Elliott Yancey

Here is a fairly comprehensive list of the titles available in either format: Blu-ray HD DVD -Elliott

I actually wrote a paper in college about the current format wars. I'll save you some reading and tell you that I believe Blu-ray wins. But, if you are bored and bit of a techno geek (like me) I would be happy to email it to anyone interested. -Elliott "nobody cares what you did in college" Yancey

I just realized my math was wrong! I meant to say put the other $50,000 in the bank. Or put $40,000 in the bank and keep $10,000 aside for repairs to the older equipment, random equipment rentals and for those months that go by with no phone calls and no work! -Elliott

Definitely do not go to Fullsail! I thought about it myself and even applied and was accepted, but after talking to several people, I found out that those who graduated from there were still working their way up from PA in the real world. The other thing is; the two year program would cost you about $65,000! My advice (and other's advice to me) take your $65,000 and spend $15,000 on a small used rig like an EFP or model 2, put the other $40,000 in the bank (or stock market) and use that later to buy a sweet rig after you get a couple years experience. That is my two cents worth, but I hope my two cents saves some people out there $65,000. And then I hope some of those people give me some of their $65,000! ...seriously. -Elliott

OK dumb newbie question of the day... what is a flashmag? I could not find it on ARRI's site. I think it is a digital recording device, but is that instead of film or is it more for playback? Am I to believe that ARRI has entered the digital camera world? Is this a sign of things to come? Sorry for the stupid questions but I am just trying my best to stay current and informed. Thanks, Elliott

Why is basic customer service such an issue in our business?

Rob, congrats on the "new" arm, hope it works well for you. This is not really a response to this topic, but I just wanted to publicly say that Rob is just an all around great guy. As a newbie with an EFP he has answered countless questions of mine and sent me several pictures of his rig. He even found time to answer my emails (and one call) while he was on set between takes! That is going above and beyond to take time out of your resting periods on set to be bothered by some kid from Georgia. Rob, I just wanted to say thanks man and I really appreciate you taking the time to invest in my career. I hope I can return the favor someday. Thanks, Elliott Yancey

David, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS insure your stuff through UPS! The cost is almost negligible and trust me it comes in handy with UPS. I have never had to ship my Steadicam gear but I do use ebay regularly and I always insure. I have had many problems with UPS damaging packages and the insurance has been worth it. My most recent incident was a $1300 bass guitar amp that was delivered to the wrong address twice, once in Georgia and once in New Jersey. I live in Georgia but nowhere close to where it was delivered and neither the shipper or myself live in New Jersey! In the end, I received the amp 5 weeks after it was shipped and it was totally destroyed! It had actually been ripped out of its road case and was in pieces when it got to my door. Lesson learned: when you turn your gear over to someone else's hands for transport insure it. They don't know or care what the package is and if you file a claim through UPS your monthly premium will not be affected with Walter P. Dolle. Be careful, Elliott

Dan raises an interesting question. All you guys preach to us newbies to practice practice practice (and rightfully so; I suck and need it) but how much do you guys really practice? Elliott

A swimming pool? WOW! That's impressive! :o So what do you do when something like that happens? Is your day over or worse? What happens when it is not such a catastrophic event that causes you not to get the shot, but just you are having a bad day or the shot just has gotten the better of you? Do you discount your rate? Offer a pick up day? Run home and put all your gear on ebay? Get a new phone number? Change your name? It has to happen sometimes and I am sure it will happen to me. So how do you handle it with grace and keep your reputation? Elliott Yancey

Just curious. Have any of you ever just sucked? Have you ever been on set with everyone looking at you and for one reason or another just kept screwing up? Have you ever thought, "will I ever work again after today?" Would you be willing to tell your story or "your friend's" story ;) to help some of us newbies to sleep at night. We watch your work in our favorite films and TV shows and marvel at your steadfastness, but could any of you show us that your are in fact human even if it is just for a second :P. Thanks for being so transparent, Elliott Yancey

Brett, Nice design! Is the third battery independent from the other two as far as voltage? If you only use two batteries (one on the back and one under the post) does that give you two separate 12 volt systems? That would be nice I think as far as battery life goes. I thought the rig looked very heavy at first but then I saw you flying the HVX. What springs do you have in your EFP? I have successfully flown an ARRI 435 but I had problems with the HVX using red springs. The HVX was too light (drop time way too fast), we actually strapped a sandbag to the camera just to add some weight. It worked fairly well but your setup looks a lot more comfortable. I have been thinking of modifying my EFP to 24 volts so this looks like a good system to solve the Dynamic balance issue. If you don't mind me asking, what was your cost for this setup? How long did it take to manufacture? How long was your rig down for the installation? Sorry for all the questions but I am very interested. I may have to give your boys a call. Thanks, Elliott Yancey

velcro... live and die by the velcro. go buy a small truck load of velcro. strong velcro. -Elliott Yancey

I just want to publicly thank Chris Probst for his professionalism and tact. I inadvertently caused his name to be slandered on the forum and he is obviously a stand up guy that knows how to take the high road. Chris is correct that he did not ask me to fly the camera for 6 hours straight, but there were two units that I jumped back and forth between and never got a chance to really rest. He is also correct in his comments about framing and headroom, I am still learning and that was my first experience with film. His frustrations with me are deserved. I learned a great deal that day (like the value of having your frame lines set up correctly). Chris did a great job under difficult circumstances (not the least of which was a green steadicam operator) and that is a true testament to his talent and leadership. If you ever get a chance to work with him, take the job with confidence and know you are in good hands. -Elliott Yancey

Ok, so I think there are several things going on here after reading the posts from some of you guys that have worked with them in the past. I think a lot of the fault for the situation falls on me. I am a new operator and because of that I did not feel comfortable pushing back. It may be a classic case of it happened because I allowed it to happen. It was never my intention to bash these guys on the forum or to create a scandal, I simply wanted to better understand what was expected of a steadicam op on set as a new operator. I hope I have not hurt anyone's reputation, or tainted my own. The environment was just more tense and hectic than the other projects that I have worked on (which honestly have not been many). Maybe my "greeness" showed and I did not command respect from the start. I admit that I felt a bit over my head. Although, I DID NOT oversell myself for the project, I was very honest about my experience when they called me. That information could have been pasted down so Chris may not have had the best expectations of me. Also, let me clarify, Jamie (AC) was great to work with, there were two units working on the shoot and I bounced between them both. It was the AC of the unit that Jamie was not on. (I would not call it a true 2nd unit because the main talent worked with both units) As for Fat Catz, I had little direct contact wit them. In fact, it was difficult to tell who was directing in all the chaos. (and chaos is an understatement) It seemed everyone had an opinion. I guess everyone that can see a monitor is a director and a DP! As a final note, the video debuted today on MTV2 (Ciara feat. 50 Cent) and it had a nice look to it. It is obvious that Chris knew what he was doing and the project came together well. Props to him pulling off a nice look under tough conditions. I never wanted this post to go the direction of naming names and casting people in a bad light. I am willing to accept some blame and recognize my inexperience. It is because of this inexperience that I posted this topic in the first place. I wanted to better understand how to be a good operator. Chris, if you read this or hear of this post, I hope we can work together in the future and I am truly trying to improve my skills and learn to function professionally in the production world. I do not want to step on other people to get to the top and I think you did a great job with the look of the video. I just think that we miscommunicated from the start, and that is probably my fault. The bottom line is that I got paid quite well and the final product looks great, so in the end I am happy and would probably do it again given the chance. -Elliott Yancey

Dan, When you get ready for your east coast tour I am in Atlanta ready to go. I paid for most of my college with a jazz bass scholarship. I just bought a new Ampeg SVT4 PRO and I am itching to hear how it sounds in a stadium with 65,000 screaming fans in the background! Just let me know. Elliott

Thanks guys for all the concern and input. I don't think I will post the names of some of the guys because those of us in Atlanta already know them all to well and it is not like they screwed me over, it was just a complete lack of respect. This was the case with everyone they crossed paths with so I was not being singled out. It was equal opportunity abuse. It was no "Las Vegas" type situation. There are about eight ops in the Atlanta market and I am one of the ones with the least experience. So why did I get the job? Because I was the only one in town who answered the phone when their number came across the caller ID! I kind of knew I would be walking into a tough situation (thus the reason I demanded my money upfront and cashed the check before I unloaded my gear) I had talked to some other ops in town that warned me about this group. I really am just curious how to handle that type of situation in the future. I know I could just walk, but somehow my integrity would not let me. I would like to know how some of you other "Knights of the Green Screen" handle this type of problem without ruining your reputation. I want to be the best op I can be, but my integrity is more important. Elliott

I am just curious as to what is expected from a steadicam operator on set. I recently wrapped a project (a Hip hop video in Atlanta) where the environment was oppressive at best. When I arrived on set, I introduced myself to the DP, I told him my name and he told me to call him "boss!" Seriously, I still don't know his name. I was flying an ARRI 435 with my EFP, a fairly heavy rig, for 6 hours straight. I put the rig on at 2:45 and did not take it off until 8:45! "Boss" kept saying, "just stand here and be a tripod" or "I need you to be a dolly for this shot, very slow and perfectly smooth." He changed lenses almost every take and never let me rebalance. He even at one point had me do a walk and talk with a 135mm lens. I actually pulled it off fairly well, but it was still pretty ridiculous. The first AC had never used a wireless follow focus before, but was still a pompous jerk the whole time. It even got to the point were the DP, instead of telling me how he wanted the shot framed and discussing the move with me like a human being, would just grab the rig and pull me to where ever he wanted me to be! This just felt like abuse to me. I don't really know my rights on set. I am not in the union yet and I have only been operating for six months so I am trying to develop a good reputation. The only positive was that they paid me a great rate upfront. I actually showed up 30 min. early and cashed the check before crew call just to make sure it was good. (these guys are notorious for not paying). What can I do to protect myself from this kind of abuse? Is this normal? How do I assert myself and maintain my integrity on set? What would you guys have done? Thanks, Elliott

You're right. I'm a moron! I did the math backwards! So what I was really saying is I have no idea how much this thing weighs, I just know it works. Man, I really am a newbi! I will try to better next time. Elliott "trying not to look stupid in front of ALL of my peers" Yancey

Honestly Eric you might be right. When the camera came out to be 55 pounds on the scale at the rental shop, I questioned if we were weighing lbs. or kg. The tech said it was pounds, but I was a bit skeptical. I also just guessed at the weight of the EFP. I guessed low trying not to look like an arrogant jerk. (Ooo look at me, I'm flying the most weight ever flown on a EFP. Ooo I'm awesome. Bow to me.) I don't ever want to be that guy. So at any rate, you are probably right. The bottom line is that the 435 flies great on my EFP and should be a lot of fun. :P Elliott "confused by this whole metric system thing" Yancey

I will Erik! Thanks for all of your research and feedback. It was very helpful! I appreciate you pushing back on the idea and being a bit skeptical. I was skeptical too that is why I posted the topic. I spent two hours at the rental house today largely because of your response to the situation (and Robin and Frederic). That was a VERY productive time and turned out to be a very positive experience. I have learned to spend more time in the local rental houses, if for nothing else, just to build relationships. Thanks guys, Elliott "flyin' a freakin' 435 with an EFP" Yancey

...and one more...

For those who thought it couldn't be done here is an EFP flying an ARRI 435! The camera tipped the scales at 55 pounds that means the rig is about 63 pounds! The arm is only supposed to handle 38 pounds (red springs) but the 435 flew comfortably. I will have to wear a battery belt but other than that all is well. It would not be hard to modify my EFP to supply 24 volts but I just can't have it done by tomorrow. Thanks guys for all the input and help.

I am going to the rental house tomorrow. I will try to take some pics. of my EFP flying the 435 (if it works :blink: ). Thanks for all the input! We will find out tomorrow. Elliott

Thank you all! I had already planned on wearing a battery belt for the shoot because I knew the power issues with the camera. I will get to a rental house and see if I can do a quick setup there. Let me try to get a complete list of all accessories needed for the job: Follow focus w/ motors Lens Steadicam mag (loaded) Battery belt w/ long cable clip on matte box video tap (Is this already on the camera or an additional part) 100% video top- can someone please explain this to me? I think I know what this is but I am not sure. Low mode bracket When I flew the Varicam I actually had a batt. on the camera and my sled. We were using Cooke primes and had the arri style matte box (the big heavy one, not a clip on). So I am hopeful that I will be OK. The battery alone will save me 5 pounds (yeah, we were using a brick on the camera). I truly appreciate the help I receive here on the forum. Sometimes I think I abuse it and should be paying you guys for a class! Thanks to all who continue to take their time to help me get off the ground. You are truly appreciated. Thanks, Elliott Alfeo expect a call from me.