ericoh

There's a good documentary called "The Corporation" that talks about the corporate sector and how corporations can be defined as "psychopaths" using the WHO definition of what a psychopath is. An interesting watch. Looks into the mind of the Beast. No, it does not talk about runaway productions.

Hi Mitch, I've tried out his new Lightweight harness about 2 weeks ago. Its got all the same key features as the Deluxe harness (air bladder, memory foam, excellent workmanship, etc.). The harness is overall smaller than the Deluxe and I found that this created some pressure between my shoulder blades when I used the harness with heavier cameras(35mm). I think it would be ideal for a lighter camera such as video cameras but for film uses I still prefer the Deluxe as there is more surface area so the weight/pressure is distributed over a larger area. Other than that, the Lightweight harness felt just as good as the Deluxe. The other major change is also the "door" design. The harness has only one "door" making it easier getting in and out of the harness. Mind you I never had any problems getting in and out of the Deluxe harness. Walter's new Lightweight is very different from the Action Products. Walter's Lightweight is essentially a pared down version of his Deluxe. It is still constructed using the same materials and techniques of the Deluxe. The Action Products version is a non-rigid vest in the sense that they don't use a carbon fiber shell like Walter does.

Hi Matias, Jeremy and I watched your work on "The Nine Queens" just the other week. I had seen it before but didn't realise that you worked on it. Good film with an unexpected ending. Two words: Nice, Nice. :)

Hi Ari, I know that Matt Marek owns the M-One motor. He's incommunicado right now as he is in India doing a work/travel thing otherwise I'd know he would post a response. Anyway, I've seen it and yes it will fit in those tight spots as it is an upright motor and is quite slim in design. Matt speaks very highly of the M-One and has commented several times on how fast and powerful the motor is pulling any lens no matter how tight, with great accuracy. He said it only failed to pull a particularly stiff lens once on a very, very cold Canadian winter night shoot (he was on an exterior night shoot for several nights using the M-One). He did mention that when they tried a Preston, it had just as much difficulty. it was so cold that night that the lens barrel was even difficult to turn by hand!! The M-One has certainly withstood the test of the Great White North. B-b-best w-w-wishes (shiver)

Hi David, The TGV-100 has been discontinued. When I bought mine 2 years ago through Sony Canada, they had just been removed from the stores. I was lucky and managed to order one through the internet. For the last 2 years Jeremy Benning and I have been on the hunt for the TGV-100's. He and I both own 2 clamshells each but we only had one tuner each. Through extensive surfing and hours pouring over Goggle, I found that they were still being sold in some store in Japan. We even spoke to a Sony Canada exec and explained that we need the tuners for professional purposes and although discontinued, were still available in Japan on a limited basis. Although he sympathised, he could not get any from Japan due to trade restrictions on electronics. Finally, about a month and a half ago, a friend of ours was going back to Japan for a holiday, and had agreed that he would bring back these tuners for Jeremy and I. He brought back 2 for me and 2 for Jeremy, and an additional 10 which were snapped up on eBay (Here's one of the auctions http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...tem=3071792474). Anyway, to make a short story even longer, Ko (our friend) has managed to get his brother to buy the last 8 units that are available in Japan. I believe he still has several NTSC units left. The best way is to email Jeremy Benning to inquire about availability. Needless to say it has been a long process to find these and seeing that Ko/Jeremy have the last ones, they probably won't be cheap. I think I've seen them sold for US$400-US$500 on eBay. Good luck.

Hi Joe, I find that the Magliner is great except when you are in an interior or tight space. It's handy to have all those shelves (one or two) but once your rig is built, you really don't have much stuff to cart around. What I use is called the Murphy Cart. Daniel Sauve, and Jeremy Benning are some of the operators using the same cart. It is made by a guy in Toronto by the name of Kevin Murphy he is not an operator (not to be mistaken for veteran Toronto steadicam operator Keith Murphy). I find Kevin's cart to be very sturdy and as they are more "upright" than Magliners, they have a small footprint that will allow you to wheel you rig around tight spaces, and through tight doorways. The cart has shelf/surface to work on, a place for you to hang your vest (front or back-mounted), a hook to hang an arm bag, water bottle holders, and ample storage for batteries and accessories in the base of the cart. Even though the cart sits higher, you can still do your static and dynamic balancng on it. He makes 2 versions. One is completely rigid and welded together, and the other (a little more expensive) is modular and can be dimantled and stored into its own base. Comes with a lid to that latches to the base. Great for shipping. Daniel Sauve used to sell the carts (you can check them out on his website http://www.xsample.ca/danielsauvedesigns/carts.htm) but now if you want one you have to contact Kevin directly. If you are interested, email me and I can give you Kevin's email address. When I was an AC, I found Magliners indespensible. As for a cart that suits the needs of a steadicam operator, I found that the Murphy cart is far superior to the Magliner, even with all of Magliner's steadicam accessories. Also, I believe the Magliner is more expensive than the Murphy cart. The collapsible cart goes for about US$1000 and the rigid version is about US$500-600. Have had mine for over 2 years now and love it. Just my opinion. Best wishes,

Hi, You might find the following info helpful (info from ASC manual & Samuelson's): Camera Weights Panavision Cameras - 24 Vdc (< 20 dBA.) ? Millennium XL 11.8 lbs. (5.36 kg) body only - 23.6 lbs Steadicam mode with short zoom ? Millennium 17.5 lbs. (7.95 kg) body only - 29.12 lbs Steadicam mode with short zoom ? Platinum 20.5 lbs. (9.1 kg) body only ? Platinum Conversion 18.2 lbs. (8.3 kg) body only ? Panaflex Gold 1/2 24.4 lbs. (11.08 kg) body with short eyepiece ? Panaflex Flying X 20.5 lbs. (9.31 kg) body only ? Panastar 24.4 lbs. (11.08 kg) body with short eyepiece ? Panaglide 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) Arriflex Cameras - 24 Vdc ? Arricam ST 11.9 lbs (5.4 kg) body only ? Arricam LT 8.7 lbs (3.95 kg) body only ? 535 A 31.3 lbs (14.19 kg) with empty mag ? 535B 24 lbs (11 kg) with light mag & video top ? 435 14.3 lbs. (6.5 kg) body only ? SL 35 Mark II 5.9 lbs (2.4 kg) body only ? SR3A 15.4 lbs (7 kg) with empty mag ? SR3 14.5 lbs (6.6 kg) with empty mag Arriflex Cameras ? 12Vdc ? BL4s 31.9 lbs (14.47 kg) with empty mag ? BL4 30.9 lbs (14 kg) with empty mag ? BL3 28.7 lbs (13 kg) with empty mag ? BL1& 2 28.5 lbs (12.9 kg) with empty mag ? 35-3 14.8 lbs (6.71 kg) with empty mag ? 35-3C 13.5 lbs (6.12 kg) with empty mag ? 35 -2C 13.5 lbs (6.12 kg) with empty mag ? SR1& 2 11.02 lbs (4.99kg) with empty mag Moviecam - 24 Vdc ? Super America 29 lbs (13.2 kg) with 500? of film & 50mm lens ? Compact 13.1 lbs (6.3 kg) body only ? SL 8.25 lbs (3.7 kg) body only However, heed what Mitch said in regards to weight distribution. Good luck.

The company is called Eye Motion and they are based in a suburb of Toronto. It seems that they not only sell "steadicams" made by Basson but also operates it. If you look at his other web pages, he is charging $750/12 hr for the operator's rate and $800/12hr for the gear rentals!! That's close to what an experienced steadicam operator with a full size 35mm rig (Tiffen, PRO, XCS, MK-V, etc), Preston, video transmitter, and accessories would charge on a commercial!! <_<

That's a good one charles. Will have to try that out the next time a director puts his hand on my post! :P (After I've lifted his wallet of course)

Hey guys, Can I get in on this action? After all, my fianceé is Dutch. Makes me honourary Dutch, no? ;)

I'm for breaking down the different rig makers as opposed to just one section for all rigs. As Erwin says, makes it easier to reference... My nickel's worth(inflation). :)

It took one company close to a year to pay me and my crew for a music video we shot for them. I was DP/Steadicam on it and none of my crew got paid (AC's, Grips, Electrics). Everytime I called, I would get the usual "we are sending the cheques out right now" routine. They would ask for my address evertime I called but no cheque would ever arrive. We tried sending them letters but to no avail. We finally went down to the office en masse, and said that we were not leaving until we were compensated. The office manager threatened calling the police but we were nt intimidated by this as we weren't doing anything illegal or threatening. We all got paid the next day (accountant had left that day) PLUS the production added a little something to "compensate for the hassle". Needless to say that company is now defunct.

Hi, Drop time varies for each operator. Most of the time I use a 3 second drop time. It works for most situations but I have had to reduce my drop time to 2-2.5 for certain situations (wind - I don't have gyros). However, I have also used a 4 second drop time. The rig will have a tendency to float more and therefore harder to keep your horizons but I find that it also makes the rig more responsive and "quicker". It takes a bit of practice but it is do-able.

Walter has recently developed a slightly lighter harness with the same features of the "deluxe". Slightly cheaper than the deluxe Klassen Vest from what I understand. I'm test flying it this weekend on a music video...

Hi Mark, You can try searching through eBay. They sometimes have a mini, or alternatively a Glidecam or Hollywood lite. Howard's Mk-V site has a second hand listing that sometimes has small "pro-sumer" rigs. http://www.mk-v.com/steadicam_for_sale/sec...dicam_sales.htm Hope this helps. Good luck.

Hear, hear. I'm with you on that, Erwin. :)

I have to agree with Peter in wishing ALL film people EVERYWHERE success for this year and the years to come... Now let me pose this question and forgive me if this sounds naive. Isn't "Film" an industry/business? Saying that, haven't American corporations been taking their manufacturing industries out of America so that their citizens can get their manufactured goods at the lowest possible prices? How many boycott Nike or Ralph Lauren because their manufacturing plants are in other countries like China, Mexico, Malaysia, or Vietnam? The way I see it, filmmaking during the production phase can be equated to the manufacturing of a product... How about all the runaway productions going to South Africa, Prague, Argentina, Brazil, etc? I understand the need to preserve the film industry in the US but laying all the blame on Canada for runaway productions just seems a little unfair. Just my 2¢.

Once again, the tools get the blame. Isn't there a saying about a good workman never blaming his tools..? :) At any rate, although I upgraded to a preston, I think Jim makes an outstanding product and I still speak highly his FF system.

Before getting into Steadicam just over 2 years ago, I was a camera assistant for 8 years, the last 4 years of which I was a 1st AC. I definitely understand how crucial focus is... I remember many years ago pulling for Jeremy Benning on a low budget video with the old Seitz WRC (back when Jeremy first started steadicam 7 years ago). Often, the motor would move seconds after the pull was made. You almost could anticipate when it was going to fail... When I first got my package, I started out with the Heden M28VP and a Bartech. I however was one of the unlucky ones that could not seem to get them to work together. I was experiencing drift when pulling towards close focus and only on certain kinds of lenses (Cooke S4's, & Ultra primes were ok, but not Arri high speeds). After several posts on the forum, I turned to the manufacturers for help. Heden was kind enough to send me another M28VP but to no avail. I still had the same problems. I then turned to Jim and helpful as he was we could not seem to find a solution. They were both understanding of my plight and agreed to give me a full refund. I subsequently bit the bullet, drummed up another loan, and bought a Preston. During the period when I was having problems with focus, the assistants at the time were actually quite understanding and did not make a big deal of it. It happened on 3 separate shoots with 3 different pullers, all very experienced Firsts. They kept quiet about it and even when there was a buzz, they just excused themselves and said that they needed another. They did not blame me or my equipment. Maybe its because I was a puller before, but I think all it comes down to is a certain amount of professionalism and having the integrity to not to blame the people you work with in order to exonerate yourself. I know that there are always exceptions to the rule but I've always felt that "I watch your back, you'll watch mine" kind of attitude promoted comraderie. Peace to all, Eric Oh