Chris Callarman

Shooting basketball is all about zooming, focusing, tilting and panning at a very fast pace while following action that is often half a court away. Handheld for sure.

Any chance you can post a picture of your solution.

By the way, how much did the yoke cost?

I used to travel with my Magliner but it was getting beat up. Now I use a cheap Home Depot convertible cart. Its not that great for working off of but perfect for getting to and from the airport, gig and hotels. I also strap a stand under the bed between the wheels, so I don't have to worry about fitting it into a case, plus the cart is still functional in that config.

I too like my Marshal, works well in the sun and didn't break the bank.

If you get client who has a small camera and you have a cage you will have the proper piece of equipment for the job. Showing up with weight plates will look a bit on the amateur side. If just for practice, the weights are fine. Maybe you can put a spacer between the weights to make the load more "realistic".

Edit: Santiago, you beat me to it.

I am using the Hyperdeck Shuttle 2. It has worked well for me so far, and the low price is a plus. It would be cool if it had a menu and more options like the ability to delete a clip, but other than that, no complaints.

I bill 1:1 for corporate in the Bay Area. They can afford it.

I'm sorry you had to suffer, but while not perfect I would hardly call the demo unbearable. It shows what the system is capable of and the shots are fairly decent.

 

I wouldn't call it "unbearable" but I also wouldn't call those shots "fairly decent". If you know what your client is looking for, and those shots are adequate, then sure bring out the Russian Pole Vault.

 

I stand by fairly decent! However, shortcomings of the system aside, the demo would benefit from an edit down to the most bestist, fairly decent shots. ;)

I guess my real point is that I am not a fan of the trashing of other peoples work when, in my opinion, such a harsh critique is not merited.

 

From Filmotechnic - the makers of the Russian Arm and the Flight Head.

 

 

 

Russian arm is great but that demo is truly unbearable.

I'm sorry you had to suffer, but while not perfect I would hardly call the demo unbearable. It shows what the system is capable of and the shots are fairly decent.

If you don't want to permanently modify your sled you can simply run an HDMI cable from the front of your stage (under the lens) straight to the monitor. It's not as sexy as through the post but will work fine in most situations.

...I can appreciate the desire to save some money, but the Bartech is pretty much bulletproof and will continue to earn your money back well after you've paid it off. Seriously, for the price of a Bartech and it's reliability (both as a product, and Jim backing it up), just make the investment in a Bartech (new or used).

+1

And it's only $499!

I'm having trouble understanding exactly what a "clunk into the elbow" means. Could you go into a bit more detail or attach a picture illustrating the issue?

...took me a day to ask around friends that work in the industry what the hell this question was, a steadicam operator finally said "uh I think the guy that invented the steadicam was called Garrett something" so then I had to google him and find the name...

Luckily you have industry friends that know stuff. That is messed up you had to use Google.

Maybe he figured out how to put the vest on.

To be fair, at least this guy knows its shit. Im sure many Flycam owners wobble about like that believing its a fantastic piece of equipment.

Something tells me his review of a PRO would be the same.

Classic. I can't wait for the custom crane and dolly review.

If the cameras LOOK smaller they will be lighter right?

There is no spoon.

I think what's important here is the new term "automagically" Arvid has coined.

+1

Well, you could spot for me, but then who will shoot the cell phone video of me busting up my rig?

Hi Phil,

I regularly shoot sports TV on a hard/handheld camera, and once in a while on my Steadicam. I rarely do both on the same show, but have done so on occasion. Generally the directors I work with don't want to lose a camera while the Steadicam is working.

I was wondering if ops dock up at any point and take a rest out of the rig or do they just chuck it in the rest position when the play's at the other end? Is this a conversation you'd have the director/producer first, saying "if you see sky don't worry about it you'll have a shot when the ball comes back".

Early on, I learned the hard way that being strapped in and shooting nonstop for hours can wreck your back. Nowadays

I rest as much as possible, but sometimes that can be a challenge on a live show, so yes, talk to the director and explain that even small rest periods (on a stand ideally, but even in the resting position) can keep you from killing yourself. That said, I work for a director once or twice a year who even though I told him what I am doing, thinks I am offering a tilt from the sky when I am resting! LOL, it's always fun racing to get the rig of my shoulder before he comes to me.

I never see assistants/spotters with the ops when the appear in the background of other shots, do they just not bother with them on the live stuff?

I have always had an assistant/utility with me. If you are cabled, you will need someone to pull cable for you. If you are wireless I could see where you could end up by yourself, but that means you will not have anyone to watch your blind side, run for batteries, or grab your stand. So it is doable but not ideal. As far as having an assistant for pulling focus, that has never been an option, nor would I want that because I don't want to give up that control while shooting most live shows. I use a zoom/focus controller attached to my gimble for that.

Cheers.

I am looking for backup components and cables for my Fox follow focus, including motors.

Last year I ran steadicam for a show that wants to turn one of the handhelds they had into a second steadicam for this years show. Since the op who was on that handheld is steadi-trained (on my Master Series), production agreed to rent a rig for him so he can stay on the show. Camera Support seemed like a good place to rent from since the 3 rigs they have are all HD and have Stanton zoom/focus units. The choices are a Master Series Broadcast, an MK-V and a Studio Lightweight. Our first thought was to rent the master series since my friend is already familiar with it, but then the idea of a lighter rig seemed appealing because it is a live show with only a few chances to rest. Since I have never personally used either of the other rigs I don't really know what to suggest.

What do you guys think?

I am getting ready to attach a new yoke mounted LCD to my sled. I have discovered that with an Anton battery mounted to the monitor, the CG is shifted about maybe 1/2" to the right of center. So my question is, if I mount it at it's CG will having it shifted to one side have any ill effects balance wise? I suppose I could add a small piece of steel to even the weight distribution, but I would prefer not to.

 

 

Hang on you mounted the monitor on it's CG or on center?

 

If it's mounted on it's CG it doesn't matter how much it's displaced off center and that's what you want. You want ANYTHING you mount on the rig to be mounted on it's lateral CG

The monitors yoke is presently mounted to my sled on its CG, so it sounds like I'm good to go. And just to clarify, the monitor/battery is balanced within the yoke as well, so I can tilt the monitor with no change in CG, which is nice.

Chris;

 

I know you're being forward thinking here by asking but hopefully you've just tried it out by now?

 

My response would be the that's small enough that the top stage side to side will take care of it, and move on. Over time you'll decide whether its worth fixing with the piece of metal.

 

I don't know you so maybe you're really just careful but my take is not every inbalance can be offset in the real world so don't put 30 hours of effort into it.

 

Good luck and really not trying to be a smart-ass.

 

JA

I did get to test it to an extent. It balanced and ran fine with the triax camera I just used but my original thinking was that it might upset the dynamic balance which I did not get a chance to test out. Maybe I was over thinking the issue, but since I was in the middle of building the yoke and about to drill the mounting holes into it, I figured I might as well ask so I wouldn't have to redo the mount. As of now, I am going to take your advice and "move on" until I actually notice something or some physics major chimes in and sets me straight.