JakePollock

it's the newer ultra with two lemos in back. i know that the rental house has a three pin male on one cable and a two pin male on one cable, so i presume the two pin is for 12v and the three pin is for 24v. since the camera is the production company's, i'm sure they'd be willing to lend it to me for a test. however, are there any other issues that people have run into with flying an a-minima? thanks, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

curious to know, if you're using a universal low-mode cage, how do you go about mounting all your lens motors? do you have to add a bridgeplate, or is there some james bond manuveur that i'm missing? jake pollock taipei, taiwan

Prepping a music video for next week and the production company wants to use their own a-minima; however, they had a bad experience trying to fly it on a steadicam in the past. I've tried to think over why it wouldn't be possible and am coming up blank. obviously, weight is an issue, but nothing a few diving weights couldn't handle. am i missing something? the only thing i can think of is if the steadicam rental house doesn't have the proper cables to power the camera, but even if we used accessory batteries that would be fine, right? wouldn't that help add much needed ballast to the rig? which leads me to another question, if i may. can the ultra power 12v and 24v gear at the same time? 12v camera; 24v preston? thanks as always! jake pollock taipei, taiwan

by the way, i just got back from the camera rental house. the test footage on the mag will come back tomorrow. the mag popped open on impact so about 200' was fogged, but the rental house isn't worried. the main issue is the viewfinder which they feel confident they can fix locally. if so, damage should be very inexpensive (a relative issue in this biz). talked to the d.p. and they were very happy at the t.c., so i'd have to say that for experiencing this kind of thing, i was very very lucky. and for any new op's who might be reading this, please learn from my mistake. remember that many directors you will work with are also inexperienced at steadicam. they may be intimidated by you and your rig. don't push it and be an asshole, but don't be afraid to use that intimidation to your advantage. if you handle this kind of situation properly, they will most likely respect you even more. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

guys, thanks for all the support and advice. yes, it was my first day on a job, but i've been practicing regularly for almost 6 months: doing everything i can, including running. as far as my inexperience goes, i'd say i had more of an issue with handling the ad than with handling the rig. and i don't think that problem is exclusive to first-time ops. not that that constitutes a proper excuse or anything. as far as hand placement questions, i'll take the fifth. i might add that the shot involved a boom, a whip pan, and many other framing adjustments; if there was anyway to do it no-handed, i'd love to hear it... and as will said, they call it the "point of no return" for a reason. once the rig was out too far, i couldn't run fast enough to keep up with it, nor could i yank it back. maybe with more experience, i would've handled the situation differently. but than again, with more experience i would've been more adamant about walk throughs. the fact that the extras didn't even realize that i would be following after the main talent hints that there were greater safety issues than a newbie flying the rig. once the fall was "out of the way" i approached the arm set-up in a whole new way. i gave it a full turn extra to keep it a little closer to my body. for walking with my back slightly leaned back, that would've been more tiring since i would have to constantly push the rig to the sweet spot. but for running at even 60%, i find i lean in a little more. having the arm re-adjusted for my body helped keep everything honkey dorey. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

hey guys, so just did my first steadicam gig, and after trying to pitch it on so many tape jobs, it turned out to be a 35mm gatorade-like drink commercial. ran all day in the hot, taiwanese sun (with absolutely no sleep the night before). everyone kept coming up to me and saying what a tough job i had, but i would just laugh and point to the dude in the eskimo suit... (oh, how long i've waited to use that line!) ...the funniest thing would probably have to be adding movie sweat to the eskimo dude, who must've lost a few pounds under the tropical sun. ...and of course the worst part would have to be the "camera fall down go boom" part during the first shot... i kept pleading with the production to give me a half speed rehearsal and in their infinite wisdom, they decided to ignore me and just start shooting the rehearsals at full speed. -take one: two extras seperate for the actor to pass through and rejoin just in time to almost get beaned by the fat, white man running after the actor (fat white man= me). -take two: extras seperate just fine, actor runs fast, so do i. but not as fast as the rig. i had the arm's drift adjusted for normal walking mode, so, when running at 90%, it didn't take much for it to drift out beyond my control. next thing i knew i pulled off a very exciting whip tilt from the actor to a splendid close up of concrete. thank god for the rubber 3x3 matte box and the excessiveness of arri-german metal. the steadicam fared well, i fared well, and so did most of the camera. with the exception of a bent plate at the prism split point of the swing-over viewfinder. --just goes to show how easy it is to be as retarded as the a.d. and how that should never happen when you're flying any rig. what i should of done, of course, is let them roll film without asking me and let the eskimo run his fat ass off and just stand as still as an igloo till they gave me my half-speed rehearsal. -by the way, after the ecu on concrete, the a.d. started singing the virtues of half-speed rehearsals (and walkthroughs without the rig). suprising how some people need the destruction of expensive machinery to finally learn their lessons. the d.p. and i just shook our heads and were happy that nobody got hurt. on another note, i talked to the director later that day; turned out this was his first directing gig with the steadicam, but that he'd previously been on many taiwanese sets where they had used steadicam. anyways, he noted that all the prior operators he'd been around were not familiar enough with the rig to really use it properly. eventhough it was my first "gig in the rig," the director felt i had a real command of the rig... ...and i could only be that comfortable with the rig after getting such great advice and input from this forum. wish i'd been more mindful of all the horror stories and of course wish i wasn't here sharing a horror story of my own. p.s. gotta love the tilt head on the ultra. constantly tweaked the tilt between takes and reset balance without anyone batting an eye. great stuff. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

Just checked out the Klassen FX site and after looking at pictures of the vest, I'm curious to know if there's still a quick release built into the vest (like on all front mounted vests)? I know it's one of those weird safety features that hopefully no body has ever needed; but it also seems like a nice piece of mind. Any thoughts? Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

I'd guess you made a pretty interesting sound yourself when that titanium snapped! Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

Thanks for all the input my brothers in arms! As to Efletcher's response, I've gotta say "village" isn't a word I've heard since I moved out to Taiwan two years ago; yes, we've got HD and all sorts of expensive toys, but we don't have any on-set engineers/techs to monkey around with the video. Plus side: nobody getting in your hair about all that technical hoo-hah. Down side: nobody to back you up with all the bells and whistles HD can supposedly offer. My original inquiry is in regards to a low-budget feature that I'll be dp'ing/operating. Since all the gear is rented, I'll have to get with the rental house and make sure they can supply an onboard downconverter (and not some monstrous behemouth that requires wall power!) On the offhand chance that a new downconverter will be required, which would you guys recommend? Thanks again, Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

Curious if any of you have flown the Panasonic Varicam with the Ultrabrite HD LCD monitor? I don't know if the monitor has different input options, but I've been told from the rental houses that there will be compatibility issues with this setup. Somehow, the Sony 900 uses a different method for video out and that the monitor is setup to work with the Sony only. What's up? Is this just a bunch of b.s. from competing rental houses? (the rental house with the Ultra is in bed with a rental house that only carries Sonys) As far as I know, nobody in Taiwan has flown the Panasonic on the Ultra, so I'm not sure if anyone here knows what they're talking about. Would appreciate any input in the matter. Thanks, Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

does that also work with producers? i know more than a few who would benefit from some serious thermo-forming! the rigs i use are not mine. they belong to a rental house (an ultra and an msb). the msb vest could defenitely use some tweaking. i'll recommend this to them-along with re-tuning the msb arm to accomodate heavier rigs (in reference to a previous post). jake pollock taipei, taiwan

what kind of arm do you have? you may be able to adjust it just right for the weight of your rig. otherwise, you could experiment with adding weight to the rig to compensate (not ideal). being balanced in every conceivable way makes operating SO much easier. the other thing, is that it could be a question of posture. if your bending back, or doing something off, when you step it would affect the rig. again, posture is critical to good operating and to maintaining your back. and as far as your question of marching steps/footwork, one of my instructors Louis Puli did more of a side step. try experimenting with body position in relation to the rig. don't face completely forward (to your direction of travel) and don't face completely sideways. find the sweet spot in the middle. it will orient you to the rig as if she's your dancing partner. once you find the right orientation, your footwork will probably come more naturally. as you try different orientations, constantly be mindful of your back. is it straight? what if your back is completely erect and bent slightly back. does that feel more comfortable? with each combination of posture/orientation/footwork, try pushing off. push the rig out ever so slightly before you start to step. find which way is the most comfortable for you (there WILL be one way that feels noticeably more comfortable) and which is the smoothest. once you have that, stepping deliberately will not translate as much to the rig (as long as your left hand is not too strong on the sled). the other thing to learn with the left hand is to experiment with starting a walk (rob van gelder's suggestion of the cross hairs on the wall is ideal) and letting go of your left hand. watch how little the sled sways. it may pan a little, but if the rig is properly balanced, that's all it will do. now put your left hand back on the sled (thumb and index finger only) and see if the rig is as stable as before? ideally, it should be the same. the great thing of having your own rig, is that you can practice all the time. and when you practice, experiment. after all, this thing didn't come with it's own manual when garret first designed it. like two-handed operating; that wasn't an automatic with the first rig. all of these techniques came from experienced operators experimenting and experimenting. jake "wish i had my own rig to monkey with" pollock taipei, taiwan

Hell, if I had warning enough, I might even want to fly in from Taiwan. If for nothing else, I've got to meet the cast of characters in the stormiest drama of 2004! To all involved, I salute your tenacity (even you Steve: with all said and done, you stuck by your guns until you were made to see how it could damage you). And for all the other members to stand by John and help him get this resolved, it just goes to show what a strong community Steadicam Operators are. Rock on! Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

Michael, Since you're waiting to do the workshop, why not try to look up some operators in your area? If they'd let you just hang out with them on set, you could at least watch them fly live. Two things I really took from the workshop (on top of about 10,000,000 other totally useful tips) was using the least pressure possible with your left hand and posture. Flying properly has so much to do with setting up the rig correctly and going about the physicality in the right way, too. I remember on day 1 and 2 constantly torquing my back to get the rig lower. My posture was all about hand-held techniques and I had to re-learn to keep my body super straight and push to rig to get the camera where I wanted. And the left hand, man there really is no way for it to be too light (except with vehicles, etc.) But, yeah, if there's anyway to spend time with an operator before the workshop, you'll A: keep yourself from learning bad habits and B: be way ahead of the game by workshop time. End result: you'll get even more out of it than the average bear. Jake "no operators to steal/learn from in my neck of the woods" Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

Leigh, Good to see you on the forum. How's work going? Did you get that reality show you were up for at the time of our workshop? Thanks again for helping us out, dude! Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

I actually think we should all take time out and thank Steve for this ridiculous thread: as a result, I'm sure readership on the forum has reached an all time high. Like Will, I've been following this thread (and David's Poll thread) several times a day. Justifying your right to stack votes in your favor... where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, Bush vs. Gore and the recent elections in Taiwan! We should also thank Steve for thoroughly discrediting himself as a businessman; but, Steve, you did it with such panache that Im sure we'll all be laughing when we think of your name (except probably John). Really, isn't good customer service integral in any business, especially such a niche market as Steadicam? But the last thing I really want to thank Steve for is the use of "CHECKMATE" to wrap up his own delusional tirade against himself. I'll be laughing about that one for weeks. Really, why don't we use Ron Baldwin's $300 dollar donation to the Guild to make this guy a trophy? I'm sure it'd be the last time any one of us ever gave this guy anything. Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

hear you on the wonky front-heavy (exacerbated by the anamorphic lenses no doubt) and the strain from that big "sail" but do you remember the make of the light? i'm pretty sure that's the same ring light i saw on some pictures of erwin's at the steadicenter site. just curious. cheers, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

so how heavy was that ring lite? it looks like it couldn't be that bad.

Erwin or anyone else in the "know," I saw a picture at the steadicenter.com site of a ring-light mounted on a 435. Do you remember what kind it is and where you rented it from? Or is it yours? Thanks in advance. I went to the same machinist here in Taiwan who made my practice cage, and he wants about 800 bucks to build an aluminum ring-light. Seems pretty f-ed up to me. Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

Still new to steadicam, but thought I'd throw in my two bits. WATER! It's all about keeping hydrated. One thing I learned backpacking a few years ago is to thoroughly hydrate yourself BEFORE you go out and kick your own ass. Whenever I go running (5 miles) I always drink an entire 1L nalgene bottle full of water. I find that when I do, I don't have to drink as much while I run and that afterwards, I don't cramp up at all. Of course, I stretch before and after. I know it's not always convenient to drink that much water on set; mostly because of the after effects of so much water consumption, but it's still a great way to keep the body healthy. jake pollock taipei, taiwan

so i'm working with this ultra and it's sexy and all that. not sure the model number, but it's got a fancy lcd monitor with all sorts of bells and whistles. the electronic level works great when it's in regular mode, but when i go into low-mode (spinning the monitor to keep it upright) the level goes all kablooey. ie: the lines only line up when the sled is on an angle that could only be called level by one of those dudes in the old v8 tomato juice ads. any thoughts my friends? jake pollock taipei, taiwan

Tom, It's great that you've gotten a reel together; even better is your willingness to share it with us... and demand feedback. i won't bother commenting on the headroom issues as that's already been well critiqued. as for which shots to cut out and which ones to start with, the choice is yours. be critical of yourself. what would you like to show people? the reel is there to represent you, so don't put in everything you've done; put the things that represent you. you have one a few shots that move from a hallway into a daylight kitchen? that was a nice shot. i don't think you need so many shots of people with guns, unless you really want to go for gangsta rap videos. the other thing to keep in mind is who your audience is. yeah, you're showing it to fellow operators who will be more critical of off-level and bad beginnings of moves; but your real audience are people who are very concerned with composition and story telling. they might also be people who don't entirely understand what steadicam is good at. and what it's bad at. there was a shot of a black guy who's just shot a white guy. he runs away from and you push into the dead guy. no fault of yours, but the shot would've been a lot better as a dolly, no? i'd try to keep those kinds of shots to a minimum. take her easy, jake pollock taipei, taiwan

Sorry, there was a typo. It's the Ultra not the Ultimate. Been visiting too many sites and reading about too much gear! And to re-iterate: I'm not the one docking it with the gimbal! Don't want a bad reputation to start when I haven't even flown on set. I'm just curious about other's opinions on what seems like poor common sense. Jake Pollock Taipei, Tawain.

Practicing on an Ultimate from a rental house here in Taiwan. And when I went to go into low mode (with the f bracket) I discovered that they're relying on those tiny set screws to keep the f-bracket from sliding down the 12 inch arm post. The in-house operator (who operates goofy in case edwin is still workin' on that poll) said that once the screw goes into that spiral thread on the outside of the post, it won't break. That it's too short to break... Seems very trusting to me. Don't know what the experts have to say. I know Louis Puli in Melbourne uses a collar that he bolts onto the post to add extra security. However, I've been unable to track down those collars here. If anyone knows of a website to get some, I'd be grateful. Of course the irony is that most of that stuff is made in Taiwan but can't be found for sale here. Other question: Low-mode docking? These guys don't have or have misplaced the second docking collar for use in low-mode. They complain that it's a pain to mount because with the telescoping sled it gets in the way of the monitor. The in-house dude says he docks it using the upside down gimbal to hold the sled in place on the docking bracket. I don't know... something seems warped about this way of treating such an expensive and integral element of successful operating. Again, wondering about the experts? Thanks to all the cool dudes and dudettes for sharing their opinions. Jake Pollock Taipei, Taiwan

jesus christ phil, that sucks! i hope chetak can help you track down the bastard. jake pollock taipei, taiwan