William Demeritt

Greetings all, I'm a new operator (flying for just over a year now), and I just had a question. You're starting out now, and upon hearing you're a Steadicam operator, the immediate follow-up question by producers, AC's and DP's is: "Oh, do you own your own rig?" So, you know it's crucial to your business that you own your own rig. Now, for the big question: Do you get your financing together and purchase a used rig, or do you purchase something new? I feel like my decision is guided by the work I'm getting (mostly prosumer cameras, RED One, etc), the resale value, the total cost of getting up and running, etc., are there any other factors to consider? If anyone can chime in with some guidance, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Concern duly noted... I'll be ordering the onion rings.

I should be attending as well, looking forward to it. Are drug dealers really that bad of a concern? Also, I'm looking forward to an explanation of the 'gaV.

I briefly chatted with someone from Arri about the new HD tap. The Ground Glass Cancellation feature was pretty impressive to see in motion, and can be easily reset with a piece of paper. You can turn the feature off, and you'll see the grain of the glass quite obviously. Also, they confirmed for me that the tap won't have a downconverter, as Eric indicated in the other NAB thread because of power consumption issues. The gentleman hinted that Arri expected the video to run to village and into a monitor, or if appropriate, through a downconverter and into an SD monitor. Perhaps not thought through for Steadicam operators. Moreso, watching the tap in action at NAB, I had the thought: OK, so it's HD now, so no more SD field monitors for village. You're now expected to have HD monitors or SD monitors with a downconverter? The image looked high definition in that it was the resolution of an HD image, but is that really the only perk? Just curious, but now you have an HD image in an HD monitor for your client/director, but you're still left reminding them: it's just a framing reference. Not a representation of color or exposure, nothing but a framing reference of the final product.

Saw the rig firsthand, very nice indeed. The "folded up" mode makes it very compact and great for travel. I'm sure it's a preliminary typo on the website. It currently reads: "10-40lb Camera Capacity" However, the documentation available from Tiffen in the Archer Literature (PDF on the website), it reads under Sled: "Nominal payload capacity of 26lbs/12kg" And under the G-40 arm section: "10–40 lb (4.5 - 18kg) capacity - total support weight"

Thanks for this, Erwin! This is my first NAB, so I'll definitely bring this along to make sure I don't miss any hotspots!

I'm very curious to hear the majority opinion on how to handle this sort of situation. Do people favor the up front "I'm sorry, but no, I cannot allow that" and leave it simple? Or do you concoct a more compelling "fib" to tell them? I tend to agree with the up front "no", since it'd be akin to you asking them to borrow several thousand dollars worth of equipment that represents their ability to generate revenue stream, and let you take it from their office and out into the field beyond their vision or control.

A few days ago, I saw a posting seeking a camera operator willing to scale a highway sign and shoot a car passing underneath it (no safety rope, permits, etc etc). Love it!

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cwg/1106277914.html From the post: "We're doing a mockumentary. We need to shoot a quick scene in Santa Monica tomorrow at 12:30PM. Our actor (dressed as a police officer) is going to go into the middle of the intersection of 3rd and Wilshire - direct traffic for a few moments - drop his pants - deficate in the middle of the street - and then run away. We can only shoot the scene once. We have two other camera operators. However, we've decided at the last minute to add a third. You'll be shooting from street level. You must be familiar with a Red camera. You'll be going MOS. The actor will be lapelled. The pay is $150 cash. (paid at the end of the shot). There will be NO credit given as this is obviously a non-permitted shot. Please send resume if interested." This sounds like a great opportunity!

Hear hear! FANTASTIC sausage, great eats, great conversation! Can't wait for the sequel(s)!

I'd appreciate a copy of the article as well. will AT wbd3 DOT com Thank you in advance!

I remember purchasing "On Directing Film" a few years ago and reading through it. I believe the book is a compilation he made after teaching a class at Columbia, and the book is comprised of his lectures. I do think that you're going to run into an argument based on subjective judgment, whether a shot is "subjective" or not. Is Steadicam "inflected", or is any camera movement? Is any camera pan or tilt taking away from what the audience should see and know? Does the camera need to linger? How much time does the average audience member need to recognize and understand a shot in a montage, or why composition exists as it is? I'm reminded of one of Billy Wilder's rules of filmmaking: let the audience figure it out for themselves, they'll be grateful. I guess the question of inflected versus uninflected shots then comes down to the storyteller. Are rapid cuts and frantic montage inflected or uninflected? What about the shots in Michael Haneke's "Caché", were those appropriate or forced? I'm sure everyone can think of a shot that stands out in their favorite movies, and play the devil's advocate: "Ignoring my affection for that shot, was it really truly necessary?" My question is: If we shoot everything in the most straightforward way possible, at what point are we just shooting theater? To answer the question at hand, one Steadicam shot that I frequently rewatch with amazement is the infamous "Contact" shot. The dialogue is essentially a string of orders for aligning the dishes, frequencies to check and recheck, and to have a montage of shots of her running past the camera would possibly suffice to be "uninflected". Chasing Jodie Foster from her car, up the stairs and into the lab is a fantastic, high energy shot, and really captures the character's enthusiasm and transfers it to the audience, many of whom may not be that enthused by radio frequencies and alignment orders.

It's a trap!! Ha ha ha!! Ahh, Jumbos, just a quick google search will let you know just what you can expect... but it is a Los Angeles staple.

I would think the proper way to reply to this statement is: - "Are you kidding me? Have you seen what some of the people on the subway are wearing?!" or - "The subway is a sinch. The problem is the turnstile... "

Brandon, Congratulations on your first gig, brother! I actually just joined that club too as of Friday. I think everyone would tell you sore hips means everything was right, and a sore back is a giveaway something was wrong. If you don't mind getting personal, what kind of pants/shorts were you wearing? At my workshop, I noticed wearing jeans or anything requiring a belt dug into my waist too hard and bugged me. I wear gym shorts with a draw string and it worked well for me. Congrats again, you going to upload your footage and face the critique firing squad? :lol:

Well, the checklist begins: - Have you checked the camera plate? Is it securely attached to the camera? - Is the screw underneath the plate clearing the top of the stage? Are the screws into the camera grabbing properly? Do you sense any play between the plate and the camera? - Top stage securely attached to the post? All the screws good at tight? Any play in the top stage? Lighter cameras create less stress on the camera plate and screw(s) than heavier cameras, so any play would be avoided because less force is exerted. The rig could be "almost" doing it with the lighter cameras, but since it's lighter and flown on the rig, it becomes negligible. Heavier cameras become the big best, and action transferred to heavy weight exaggerates the play or points out the flaw in a big way. Is that explaining it properly? I don't think I am, but I have it in my head what might be causing the issue.

I was pretty excited when I saw HD support, but then confirmed it's only HD playback. DVR still only captures at 640x480. Lots of other bells and whistles for people to use as a solid Personal Media Player. They're clearly making this an iPhone competitor.

I too am a steadicam newbie. Thank you all for this information, I expect to start trying for student films this Fall and will use this information for direction when talking money.

The copyright outrage is huge, but second to that does seem to be the price. Seems the person reprinting these shirts not only has no regard for Ted Churchill's memory, but also seems bent on charging through the nose.

Herve, I'm inclined to think the soundtrack was the best option, because I know I'd be muttering obscenities with every tree branch.

Greetings, all. Steadicam newbie, as one would guess. I took the 6-day workshop back in March, 2008 with Jerry, Peter, Ruben, Patrick et al, and have since done what I can to start investigating the proper path to becoming a steadicam operator. While I am doing my research and still working, one thing I'd like to set up in the mean time is a way to practice until I get my own rig. I had some possible opportunities, but I'd like to get something set up to borrow a steadicam rig and just practice. Borrow, rent (at a reasonable price? :D ), something just so I don't get rusty while things come together. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Even a friendly nudge in the right direction. I live in Los Angeles, have a car, can pick up and drop off gear, anything! Much appreciated, thank you all!

R Stone, I sent you a PM. Just a heads up.

Andy, The Litepanels are pretty fantastic, have some decent punch and are very portable (low enough weight that you could rig them on camera and still fly I think). More ideas might come from more info regarding the job. Facility with lots of hallways, so how are the hallways currently lit? Fluorescents? Sconces? Any windows mixing color temps? Walked through with a light meter?

Now that is a pretty little beast. Quite a nice design, very sexy. Time to count the change in my spare bags.

The recording quality on this unit doesn't seem too fantastic: Video Recording File Format: ASF Resolution: Max 720x480, 3Mbps The design of the unit is quite elegant, and seems to have lots of options for input and output. However, recording in a fairly ignored Microsoft streaming format doesn't seem like a wise move, unless you strictly want playback (and don't have an interest in using this footage for your reel).