Jess Haas SOC

If I'm not mistaken the release date was also supposed to be in 2008 :-)

I would not recommend doing Steadicam on projects that you DP. I am a competant steadicam operator and DP but when I do Steadicam I have far too many other concerns to be focussing on things like lighting. You would be hard pressed to find a competant Steadicam operator that doesn't own their own rig. It is basically a job requirement. If you want to get into a big rig with all of the accessories you are going to need (wireless follow focus, wireless video, etc) you are looking at spending about $70,000 new(that is not top of the line stuff). You might not need it all at first but you can get to that number very quickly. Many guys here have closer to 200,000 invested so keep that in mind. I have seen reasonably complete used packages go for around 35k but they are of course harder to come by and you will end up wanting new things and to upgrade things. -Jess

I have sadly gotten that one on numerous occasions. My favorite though has to be when they wanted me to stand in the middle of the road with the steadicam for a lock off of an RV skidding to a stop right up to the camera.... I trusted that particular stunt driver with my life multiple times during the shoot but I wasn't going to risk my life just to save time. ~Jess

Why do i get the feeling that it was directed by a 12 year old? Also since youtube considers it adult content if you want to skip having to login goto http://www.nsfwyoutube.com/watch?v=hP8nnCqK4gE

Come on Ron. Don't you REALLY want a lisigav impregnated coily cable that has 12 lines of 4awg wire and 16 3G/HDSDI lines? I mean, what are you going to use for the dual satellite dish antlers? You don't really want to lose power in the middle of the shot because the automatic coffee maker came on do you? And what if you have to jumpstart your hummer from your sled? I don't think your current sled wiring is really up to that now do you? ~Jess

How about Thursday night? Ive been spending way too much time in my cave (been in the garage fixing up my rig). ~Jess

I was more waiting for the question on what exactly is the shot that requires him to have a crash pad? Thats some hardcore shit.

One thing that I have noticed is that most of the people looking for crew on craigslist have no idea what the gear costs or what a real rate is. Most of them seem to think that $350/day would be a lot of money to pay anyone even if they bring their own gear because frankly they have no clue. The responses they get from people on craigslist only reinforce their beliefs. The majority of them are from people with some sort of cheapo glidecam(or worse) or a pilot who decided a week ago they want to be a steadicam operator and would not think twice about doing a job for $100 for the experience. The result is that when they ask people to send in their rates most of them end up in the 300ish range(or less), a couple around $600 and then maybe one guy quotes them something closer to a real rate. If you had no clue what would your response be? Well most people seem to think the going rate is in the 300ish range, the 600ish guys must have a lot of experience and that guy quoting $2000 must be an nut job. Of course the truth of the matter is that he is probably one of the few people who responded who has a real package and any experience to go with it. So in response to all of this the "producer" who posted on craigslist decides that the guys who responded saying they would do it for $100 probably can't handle the job but he will be a little cheap and go with the guy who quoted $250 because he is probably good enough and because many producers think their main priority should be to save money. Now imagine an alternative universe where the producer gets the same number of responses quoting $300ish and less but instead of one guy quoting a real rate there are just as many as who quoted low. How do you think the producer will react to this? Instead of thinking the guy who quoted $2000 was a nut job he may realize that he is simply more experienced and has better gear and this will help him to put the guys who quoted lower rates into perspective. Since he is posting on craigslist his production most likely can't afford a real rate so he may decide to go with a less experienced operator but he will realize that the guys who are willing to do it for $300 aren't going to be the cream of the crop and may decide that instead of getting the steadicam operator for two days like they wanted he would be better off spending a little more money on one day with one of the guys who will do it for $600. He knows that this still isn't going to be the most experienced guy with the best gear but like in the previous situation he decides to take the middle ground and save a little more money only this time the middle ground pays significantly more. Or maybe that producer decides that they love the work of one of the more experienced operators and would really like to work with them so they contact them and while they can't pay the operators full rate they really sell the operator on the project and they come to some sort of agreement on a middle ground. You could just discount this as a fantasy but I have gotten jobs through craigslist and similar avenues by quoting a full rate. No they weren't able to pay me that rate but they did end up paying me significantly more than what a number of other people quoted and they chose me specifically because they didn't trust the people who were quoting really low rates. So if you want to be proactive instead of spending time ranting about the low rates on craigslist or furiously flagging everything maybe you could spend some time responding to ads with real rates so that those posting get a better perspective on what a real rate is. Personally I feel that simply applying for the job and quoting a real rate is more constructive than sending them an email telling them what a real rate is and berating them for not offering it. ~Jess

So how does Pro's new HD rig compare? What size wire and connectors is it using? ~Jess

With QuickTime you can also setup a QuickTime referance file that will automatically select different video qualities depending on the device and connection speed. I personally feel like anyone working in this industry is going to have QuickTime installed. Flash annoys me so I avoid it whenever I can. Also it won't work on iPhones, ipads and apple TVs. -Jess

It is my understanding that the steadicam insurance through wpdolle does cover these situations. Can anyone confirm this?

Coolmax is a fancy name for polyester. The stuff works great in underarmour shirts for wearing below the vest but im not a fan of it for socks. Being a synthetic material it doesn't absorb any moisture. In the confined area of a shoe I find this just leaves my feet feeling wet as the shoe gets in the way of the wicking process. Also being synthetic they tend to have a slicker feel overall. For cold weather I have tried polyester liners with wool and/or cotton socks over them and I still didn't like the results. Cotton on the other hand is able to absorb a lot of moisture. The downside is that once it becomes saturated the moisture causes cotton to collapse and stick to your skin. When wet they provide no padding, become uncomfortable and will cause blisters. Wool sits somewhere inbetween the two. It will absorb some moisture(not as much as cotton) but no matter how wet it gets it does not collapse and as such does not lose its cushioning effect. I find that when my wool socks get a bit wet I am often able to get away with just letting them dry on my feet. Something that would be impossible with cotton. While I find hiking socks to be great for cold weather with wool socks you don't need nearly as much thickness to have adequate padding. The same properties that make it good for padding make it a great insulator so I find the hiking socks too warm for everyday use. It may not seem like it but I find that the smart wool ultra light socks actually provide plenty of padding and keep my feet cool throughout the day. Of course everyone's feet are different and people have different preferences. Whats right for me might not be right for you. Luckily with socks trying different ones out is not all that expensive of a proposition. ~Jess

These are the ones I like: http://www.rei.com/product/781632 $14.95. 10% off if you buy 3 or more and if your an REI member you will get your rebate at the end of the year. Sometimes REI has them on sale in the store for a few dollars less. ~Jess

The picture makes perfect sense you just need all of the facts. The picture was taken right after he got off of his Pony! ( The name of the film is The Princess & The Pony.) For the record I have to say that that is one of the safest setups I have seen him do. I think that boy has a death wish.

When doing Steadicam for fight scenes I like to keep the post as short as possible and tuck the batteries and monitor in as close to the post as possible in order to allow for quicker movements to follow the action. I also use a close to neutral drop time. All of this gives you something close to the fast action feel of handheld with the smoothness of Steadicam. ~Jess

I have some upcoming flying so I have been thinking about this myself lately. The SOA credential sounds like a great idea. I have heard from a number of people that they have used various websites to create media credentials. Anyone here done this? Not looking to lie or anything just need something more official looking than my business card. Southwest has told me multiple times that my business card should be enough but I have had some trouble before. Luckily the time they were really giving me a hard time I was on my way to an ESPN shoot and had a call shoot for it which they accepted as proof. ~Jess

I have a few pair of Smart Wool running socks that I really like. The ultra thin ones are great for hot weather. Despite the name there is plenty of cushion and support. The thicker ones are good for the cold. Wool doesn't collapse like cotton does when it gets wet so they stay comfortable when sweating a lot or if its wet out. Only downside to them is that they are $10 or more a pair. A lot of the fancier socks have a lot of polyester or polypro in them which im not a big fan of. My feet sweat a lot and with synthetic socks I feel like my feet always feel wet. ~Jess

So when using stiff lenses how does it compare to a regular bartech with M1? How about when using 12v? It seems that Red jobs are the ones where I end up with the stiffest lenses (usually broken super speeds) and there always seems to be a reason to power off the camera so no 24v. Also why couldn't yall figure out a way to fit separate run and power connectors? Preferably with the same connectors the bartech currently uses. Requiring a breakout box to use it the way most Steadicam ops use it seems like a huge design flaw to me. If you wanted things to be clean when using only one cable you could have had one port be power/run and the other be either just power or just run. Okay enough ranting, overall looks like a great product that will keep ACs from bitching about the lack of auto calibrate on the bartech. ~Jess

So the Zephyr sled is beefy enough to handle the payloads you could get when using a G-40 arm? I know in the past Tiffen has recommended against such things with their smaller rigs.

Inadvertent double post. Internet was being stupid.

They did add adjustable framelines to the Marshall. Unfortunately no flip or squeeze. I just set my monitor up to be easily flipped. Build quality is nothing compared to the Transvideo but personally when comparing the two I didn't feel that it was that inferior to the Nebtek. At the monitor shoot out I found that the Nebtek and the Marshall actually had better viewability than the Transvideo otherwise I would have seriously considered it for the features and build quality When I bought the Marshall the lack of availability of the Nebtek was actually a big concern as they didn't have any of the Steadicam version available. Site still lists it as out of stock although im not sure if thats up to date.

But of course the proper lubricant is lisigav...

Most hardware stores sell teflon grease. You can also order it online from places like mcmaster. ~Jess

I am refoaming my cases and was wondering what types of foam are commonly used and what people recommend. I have seen everything from the really soft open cell foams to really rigid closed cell foams used and am curious on what peoples opinions are about what is best to use. I also don't know what most of them are called if I am looking to buy them so if anyone has any clue that would be great. I am planning on using a hot knife to cut the foam myself at least for the prototypes. If I am not happy with the results I am getting I will let the professionals do it but I like the idea of being able to take the time to get everything laid out exactly how I want it. ~Jess

Don't rent a rig but I do have some accessories that I occasionally rent such as a bartech, redbyte downconverter, wireless video, etc. Let me know if you ever need anything. ~Jess