Mark Britton

Yeah, the crowd of people that pull shenanigans like bringing a Panasonic P2 camera to a documentary shoot with no P2 cards because they are a 'rip off' have bought up into 'entry level cinema cameras'. Audio ruined because the laptop/leafblower that cost 8xP2 cards "had" to be used to record picture? Totally the microphone's fault, those things cost like over $100 bucks why don't they put a computer in those to get rid of sound like a smartphone? Those P2 cards are a ripoff... Now that they conquered that brave frontier, they've cast their eyes about for their next conquest. On the plus side, it seems that the same mob figures that lighting is also a crap Hollywood elitist scam, cameras should shoot in the dark and make everything you point them at look pretty with no work. This means you won't have to worry about crossing a light anymore. Also, the AC can fetch coffee now, the camera should focus itself, there's a computer in it...

All you need to get smooth shots is half a bottle of whiskey. A full bottle for cold days, and tequila for hot ones.

Terms and Conditions of sale do not say if you hook a 3rd party battery to the camera, your warranty is void. They say if a battery malfunctions and damages the camera, then warranty for that condition is void. There is no explicit exemption for RED battery malfunctions in the T&Cs either. I specifically asked about 3rd party batteries before I purchased my first RED camera, and the rep answered the question in a straight forward fashion. If a third party item you use damages the camera, it will most likely void your warranty. The act of hooking my IDX Elites up to my RED One wasn't something the rep would 'approve', but as long as it didn't damage the camera, my warranty was intact. IMO, this isn't out of the ordinary for T&Cs.

Totally plausible. All shows are sent out with field deployable teleporters these days. So all the entries marked 'travel time' are actually pad.

If you don't need to pan, adjusting fore/aft balance to trim the rig so it naturally tilts up or down to assist your vertical framing is a good use of the tool. Making physics work for you is always acceptable. I was taught to do this by an instructor, in fact. General rule of thumb is, adjust your rig so that the hardest part of your shot is the easiest to achieve. Sounds like you did just that, so well done :)

The suggestions and background give are excellent, but I might have something to add. The first step to answering your question is to understand why you would want the camera to move in a shot. What does it convey to the audience? How does framing affect the feel? How does a moving camera help tell the story? When is moving the camera a distraction? That is the creative direction perspective, that answers why you might choose a Steadicam shot. Understanding how to move the camera well is something you learn as a camera operator, you master accurate framing and how to read actors/action to the point where it becomes instinctual instead of something in the forefront of your mind. You learn how to make the operation of the camera invisible to the audience, timing camera moves on motion in the frame and landing with the actors in their marks. Getting that ingrained so that is automatic makes a significant difference in Steadicam operation. Not only does the camera have to be in the right place at the right time, the operator has to be there as well. Usually first! That's where all drills come in, of course, building in the body-mind link so that you're not concentrating on which foot should be where and figuring out where your hands ought to be. After you have an understanding on when a moving camera would be effective from a storytelling perspective, then the answer of when to use a Steadicam becomes one of mechanics and logistics. Some shots will require a crane, some are best done on a dolly, some are going to be handheld some are going to look the best with a Steadicam. Sometimes a combination of those items are necessary. Sometimes you'll end up using an operation mode that you know is not optimal, but there's a reason you need to live with it (see mention of Steadicam-as-a-dolly above). It takes skill in multiple dimensions to be great. People can and do make a career out of it without mastering the fundamentals, there's always 'that guy/gal' out there. I almost certainly was one of them at one time or other. Most people that try Steadicam fall in love with doing it. It can be hard to put the rig down and do what's best for the story when you're starting out. As far as literature? Well, there's a number of books that can open your mind to the reasons and reasoning. 'The Five C's of Cinematography' is back in print for a reson. 'Cinematography Theory and Practice'. 'Master Shots' series started by Christopher Kenworthy. There's a lot more out there, those are just books that come to mind as I write this. The standard 'look at what Focal Press has on offer and pick what you like the sound of' is still reasonable advice. Best of luck on your journey!

Being a Steadicam operator is like having a Dodge Viper in High School. You're still probably the biggest nerd in the room. Okay, the Viper is probably cheaper, but still...

The way that polygonal op is hunched over, he's gonna be trashed before kickoff!

No, you won't get offered extra money for a downconverter you supply to make your rig work for production.

Don't know if this will be of any help, but below are some links I collected when I was looking into triggering Epic run/stop. Your information is correct, the Epic isn't a simple close two pins and camera rolls. Possible cable starting point options: RED sells a Lemo 00 to 3 BNC breakout cable: RED Store: 3BNC-TO-00 SYNC CABLE RED sells a Lemo 00 to no connector cable: RED Store: 4 Pin Lemo 00 to Flying Lead Schematic for the relevant Epic port copied out of the Epic Operation Guide and some brief discussion is on this REDUser forum thread: REDUser: Remote start/stop schematic discussion The complete schematic and RED notes about operation can be found on page 131 of the Epic Operation Guide - Please note: ZIP archive containing PDF documents linked below: RED Support: Epic V1.632 Manuals (ZIP) Mark

Do take a workshop if you can fit it in. The Steadicam Operator's Handbook is a great resource, but it's definately worth having experienced instructors help you with your technique. You should find the Eastern Classic to be a worthwhile experience. If nothing else, you'll have many fond memories and meet several interesting people. One of my most memorable moments from a 2-day Flyer workshop back in '07 was receiving a package from Peter Abraham after the workshop. I'll never forget. Inside was a Steadicam T-shirt, a certificate and a piece of cardboard. At first, I set the cardboard aside while I examined the other items I had received. But slowly, I became aware that the piece of cardboard had a picture of a toilet lid on it. To this day, I can't say that I've divined the meaning of that piece of cardboard. Was it a message from Peter? Was it merely that Mr. Abraham had changed out his toilet seat recently, and the piece of cardboard just happened to be at hand? You never quite know what you'll encounter at a workshop, but my experiences are that you'll get more than you bargined for! Mark

It's been a few years since I've played with a Merlin, but from the short video clip posted, I'd say it looks like the center of gravity might be a smidge too high. Try adjusting the guide ring slightly, probably 1 turn or less to move the center of gravity ever so slightly lower. And I'm sure you already did this, but double check that there isn't anything dangling off the camera that is swinging free. A lens cap swinging free on a retention cord will wreak havoc here :) Nah, dynamic balance has to do with camera panning. You really won't need to worry about that until you're down the road a ways!

I'm curious if others have negative experience with Camwave's durability in the field as well. Interesting product for the price, but I've been a bit hesitant settling given an experience or two. I worked a feature October 2009 that shot with a RED One and used a Camwave. Hired for Steadicam, but ended up working more days day playing as sound recordist (family emergency happened to recordist), which gave me another look at the Camwave I wasn't expecting. Camera, Camwave and video village was an DIT/owner rental package. There was an insistence on feeding audio through the camera and Camwave to video village and director monitoring, instead of a hard wire direct from audio. Unit had probably only been rented when the DIT/owner was present on set, so I'm sure the unit had been treated gently overall. Camwave seemed to work well outside. Heard something about trouble with dropouts in a chase van following an actor driven car, but I ain't gonna blame a piece of hardware for poor judgment of its two legged masters. Early in the production, the RX unit smoked, and apparently shorted power through the HDSDI feed to monitor. Okay, exact form of death is speculation on on my part, but whatever happened, it apparently took one of the HDSDI ins on the monitor it was plugged to with it. So new RX unit by day 3, and a monitor repair. We were shooting indoors in an old farm house, probably built around 1900. Neighboring houses more than 1/4 mile away, a broadcast tower approximately 2 miles away. Camwave was commonly asked to penetrate through 1-2 wood and plaster walls. Ranges of 20 feet or less. Had odd dropouts where the picture wouldn't come back. Repowering the TX was needed sometimes to bring picture back, repositioning units didn't always relock signal. First they thought maybe battery issues, because a fresh battery seemed to "fix" the problem, but then they realized it was just the act of repowering the TX. TX unit was powered with a dedicated battery, no attempt to feed a RED One through it. Had a few of instances of no audio to directors. Path was perfect to recorder, checked out at camera. Rechecked cables. Tested complete signal path except camera to Camwave and Camwave RF link. So I asked that the Camwave be examined for operation, which wasn't a popular move...they had picture, Camwave is HDSDI, so they couldn't believe that there was something wrong there. Looked for DIT/owner to see if he had another spare cable or if I could provide one for camera to Camwave, because I couldn't directly test that cable (I was an audio guy that day, no touchee camera!). Fellow wasn't right at hand, I knew the village person, she was allowed to repower the TX, so I got her to do that under the guise of a cable swap. Audio magically fixed itself. Same symptom happened 15 minutes later. Camwave had direct LoS at a 12ft range, camera was mounted on dolly, but wasn't moving when the audio dropped out. Picture there, audio gone. Asked village to repower TX first, instead of rechecking audio path. Audio fixed itself again. Happened again about half an hour later. This time the director just called out to have the TX repowered instead of going after me. I'm not saying you should actually want to pass an audio channel you care about through any wireless transmitter if you can easily hard wire it. I'm just saying this is what this particular production required, and that it had some odd hiccups when run through this particular Camwave unit. Could have just been luck of the draw or a unit that had been abused. But that particular Camwave subjected me to a crummy experience on set, and makes me think harder about what to spend money on. Mark

Maybe a bit off topic, but IDX Elite batteries and an Element Technica IDX battery plate & cable will pass battery info to a RED. Just remember to set the Elite battery to SMBus data protocol. And if you have an ET plate that has a "RED/IDX" switch on it and an older ET power cable, you're sure the IDX Elite is set correctly and you don't see percents...ignore the switch labels try the other setting.

I thought I'd chime in as someone that did listen to the "take a 2-day workshop first" advice. It seriously is the right thing to do. You'll find out if it's something you'd be willing to do and it'll give you a solid start on how to train your body to move and think a bit differently than your normal experiences. Worst case, you'll find out it's not for you, and you'll have saved spending new rig - workshop in cash. Best (normal?) case is you now have a great idea of how to get started with a new rig, so you'll feel the workshop money was well spent. I would like to mention that whatever your choice for a camera stabilization rig might be...that's kinda the starting point on expenses. Do budget for spare parts, cables, batteries, and give serious thoughts to future needs (wireless follow focus, video transmitter, etc).