Emre Tufekci

Here is ours:

Nice work Kaan, how many ops are there in Turkey that are working the major films/shows?

Looks like the Turkish guys are going to dominate this thread :) It was 1988 and I was 15 years old when i saw a music video of one of my favorite bands that had a very brief steadicam move (2:50). I was truly captivated with what i saw and what it had added to the energy of the scene with that brief dynamic motion of the camera. I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted be a steadicam operator from that day on. Of course in Turkey at that time options were extremely limited, if not impossible. So I moved to Los Angeles to pursue career in film and worked my way up through the ranks, paying dues as we all do. Finally I had the time and finances to do a workshop and worked with Paul Taylor in a small private class. Paul was fantastic, very different approach then Jerry or Garret which is all great because you get such different methodology and technical prowess from such operators at their level. I bought my rig from Garret which was also great bonus because I went up to his house in Pennsylvania and he gave a tour of his workshop and let us play with his first Steadicam designs and experiments. After that, my big break? It's hard to say somebody gave me break because I already had my company which was prospering and had great employees working for me. We actually generated our own work. Our clients didn't come to us asking for Steadicam work, we were able to draw people in by offering quality camera work that our competitors just couldn't do or they had to hire us anyway. Budgets got larger, we bought bigger rigs, we bought bigger rigs so we could fly bigger cameras, for bigger budgets. It really is the cornerstone of every production we do and we train our staff to become operators themselves. I guess that's where they get their breaks....some make it, some fail. Emre Tufekcioglu Production Pit

It again depends on your contract, if you dont have one...you dont have a leg to stand on. My contract specify that the client has X number of days before they can cancel or re-schedule a production. At that point I hold the "right of first refusal" meaning I can keep them or move on to another production with no penalties incurred. If they do not cancel within the agreed time period they incure partial or full payment at my discretion (good client no problem, problem client..their problem.) I have had to deal with a few problem people who challenged that when the time came but we never went to court. Their lawyers told them that all they would get is having to pay my fees and court expenses added on top, as they were in a binding contract.

I recently got call from a producer in DC area asking for a low rate. Here was our conversation: Producer: Hi I found your information on steadicam-ops.com and loved your reel. Me: Thanks, how can I help? Producer: We need a steadicam op for 5 days buy I can only pay half rate. I also need you to throw in a follow focus, wireless and monitor for free. Me: My rate is my rate and I cant give you that stuff for free. Producer: What can you give me for free? Me: A dial tone...click He never called back. B)

For those intrested great overview from Gary Adcock: http://vimeo.com/user1680338

I tried to demo what I remember as an artemis Cine-HD about 8 years ago at NAB (I had just come out of a workshop). I asked the rep/operator who was running the rig if we could switch the system as I was a goofy foot (guilty :ph34r: ). About 3 tools and 20 minutes later he still couldnt switch it around so I thanked him for his time and walked away. I dont know maybe they fixed that or the op wasnt that familiar with the system but it definitely was not easy to switch. In fact, I think I met up with you Jerry a few hours later at the tiffen booth and you flipped around a Clipper I think, tools free in about 2 minutes. My boss at the time was sold at that moment and put in an order for a rig.

I dont think anybody has any problems or said anything about advertising for the workshops... The problem is the comments on top of this thread with statements like: "Curt Schaller invented the artemis camera stabilization system because he couldn't find a Steadicam vest to fit him". I am sure even Curt doesnt agree with that statement unless he used to look like this:

Martin; Thanks man, drop by sometime and we'll hang out at our shop B) Rob; Thank you for the comments :) , glad you liked it. And you are correct its probably a complilation of only 10-15 projects (in the last 2 years). I only wanted to place stuff that we have %100 rights to the footage and recent. Lukas; Thank you for the kind words and you are correct as well. If I dont have time to do a reel, I am too busy to do it anyway :lol: ..........thats why it was 2 years in the making...sitting there...sitting there...sitting there... :P

Thanks Amando!!!

That was recruiting video for SARC (special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman). You can see the full video here: http://vimeo.com/9270990

Thanks for the input Tom, The night shots were "day for night". I guess I was more impressed with what we were able to do with the footage in post than the actual shot :) Cheers, Emre

Hi Everyone, We just updated our demo reel and wanted to get the opinion of fellow operators. We would like to hear if there are things you don't like or could be better. This is a compilation of 2 operators (Dash Adamson and myself) that work for Production Pit. Looking forward to your feedback, Cheers Emre Tufekci www.productionpit.com

One of the most important things for me in a workshop was watching other peoples mistakes. When you are learning to operate its very difficult to comprehend at first what you are doing wrong. When you take the rig off and the next person starts working on it, it's a lot easier to notice the small nuances that makes things go wrong. Back and forth with the other operator try to pay attention to each other (because the teacher will not be around you all the time) and point out what you see. That personally helped me a lot and to this day we have conversations with operators very often about similar topics/point out problems.

I just dont want to see what happens incase the airbag deploys in the passenger seat with the ipad stuck on there. :unsure:

I remmeber somebody from another forum who bought a Flyer but got the compact vest by mistake. He might be willing to do a trade. Here is what I have for his contact info: Concept2Motion, LLC Canton, OH http://www.concept2motion.com

Hi Jon, Here is a very basic overview of all the advantages I got when I moved from a flyer to the Clipper 2. -More payload capacity (self explanatory) -G-50 arm "ride' function (This allows the arm to be flown at different heights in the sweet spot without having the operator try to keep it up or down by force). -Tilt stage (ability to tilt the camera without having to tilt the sled so it's easier to keep in dynamic balance) -More posts (expanding stages allow you to balance your rig easier as well as adjust your operating height). -More power ports for more accessories. -Larger mass means more stable platform. -Better adjustable vest that will fit you better (no more Velcro) -Lot more room for personalizing (modifying) the rig. These are some basics, hope this helps. Emre Tufekci www.productionpit.com

Hi Blair, I think its best to start with what your budget is. Depending on if you have 6K or 60K to invest, the tips and reccomendation will be very different. Emre

I had custom molded ear plugs made by HearX in California a few years ago. They attenuate without muffling the sound. Being a musician I also have the custom molded in-ear monitoring system that I use from time to time on a job, if I need to listen to somebody and get hearing protection at the same time. http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/

Thanks for the info Charles. I will probably need to look into buying one of the used units as I wont need the HDMI connection. I will keep my eyes peeled in the classified section. Cheers, Emre

Hi Charles, What is the best way to purchase the decimator, through you directly or trough a vendor? Thanks, Emre www.productionpit.com

Larger rigs will have ports that will allow you to connect external gear like follow focus, wireless transmitter...etc and power them off the rigs batteries. As Eric stated you need to pick a few manufacturers (and a budget range) to see if the rigs you choose have those options. For example the steadicam flyer will have a single power port (you can use splitter to power more equipment) but you have to make sure you dont overload the system. A rig like mine (clipper 2) will have multiple ports and carry a heavier load. I am sure Eric's rig can power a small city. Again, pick your budget range and from there you can see what your options are.

Hi Santiago, I liked your website but it kind of left me wanting more (which is a good thing). I am sure your content will grow as time goes along. I am trying to look at it from a "potential client" point of view, since your website is solely based on steadicam maybe you add content to educate/inform people of how they can utilize your services. Blogs for interested operators and links to other related websites might also prove useful. Again from "client POV" I dont see any reason I should pick you as opposed to any other operator in your area, so a few words (short bio) about yourself would be good. Something that highlights your talents, experience, training and dedication to the craft. On a technical note on your demo reel certain videos have raised black levels, that should definitely be fixed. Hope this helps, Emre To follow up on Robs comments, I had no issues with playback of the video on a PC.

Got 2 Bartechs, will buy more. Fantastic customer service, when it really counts!!!!

The only thing cost effective that would work with would be the camwave system but that would be too heavy for your rig. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/6032...mitter/Receiver Systems like Modulus or Canatrans are not for broadcast, just review due to high dropout and interference. Which cameras P2 cameras are you using?