Howard J Smith

Hi Afton Sorry we were moving servers (so we can have a lot more info and video on the site) and it should of been a seamless swap - sadly not. All emails are back up (they were off for 36 hours!!) howard@mk-v.com etc. I look forward to hearing from you and sorry for the hassel. I look forward to quoting you. :D Take care Howard J Smith MK-V Ps if you ever can not get through for what ever reason please try howard@mk-v-usa.com thanks H

Hi Guys I agree with the other points. I would say a big mistake that I see a lot of, is standing around with the kit on for want of a better word 'posing' and by the time they want to shoot they are worn out. My personal fav. is knocking the directors teeth out with a swinging arm - see above - this happened (thankfully not to me) Also NEVER do a running shot without checking the route first WITHOUT the kit - I have seen people go down on a patch of oil, or a pot hole. Fly safe - enjoy and remember the best word you can say is "no" if you are not sure, better that, than hurting your slef and smashing all the kit... Take care Howard

Hi Guys I agree with all those shots. Larry's shot in "kill Bill 1" - perfect. Also I have just seen "Serenity" - very good opening shot, the whole ship and all the cast - impressive. Mark Emery-Moore (he also did the great shot in Outbreak) There was a thread a few years ago re this subject, but it is always good to see new shots and get new ops thoughts. Take care Howard

Hi Nils The Boxx system is very interesting as you can have upto 6 cameras on the same set with multi recivers and also link straight to web so the video assist can be viewed anywhere in the world. The delay is 10 frames at the moment and they also do a box for the sound so when watching with headphones all is in sync. The picture is stunning and the unit very light weight. Plus it now has a 4 pin 0b lemo for power and video. Hope this helps Cheers Howard

Hi Guys The company you are after is "The Boxx" - www.the-boxx.tv If you are in the UK/Europe then you need Scott Walker or in the US Mark Walker at the Boxx in LA. Thanks again chaps for letting us share you stand at IBC. If anyone would like more info please email the guys above or myslef. Take care Howard MK-V

Hi Imran - chaps As Alec and Chip have said the Rig (www.steadyrig.com) arm upgrade is a very good option. I have done about 4 arms with them. If this is a little pricey we can offer you a spring change - this will give you more power with you arm, but keep most of the rest of you arm. If you are interested please email me at howard@mk-v.com and we now have new numbers +44 (0)1204 547900 I have a couple of Silver spring arms in stock if you wish to try one. All the best Howard

Hi Brett How are you? I used a 'trailer' hooked to the snowmobile - this is a good platform and HARD mount to it - LOTS of padding as you do get thrown around - also if you are using a PRO arm make sure there is padding under your sled so you do not bottom out too hard. Keep your CG low and have fun!!. (watch the corners!) hope this helps? All the best Howard

Hi mate Getting old! - got some catching up to do yet! Have a great time and hope to see you soon Take care Howard :D

Hi Andy (how are you?) Already done it - please see http://www.mk-v.com/MK-V_HUMMINGBIRD.htm we now have these on the shelf. Fly safe! Howard

Hi Andrew (Rush 164) / Chaps Thanks for letting me know who I am talking too. All I can say is I check my emails every 5 minutes from 8am - midnight. And I check the forum every other day. All I can say is I (personally) have not had any emails from you. (- sorry.) I am looking into why certain emails do not make it to my Mac (ex mac/new mac) - please email me again so I can see if for some reason you are being blocked by my spam guard. The phone is always a good option as I always have my cell with me. +44 7768 147499 we have just moved to a new film studios (WEB) in manchester - wonderful place - our new phone number is: + 44 1204 574900 I work 24/7 365 to do the best I can, please if you have not had a reply from me it is not because we are ingnoring you as this would be crazy, I simply have not had your email in the first place. Please call and we will phone you back. It is nice to talk with you guys. IBC is going very well, nice to see some old faces and meet some of the new faces. Last day today, hard work, but lots of fun. If anyone would like a copy of the AR DVD please "email" or call us. Take care and hope to speak to you soon All the best Howard

Hi Rob Good to see you guys again, been too long. Glad you like the AR! Also: Just a repost - we are in Hall 11 today on the 'Visual Imapct' - (on the left side behind ARRI) See you later. Howard J Smith MK-V

Hi Chaps Me again - Just a quick heads up to let people coming to IBC know we are moving into Hall 11 today, on the Visulal Impact stand, (behind ARRI - left side of the hall as you go in) - please do check out 'the Boxx's' Digital link - sweet (hall 10 - 123) Hope to see you all there/here. Many thanks Howard

Hi Chaps Chris and myslef are on stand 123 in hall 10 - in the middle under a banner that says "10.200" We are sharing a stand with the excellent digital video link chaps from 'The Boxx' - (Thanks Scott) We look forward to seeing you, we also have DVD's of the AR demo film. See you there/Here... Cheers Howard and Chris (Shafts) :)

Hi mathias, how are you? This is a tricky one. In the UK there are 3 standards for the moviecam.. One is the ARRI 24v the other in Panavision 24v and the 3rd is un modifed moviecam 24v 4 pin XLR with the power on pins 1 and 2, not sure of the polarity, but we do it as a cable (thankfully I don't make the cables) If in doubt best ask - bring your PV and ARRI and a spare 12v 4 pin and a solidering iron. Hope it goes well and remember if all else fails you can run it from a battery belt - not pretty but it works. have fun all the best Howard

Hi Jeff / Chaps You are correct the AR lines can be used as a 2nd video line and we have a 2nd monitor output for this as well. please see http://www.mk-v.com/D-Boxes.htm We have a number for new things in the pipe line so please email me off forum and I will tell you more. Speak to you soon All the best Howard

Hi Will Great post - thank you for sharing this with us. (hope you are well and busy) I am very excited to see 'Rent' from what I saw when I was on set and the rushes it is a good looking film, with some excellent operating from both your self and the A cam (open scene on the 50' techno..) I am still humming the track you were doing that night. I must also point out that some of Wills shots, people will assume they are on the AR, but the are standard 'Steadicam' - just very well done. I am very happy and proud to have Will as an AR poineer and his feedback was very useful. Gregg also did a great job modding the sled for Will to the AR spec, and they worked togther very well. I am looking forward to seeing the subway scene which I believe is all AR? Are you going to be creditied as an "AR" operator? Sorry I did not get to see you when you were over, but hopefully see you soon. Thank you for sheading some light on the "rush64 post" it was very odd - we had no emails from anyone requesting this info. I don't think it was Frank (well I hope not) - But I would love to know who they are? Take care mate and speak to you soon All the best Howard

P.S. I think it is interesting that this thread was started by someone with no name - I still do not know their name or where they are from?? All I ask, is if you are going to have a go about my service please let me know who I am talking too. And I will do everything in my power to help, this is what I do 24/7 365. Ask anyone. As Chris mentioned we are moving to much bigger offices with a new training site for the AR. We are very busy, but Never too busy to talk to customers old and new. We have also had a few 'bugs' in the email system recently, so if you have not heard back from me, then very sorry - please re send or call me. The prices for the PRO upgrade and the AR system are also up on the website. It is very hard to know if I have had any emails from "Rush 164" as I have no idea who he/she is? Fly safe and see you all soon Howard 'Mr Magnum' - please email me off forum and I will do my best to help.

Hi Erwin re: "The MK-V V2 Gimbal resulted from the effort to incorporate the Alien design (which was based on a XCS Ultimate sled) into the Alien Revolution." Thats a good one - made me laff. - sorry mate not even close or in the same ball park. The MK-V V2 was the evolution of the MK-V V1 gimbal and the V1 was the evolution of the tools free Mk3/3a (EFP) and PRO gimbal upgrades (which we still do) The MK-V V2 was the result in finding a gimbal that could spin end over end and side over side without clicks and pops for the AR. It is 100% MK-V. (and for the record the XCS gimbal is good for the AR too) take care Howard

Hi Guys Sorry for the lack of contact. As Chris has said I am In Beijing at the moment and sadly I had my laptop stolen, so I am in the business centre of the hotel. I will answer all emails on my return as sadly I can not get them from here. I will be back in the UK on the 1st Sept. Please call me if you have any questions at all. my cell number is +44 7768 147499 Any emails can get me direct on: howard@mk-v-usa.com I look forward to hearing from you then. Sorry for the lack of contact, but my mac was my life. :-( See you all soon at IBC All the best Howard J Smith MK-V PS - I am all ears!

Hi Guys Welcome to the UK.....you also have to go on safety training courses now with the BBC before you can work for them. My Wife Kelly did a some great shots for me, whilst breast feeding (not at the same time..) Rosie was 2 months old and I was shooting a commercial and needed an op. She did a wonderful job. Kelly did use the backmounted vest, and I held te baby! Take care Howard

Hi Rich - how are you? Nice post. - sounds like some interesting shots. We tried this with the monitors - you need the monitor on the sled as this gives you your 'point of reference' to where the sled is and what you are doing with it. It would of been great if it had of worked, but you just end up crashing into things. Hope this helps. Speak to you soon, all the best Howard

Hi Rob / Markus - how are you? Yes the AR monitor does track the camera or horizon. Re the wrist position, yes sometimes certain shots require different ways of holding the sled. But as we have found, the finger tip grip is purely for horizon control. So now this is not an issue, you can hold the sled with a full grip and not just on the gimbal - All of the demo film was shot like this. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and also praise Chris McGuire - he did all the shots on the AR demo film and a very nice job too. - not easy with me over his shoulder.. If anyone has any questions re the AR system please email me - AR@mk-v.com Hope to see you at IBC All the best Howard J Smith MK-V

Hi Rob (how are you?) /Mikko - chaps. We will of course be at IBC, we are just sorting out the best spot for us. I will try and make sure that we have a few spare AR's. As long as there is no major 'bogarting' of the AR's it should be fine. It will be great to see you all again, maybe we can get a few beers as well! Take care and see you soon Howard

Hi Afton Thanks for your post. The type of cameras were listed in a previous post - here it is again: "Ok here is a list of the Cameras you can use with the AR: Panavision XL - (light weight with B&W tap just about works?, color tap too big, but XL is much better - recomend the new slim mag adaptor only 1/4" thick) Moviecam SL - check what tap as some are very odd and stick out and up. ARRICAM LT (the best for sync work 35mm) - very nice camera and balances very well. you can use this straight out of the box - do not need low mode plates. Aaton 35 - works very well. 435 - with steady mags and 100% top 235 (the best for none sync work - and no I don't work for ARRI..) - simply sweet! - use riser and no lowmode plates - all new bar focus mount very nice, as well as the new 400' Steadymag. NO more BL's No more 535's! - to big and too heavy! Viper - with the new Venom system, what this space. Panavision Genesis (without tape mag - this weigh's the same as the XL body without a mag) - this also works with the new venom system. All 16mm - Aaton Prod, XTR, aminma etc also SR 2, 3 etc. HD and Digital 900's but even better the newer cameras like the 950 you can just use the chip block in the AR and then fiber optic to the body - very sweet. and HDV and DV etc. Digibeta/SP etc (400/700/790 range need to remove top handle)" Hope this is of some help. All the best Howard

Hi Marcin We have these plates in stock - and also docking systems. Please contact me off forum. info@mk-v.com thanks Howard