BJMcDonnell SOC

Hugo, So glad to see you back up on the forum. Im so glad to hear Elizabeth is doing better. BJ

Hey Nikk, Hey dude we all get our slow down times. Even out here in LA where you might think work is outta control, there are times where you sit and wait for a call or you call around looking. It just really depends on what, when, and who is doing something. You might just be in a little dry spell right now. Don't worry though I am sure work is headed yer way. Don't give up or sell the rig. Stick to your guns. I hope the next time you post you are working on something kick ass. Take care. BJ McDonnell P.S. That is me in the Heroes/Villans commercial. Did you laugh at my mullet hairdo?

BJ, I'm not sure your home movies count....... Jim "locking my doors at night" Bartell LOL nice Jim! You know me too well. BJ

Hey Tammy, I do a ton of Slasher flicks so after Mike send my info too. Ive done some pretty crazy films and some which I asked myself the same moral questions. I tend to just remind myself that it is all storytelling and go with that. I love doing horror films though. Always something crazy to see on set and makes the day go by faster. I think if it truely disturbs you then it is always best to pass on it. BJ

Yo dude happy birthday. Hope to see you at cinegear. BJ McDonnell

Nice Ron! You have to wear your Tu Tu. We have not seen you sport that in a long time. Wow this get together is gonna be hilarious. BJ

After about 2 months, a bounced check, tons of calls, and myself going to the office of the ultimate group ready to take a laptop or 2 for collteral, The second check actually cashed. I sure hope the rest of the crew from the video got paid. What a pain in the arse it has been. BJ Ron I hope you got or get your money you deserve.

James we are gonna miss you at Cinegear, Jager bomb for you brutha. Thanks for the props Charles. Gotta say it was the advice you gave me back in the day that got me on my way. Yea Ron you being 60 and me at 40 we are some old farts. Jumbos closed down I heard since you, Brad, and I quit supporting the girls there. Can't wait to see all of you ops at Cinegear. BJ

I believe Saturday night right guys? I won't make it to the Tiffen open house cause I am working late. Bummer. BJ

Ron buddy, we might be getting old but we still party like a 33 year old and I do mean 33!!!! HA HA see you at cinegear you ol fart!

Oh yea Dave, C'mon its a blast! Adreneline and after cinegear drinks! Awesome!

Hey Daniel, Yep, I went down to the office and knocked on the door. I heard them inside and they got real quiet when I knocked. Then I called and they answered and I said, " Hi, its BJ and I hear you inside. I'm right outside the door". The receptionist said,"Oh" and then opened the door. I asked for my check that had been promised to me and she said the accountant wasn't in. I told her I would wait for her in the lobby and the receptionist looked a bit sour. She called the accountant after I told her I would refuse to leave until I had been paid or at least have a new check in hand. The accountant scrambled to get a check together. I have a check now and a attorney and I actually am going to cash the check in about a hour. If they don't cash it then I have to go to court over it. I already have most things in place to take them to court. I will let you guys know what happens. Again, if any of you guys get a call from the ultimate group I would tell them no. OK stay tuned. BJ

I was a bit stoked on the idea of bull riding. Jager bombs, Ron and Brad crunk, and hey this saturday is my birthday! Im going skydiving in the morning then Steadicam cinegear meeting. I can't wait. I always look forward to the after cinegear get togethers. Hey if anyone wants to go skydiving in the morning, let me know. BJ McDonnell

Hey Ron, Im dealing with the same thing right now from a sleeze ball music video group. I hope to go get my cash from them this tuesday since their check bounced 2 months ago. That company is called "The Ultimate Group" so if any of you guys get a call from them stay away! Anyway, here is info I have for you Ron. I hope it helps. This is if you have a bounced check. I don't know if they sent you one or if it is just a invoice you sent to them. Bad Check Program: 1-800-842-0733 da.lacounty.gov/badcheck.htm I don't know if this helps since the payment has to come from New York but hopefully you can call and get info from them to help you out. It is through the district attorneys office. Or you could fly to New York with a base ball bat and handle it that way. BJ McDonnell

yes sometimes it tends to get that nasty smell.

I vote for Lisigav personally. had to say it.

I was thinking the op slipped on some lisagav until Brad brought up his excellent point of the slant. rb Total over use of Lisigav. Poor dude. I hope the chick extra had lisigav too. BJ

For some reason the notion of a low and/or underslung battery and hard-drive is still a bit elusive, although I hope Element Technica is working on this (we talked about it months ago). The RED is a bit on the tall and skinny side to begin with, so having a top-mounted battery is indeed the wrong way to go as Eric suggests. Certainly for handheld and perhaps more subtly for Steadicam, it will be good to get the weight lower. I totally agree with you Charles. If I was doing a job with it I would place the battery lower. Being that we were just doing a test we just had it up there. I will admit I was in a hurry to get home before the 405 got crappy. Those of you who live in LA I'm sure can understand that one.

Hey Philip, My bad it is a aja downconverter. I use the miranda so much it just comes to mind when I think of downconverters. My Bad. BJ

I get using a battery on the red to increase the weight and inertia, but why so high? There really is no reason for the battery so high. We were just doing tests and that is kinda how we configured it. We could have put it on the bottom but we really just wanted to run around with it at Abel Cine. I wouldn't keep the monitor on top either. Im not too picky about battery placement on it. It works fine high or low. Plus we didnt even attach a low mode bracket on it. Like I said, just a test. BJ

I was testing the RED on my rig the other day and I used the motor rods on my PRO plates instead of the 19mm rods on camera. Worked great except for the little monitor on top for the DP to check his playback. I used a onboard battery to power the camera for added back weight and a miranda downconverter. BJ McDonnell

Wow buddy that lisigav has done wonders for your age at 67. Happy birthday bro! I will pour one out for you from my 40! BJ McDonnell

Hey Juan, As I agree it is good to show faces I also think it is very important to show your steadicam moves as well. It might not just be a producer who looks at your reel but a D.P. Mix in both shots with faces and shots that are great moves. Thats awesome your coming to Cinegear again. We will all have to go grab drinks! BJ McDonnell

Hey Juan, You have some great looking shots on the demo reel but I feel like all the effects and split screens take away from the shots and are very distracting. I think if you lost the effects and just showed the shots it would be way more effective. The stuff I can see looks great but the effects are too much. That is just my opinion. Hope you are doing well. You gonna come to Cinegear this year? BJ McDonnell

Well Afton, Looks like Im gonna call the boys and we are all gonna have to go on a hunting safari. Can't take elephants low balling us when the producers call. Im gonna have to call Jon Myers cause he has the big guns to take them down. Ron Baldwin and Brad Grimmet will be in charge of hiring the girls from Jumbos Clown Room. I don't know why we need the jumbos girls but they might just come in handy. BJ McDonnell