam power port. cheers, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

one of the rental houses here in taiwan has recently bought a sachtler artemis and i was the first to take it out on a job. being used to the ultra and then flying a very old 3A in beijing last november, i was pleasantly surprised by the artemis. anyway at the end of each day, the in-house assistant insisted on loosening the springs in the arm to the lowest tension point. since it's a rental item, i'm somewhat obliged to defer to their judgement. however, i'm curious if there is any real significant effect on spring longevity by releasing the tension. obviously even at the lowest tension point, it's still set for a minimum weight, so it's not like zero-ing out a fluid head at the end of the day. right? wrong? cheers, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

rock on rob! sorry i wasn't able to hook up with you in january. traveling with my girlfriend and jumping back and forth on day trips out of bangkok. will most likely make another visa jaunt in march. if so, i'd still love to hook up for a beer... and maybe a peek at that tilting stage of yours. cheers, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

rob, i was shooting a hell job on sunday and only found out about the devastation late last night. glad to hear that you're ok. i'll actually be going to thailand next month; if you're free maybe we can hook up for a beer. be interested in learning more about the scene out there. also, any contact info for the labs there? i'd also like to visit them. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

ya definitely gotta hook up with louis and james puli (father and son duo). louis was one of my instructors there and he's a great dude! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

the other thing is that even if i did have my own camera, the rate would certainly include the inclusion of such a significant difference in gear! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

just finished dp'ing a short (all on the 85mm by the way) with one day of steadicam. normally i fly a rented ultra, but the sled is down for repairs, so we used the msb back-up sled with the ultra arm. originally i added extra weight to the bottom of the sled to help balance the 535 in it's full glory (no light weight mags and no chance of removing the eyepiece in taiwan), but once i mounted the sled onto the arm, i had a dickens of a time trying to set up the arm. first, the arm was previously set for a very low weight, so the assistant and ac had to help me hold the rig up to get the arm to sit in the sweet spot. i dialed in the forearm without any problems, but for the life of me couldn't get the back section of the arm (bicep?) to take the weight. i know the 535 is a heavy mother and all but it should still be within range of the arm (and since the msb is a lighter sled and we were using wired focus control, the overall weight of the sled was still reasonable). so i would venture to say that the back section's adjustment screw is stripped? and another question: what would you have done? you're on set; the arm is screwed and won't adjust properly. have you ever been in that position? how did you get the shot? i took the extra weight off the bottom of the sled which helped with the arm; however it was still far from being ideally adjusted. even worse, though was that with so much weight on top i couldn't get the rig to really adjust properly. i was dealing with almost reverse drop time. moral of the story was that operating such a poorly set-up rig was a real drag. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

i recommend you search the archives for tilting heads. currently the ultra cine has a built-in tilting head; however, those of us without ultras would be interested in seeing a light-weight tilting head that could be added to older rigs but not interfere with the top stage. let us know if you come up with anything fun. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

right on mate! we, the class of 2004, raise a glass in your honor! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

matt, have you talked to phil or louis for advice? i'm sure mr. balsdon would have an idea of what to do. jake pollock

david, you're absolutely right, my name isn't chinese. i'm an american living and working in taiwan. sorry, i've heard your name a few times here and some how assumed you were over in hong kong. how's the work in singapore? but more importantly, when are you going to get and AR?! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

toby, another thing to consider and suggest to the director is changing size throughout the circle. more like an ellipse, or do a perfect circle- but with the actor not at the centerpoint. then you can worry less about being so exact and give a more dynamic move. since you mentioned that the aim of the shot is to suggest a change in the character, this kind of move may be more dramatic. and the editor could choose to dissolve between the shots either when you are closer or farther away. the impact of the shot would be quite different. hell, maybe you guys could try both ways and see what the director likes better in post? jake pollock taipei, taiwan

i had never seen e.r. until i moved out here to taiwan. i saw the first series for sale on dvd and figured, what the hell... if nothing else, it'd make a good steadicam reference to show directors here. i was totally blown away by some of those oners in the second half of the series. and the frequent mention of guy bee's name in both the first and second series' behind the scenes docs was a great and well deserved nod. but the thing that really got me was that my girlfriend never noticed how the camera didn't cut. she was just totally swept up, trying to pay attention to the characters and the story. and, on one level, that's what moving the camera is all about. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

david, i'm glad to hear that someone from this side of the world has seen it. for a while i was imagining that it'd take another five years before the alien got to asia. buy it, man. i'm sure there are some hong kong filmmakers who would come up with some very interesting shots for you to pull off! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

rob, glad to hear that the insurance is covered! what about the mystery bolts? did you ever figure out why they busted so quickly on you? jake pollock taipei, taiwan

nice lookin' rig rob. dig the new dv cage; much sexier than your old concrete block of doom. so how is the work out there in thailand? enough for your to need a second running rig i hope. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

i posted this last week before our visit from the neighborhood hackerman... looking to buy my own rig and of course want to insure it. i've looked in the archives and already gotten some valuable info; however, i live in taiwan, so i'm not sure if anyone has any input into american or european companies that are willing to insure equipment that's working abroad. rob van gelder wrote me saying that his insurance was started in europe and is carried over to thailand. my situation is slightly different as i'll be buying the rig while already established in a foreign country. if any of you guys/gals know of a company or are currently using a company that can insure me out here in taiwan, i'd really appreciate it. taiwanese companies don't insure film gear period, so that's not an option either. one company that i've found from the archives is wp dolle. i've written them directly to find out if they'll insure me. anyone other than david allen grove under their coverage? thoughts? thanks, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

marcelo, go to a workshop dude! they'll definitely address falls; if not, you can ask. they'll even tell you about ways to deal with a fall. look, if you fall, chances are either you will get hurt or the rig will get damaged. the only way for that not to happen is if someone else breaks your fall, in which case they would get hurt. if you're going to fall, the best way not to damage the rig is to fall on your back; but remember, those 50+ pounds of love are going to crash hard on you, unless you can really muscle it down gently. if you fall forward, the rig WILL get damaged! it's happened to me, it sucked, i was lucky. the steadicam was basically ok; the lens was ok, but the port was knocked out of collumnation; the mag popped open and some film was flashed; the worst damage was to the viewfinder. it got bent up and a small mirror inside got chipped. end result: a few thousand dollars of damage. incredibly lucky by worst case scenario comparisons. the other two things that made that fall "lucky:" 1. no one got hurt. 2. i stayed calm and focused, got up, addressed the damage with the assistants and addressed how to make the shot work with the d.p. and the director. we kept shooting. very little time was lost. at the end of the day, the director and d.p. were happy. it's good that you're asking about falls because it's a real risk in our field. however, most falls could probably be avoided. most times, they can be avoided by not letting production make you do something you're not ready or not comfortable doing. learn how to assess those situations, it will make you a more respect-worthy operator. the thing to do is to first sit down and think about and understand how the rig works, learn about body posture and how the rig can get too far away from you. by understanding how a fall can happen, you can train yourself to operate in a way that will better avoid those situations. it's often about footwork, body posture, and calm. most importantly, stay calm and focused. you'll operate better and you'll correct yourself quicker if you do stumble. in my case, i was doing a frontal run, chasing an actor. i remember learning at the workshops that when you run like that, your body tends to lean forward a little, which will force the rig farther away from you; most op's will adjust the arm to keep the rig closer than usual to compensate for this fact, while others manage to run with straight-bent posture. anyway, i had practiced running several times before going out on a gig, but had never practiced chasing anyone: the two are remarkably different! end result: i ran faster than i should have, worse, i was leaning into the run, the rig got so far ahead of me that it basically pulled me off my feet. the lucky thing was that i wasn't going faster. there wasn't enough time to stop the fall from happening, but i still managed to fall slowly. as happened to a buddy of mine, he didn't fall, but came damn close. he was in a field, i can't remember if he was running or walking, but he discovered a root sticking out of the ground at the worst posssible moment: while shooting in the rig. another thing you'll learn at the workshop is how to handle different ground conditions. wet pavement is different than dry pavement and should be approached carefully. mud, sand, rocky/uneven ground, roots in forests/fields. before the shot, you should be out there inspecting the ground conditions. what can you move to make it safer for you and the actor? what spots must be avoided (another real concern when shooting off vehicles)? where are the areas where you know the shot can be done, but you'd feel safer with a spotter? think ahead, envision the risk factors before you suit up. again, it will only make you a more respectable operator. but lastly, and again a good reason to go to a workshop, if your first question as a new operator is about falling, my question for you: should you be operating? being a good operator often means doing some incredible shots: stepping onto/off of cranes/dollies/vehicles, shooting off vehicles, running through crazy places, running up/down stairs. all of these are risky moves, but are skills expected of even an average operator. are you comfortable with taking on that kind of risk? if not, don't. if you fear the gear, the gear will get you. cheers, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

right on, right on! sounds like a very rewarding experience; can sense the how stoked you were from your post. i'm particularly impressed with how quickly you were able to nail each shot. being fast and helping production save money are two great assets to have, especially with so much talk about productions skimping out on steadicam rates. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

so i know there are a few different pitches of lens gears, but how do you know which lenses use which pitch? 32, 48, 64? i've found info on the cooke s4's but can't seem to find the numbers for ultra primes. any help would be much appreciated. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

been noticing on the forum that some dudes are operating with their whole hand on the gimbal, which is different than what we're taught at the workshops. some have mentioned having better control. also noticed on some "behind the scenes" sequences, other ops doing the same thing, so i thought i'd start this poll. would also be curious to know, for those who operate full-fisted, do you find it difficult to maintain that "light" touch that you get with the two-fingered technique? and for those who operate with two-fingers on the gimbal, do you find difficulty with vehicle mounts or other higher-than-normal-inertial situations? what about whip pans and mega-tilts? thanks to those who respond. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

raymond, here is a pic from the australia workshop. hope it helps. the yellow runner in the back had a carabiner to clip the operator in (with a climbing harness). personally, i felt this set up was limiting because the garfield mount was on one side, thereby limiting the swing of the arm to 90 degrees. it also made it difficult to shoot good profiles toward the right. however, the picture might give you ideas of how to rig the cart. by the way, the rig is a combination of aluminum speed rail and steel pipe. so you could probably put the rig together yourself if you had to. if you want more pics, email me. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

can we get that made into a t-shirt?! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

the most important advice anyone can give you in this business is to "get out there." find out where a movie is being shot, go there, hang out. find the camera crew, tell them who you are, and ask if you can hang out and watch. if there's down time, you can ask them some questions, but don't bug them or they'll never want you back! additionally, the workshop can kill so many birds with one stone: learn more about the rigs, learn some fundamentals of operating, and meet people. i'll tell you, i was nervous about spending all that money for just five days (including airfare to australia and hotels) and i've already got 10 years experience in this business. but by the end of the first day, it was apparent that i'd made the best investment of my life with that money. my only regret was not having done it five years earlier when the notion first entered my brain. and don't worry that you don't have any film experience. at the workshop i went to, there was a college kid who was also new to the business. he'd never been on a real set or had his hands on a film camera, but he'd already made a bunch of little shorts with his video camera. during breaks and meals, he was talking to everybody-- picking our brains about all sorts of technical stuff. point being, by the end of the workshop, he had offers from some of the other aussies to come and hang out on their sets in the future. so you want to meet people and get on sets? you can totally hook that up by going to a workshop; not only that, but the other students will realize how committed you are to the process. the other thing, don't be discouraged by the daunting committment you're about to embark on. there's no reason why you can't try to work with your xl, earn some cash to support yourself, and slowly expand your skills. shooting video is a great way to get started, but there are so many fundamentals to being a film cameraman. it's really a lifelong learning curve, but damn good fun. as far as building your own rig, i think everyone on this forum can sense your itchy fingers, dude. how many prototypes do you want to build? and if each one is the cost of a workshop, why not go to the workshop first and know that your first prototype would probably come out better than the first two if you hadn't gone to a workshop? in the end, you'll only be saving yourself time and money. however, you could still try to build some accessories. learn about the various cables needed for steadicam and build a few. why not try to sell them to some local ops? or even work out some sort of deal where you sell the cables at cost and they let you practice on their rigs? learn about low-mode brackets... tilting heads... transmitters/receivers/shark-fin antennas... there's always going to be a market for steadicam accessories. hell, you could even try to apprentice at some of the supply houses in your area. put the engineering background to good use, get some hands-on experience, meet people, make a few bucks. could be a better way to break in than shooting some local bands on miniDV. cheers, jake pollock

Larry, thanks for your input. i'll test the cables at the rental house tomorrow, but even if there's an issue, we can still use separate batteries. as far as the lens motors, the rental house engineered their own mounting plate with a screw on adaptor for 15mm rods (most likely a taiwanese "borrowing" of the tiffen adaptor). i've got my own steel practice cage which i'll probably strip down and use to add a little ballast. another option i'm considering is using the ultra with an msb arm (taiwan only has those two kinds of steadicams). the real kicker, though, is the production company themselves. for whatever reason in the past, they weren't able to use their camera on a steadicam (could've been the msb, but still should've been ok, right?) and now they're so certain that it can't be done. so certain, in fact, that they're not willing to let me take it to the rental house to test out unless i call the rental house and get to the bottom of whatever problem they faced who knows how many years ago. so, if anyone can think of any possible issues, please let me know. i'd be happy to shoot this thing handheld or get them to rent an SR, but it's a real drag spending my all of my free time trying to convince this director that whatever problems they had in the past can't be worked out this time around. jake pollock taipei, taiwan