Mike Germond SOC

it really boils down to how much money you have that the artist or media owner could go after.. aparantly it's not profitable to take down a Steadicam operator :lol: speaking of copyrights and trademarks, what does everyone think of that Semanoff banner that has begun periodically showing at the bottom of the page?

Charles, That's probably the option I would choose at the moment, terminating in a 3-pin LEMO. Though consolidating power/video into one cable is appealing, it is not necessary (for me)..

My suggestion is to call Terry West at South Bay Film & Video and tell him your needs and the urgency. Make sure you specify that it is the OLD Flyer with the 2-pin LEMO and not the LE which has 3-pin LEMO power. His work # is 310-374-5711

I have a PDF with the power and other LEMO pinouts that are on the RED's camera body...no firewire or USB pinouts, tho those are pretty universal among all devices.. Send me an e-mail if you want it

I think just the F900 camera body alone is out of the Flyer's weight range! :lol: I bought my Flyer LE from B&H, and I went for the SD monitor, V-mount sled, Powercube battery package, and hardcase. B&H can be confusing so look at all the packages. I got all of that with the purchase of one item. You can always convert V-mount to Anton Bauer with one small adaptor plate, so that is why it was my choice.. Down the road, you are going to want wireless follow focus controls and wireless video, I can almost guarantee that. For those, and for most cameras you are also going to want a smorgesboard of custom adaptor cables, the RED One being one of those reasons. You can either make your own power cable cable using pinouts, or buy one from Terry West. It is essential to run that camera off of the sled if you want to put it on a Flyer and have any options for accessories! I've darn near outgrown this rig already :angry: Weight range is also my biggest contention. I've pondered taking the arm into the machine shop and milling out the spring guides in the arm to allow the spring to be adjusted slightly higher :huh: Let me know if I've missed anything..

What makes it a violation of copyright laws is if it can be prooven that you make a profit DIRECTLY off of somebody elses work without paying them royalties. And a work can't be considered in violation of copyrights until it is broadcast to the masses, and fortunately for everyone, nobody owns the internet, and nobody has jurisdiction over it (as far as the FCC is concerned).. So in the case of a demo reel, your not selling the reel, your selling your skills...It's a BIG grey area that ASCAP and BMI won't bother to go after you for.

Glad to hear this in discussion, because I have always wondered the same.. It seems like all the demand that we have for production could be construed as luxury comfort items for us. Especially in the US, the live-multicam guys have proven that they can produce quality work while tethered by working harder at keeping a steady shot, yet we still push for premium HD wireless link packages that cost thousands and carry all the luxuries (icom, pgm, ect..). I do realize that certain situations require wireless however.. I'd feel guilty on set if the other niche experts started to look at Steadicam ops as pretentious and needy, but a lot of times it is what we need to get the job done, or what we need to do the job BETTER. Just one man's thoughts..

Without getting into the physical reasons why we do it, I just do it because that's how I was taught. Like Jerry said, it's just been passed down over and over again.. On a fun tangent, I've always thought about what it would be like to operate Steadicam on snowboard or skiis. But then I started to ponder, if I'm a regular footed snowboarder (left foot forward) but am operating Steadicam in what would be considered goofy footed (off the left hip), how would that work out? Probably best to keep my investment out of the halfpipe for now :lol:

I'd be happy with a 4-pin Hirose that splits to bare tinned ends, with a respectable length that can be cut down to the desired size...at which point the user chooses their own flavor of video/power connector to solder on. I don't own a Modulus so Alfeo's cable would differ from mine, but I do understand the desire to consolidate cabling.. If something like that came with the Decimator, it'd be one less step for us to personalize it to our equipment. But I also realize that not everybody has the ability or time to make their own cables.

I'd like to see the whole thing too. I thought everybody looked like they were winging it except for you. When the host has to break the barrier and start talking to the crew and directors, professionalism goes out the window a bit, but you looked like Da Man the whole time. That random cross chatter from the headsets was a little odd too. Steadicam - 1 Jib Guy - 0 :lol:

I'm happy to hear your support for the Form over Size argument. I'm not a big guy by any means, but when I'm shooting a full football game with only halftime to rest, I'm glad that I'm being such a stickler for good operating form. I hope it all pays off if/when I do move onto the film scene. You still make my spine hurt seeing those pictures!

Menno, ActionCam support is very good. I talked with them a lot when I was thinking about buying and they were very helpful. The issue arises when you need to ship internationally and deal with customs, say if your rig were to need repair. Time is money in our business.. I still want one though :rolleyes:

I'm not a huge fan of Tiffen's low mode kit and D-bracket for the Flyer LE on ENG cameras and larger. Inherently, the rubberized grip in the handle bracket allows for movement, which is multiplied by the heavier camera. Is there another type of universal handle bracket out there? Or is it specific to each camera?

I'm a big fan of ActionCam, especially the RED Edition package! That would be my vote.. But consider this, where is your warranty support located when you need it? Glidecam has domestic support..

Any word on Dovetail Plate Rods for the Flyer LE? If not, I can just machine some Cinewidgits rods to fit..

Just got word that this project won a few awards.. 2nd Place - People's Choice Awards 1st Place - Brand Award Despite the lack of comments, I'm happy to be a part of this first major project of my Steadicam career!!

Talk about bringing a topic back from the dead! But I had to do it, there's some good stuff in here. I'd like to see how things have evolved with the jobs in this area.. Like Tom, I have interest in the ESPN and NFL Films route. I've shot every college sport handheld at some point in my career, so as a Steadicam Op, naturally I knew where the best highlights would come from. I shot the entire 2008 College Football season, a day full of NCAA Wrestling, and a few Gymnastics Meet's on Steadicam as a private contract with one University. I'd say my endurance has never been better, and I envy those of you who get to dock your rig between shots!! It's hard work but the highlights that I've gotten will be on archive forever at this place.. I'm trying to pursue all avenues to contact the proper people from both entities, and I thought it would be worth asking the experienced minds around here for some perspective. I also have some questions about rigging for such an event. I think I've read through the manuals for every GrassValley model that ESPN might employ.. Help is much appreciated!

They should move that shoot to Michigan and hire me...Then they maybe they could afford a proper rate with the 46% they get back from the state government..

Ken, Turning off the OIS on Panasonic cameras is usually the first thing I do. Besides, all it will do is create a floaty looking shot...I've tried it. I've definitely narrowed the problem to a less than solid connection between the camera and stage.

I'm shooting NCAA wrestling for Live TV on Sunday and I was given a selection of cameras to choose from. Since everything will be in low-mode for the matches, I was looking at handle stability. Some of the cheaper ENG cameras they showed me had some pretty flimsy handles. I did notice some jitter in the image again, even at low speeds. I'm becoming a stickler for this now..

Yup . . . . .all of the above! Rob, I don't know the littlest details about triax other than what the connectors look like. To me it sounds like triax is 3-core. Since BNC/Coax is only 2-core, how are those Kings adaptors able to carry all of the functions of triax? Is your camera being powered over triax, or are you using a 4-pin XLR to LEMO cable to run power from your sled? I'm very intrigued by the Triax-Mini BNC-Triax idea, and may require a solution in the near to immediate future. It sounds like the debate is Mini-Triax vs Triax-BNC-Triax, with the deciding factor being cable size and flexability. The only spaghetti sized cable that I own is the mini-BNC that Tiffen included with my Flyer LE (not the most flexible in the world). If someone could direct me towards the preferred/better solution, I'd be very grateful. So far I've gathered Mogami 2964 and Belden 8218. I may try the Cooner AS323 REV1 stuff for my VZ Rock-PZFI Panasonic Controller.. Props to those who have figured out this much!

on most cameras, the Ret. button will show you Program in the viewfinder only. If you could turn that output into something that you sent to your monitor, then you could achieve what you're asking..

Those are almost identical to the products sold on www.RangeVideo.com Before I found out that there was a Tx model that came in an enclosure, I was looking at Project Boxes and Heatsinks to make my own. I even thought of putting a small fan in there.. 2.4ghz 1000mW Tx Module w/ enclosure 2.4ghz Rx Module w/ enclsoure Price works out about the same..

So I shot the Motor City Bowl for a client who wanted HD. My rig is the Flyer LE, so naturally the HVX was the camera of choice. Upon looking over some of the footage (particularly when I move a lot faster), there's some jitter in the image. Here's a clipping that illustrates the jitter the best: http://vimeo.com/2876802 I'll include all the specs and components used incase something in my rigging was the culprit: -HVX200A -FireStore FS-100 mounted on dovetail plate -Anton Bauer ElipZ battery unit -7.9" Panasonic HD Monitor (4-pin power from sled) -VariZoom VZ-Rock PZFI -Bogen/Manfrotto Quick Release Adaptor for fast switches to low mode I had to run power and component video down and around the post to run the monitor, with velcro straps to keep it away from the gimbal. Throw in the FireWire and PZFI cables, and there was a lot of potential hazards on the rig. Of course now I wish I would have taken a picture of the setup.. My Flyer is the SD model, so I took that monitor off and threaded on the Panasonic one in its place. My original thoughts were that the mount might not be substantial enough to support that heavier monitor, and that it might be flexing as I moved causing jitter up the post. Upon further comtemplating, I realized that I did notice some play in that ElipZ battery where it mounts to the camera. Like an idiot, I put it smack-dab between the camera and dovetail plate anyways. I probably should have put it on my lowmode bracket which was mounted on the handle, but I switched back and fourth so often. The Bogen Quick Release assembly is really solid, so I vouch for that not being the issue. I use it all the time with other cameras and get perfectly stable images. So I can't think that it was my operating that caused the jitter, especially since this is the only occasion that it's ever come up. Luckily all of the footage that was used in the production looked fine. I was almost running in that shot..

What is everyone's opinion with these components sold on RangeVideo.com? Has anybody field tested them? I ran across the same site and was very intrigued. I wouldn't mind fabbing something up with those components. The Titan is close but still out of reach, and I'm sick of the DP floating over my shoulder at every turn!