Michael Wilson

I have been having this same problem too. So much so that it is kind of stressing me out. I don't think I had this problem before with my previous rig, which was about a third the price of my new setup. I have talked with veteran ops, tried their sled with my arm, their arm with my sled, etc etc. I haven't really come up with a solution either. I suppose its becoming more bearable or I'm learning to tune it out. No matter how hard I try it can creep into a shot at any moment. It is most apparent when something is close to the lens, strong horizontal lines on walls and so on. I have detuned the arm, learned to walk softer, taken the ride up and down, added weight and other things I can't think of right now. I guess the best way I can explain it is. I'll take a step or two and sure I may see a tiny bounce or my step may show up in the lens. But along with that is a high frequency bobbing feeling. It will show up when I stop too. It can come in between steps, at the top of step or any time really. I have thought of several scenarios. Bad operating/walking I know some of my steps can show up in the lens but this bounce doesn't seem like its coming from me. Socket block in vest is shifting. tried a friend's klassen vest and saw similar results Detuning arm helps but still seeing some bounce Anyway if anybody has any ideas or can make sense of this let me know your ideas. My next moves is to try out other arms like master's, steadyrig, ultra and so on. Pro is out of my price range.

Those jogging shots looked pretty nice, but also a little weird. Under the park benches, the foliage and all the other items that passed by looked affected. Liked they lacked parallax or something. Looked almost like a still photos. It's not so, umm, "organic" if you will. Also you couldn't do very dynamic shots where actors get closer or further from the camera. A lot of calculation on set would have to be done in order to make the crop work without cropping out the actor's head if they were to approach the lens. So the biggest sensors now are 4k-5k. People will be finishing and posting in 4k in next few years as well. Theaters will be 4k and so will home television. Question about post stabilization. Is it a matter of cropping in and key framing? Or can the whole frame be stabilized without cropping in?

So I have a job coming up and don't have time to send off some of these hytron 50 cases to be recelled. Their is a local Batteries Plus that can do it with a caveat since they don't normally do these types of batteries. They will do it as long as I don't hold them accountable if they mess up the electronics. Obviously this seems like a no brainer, but I was wondering. Is this a fairly simple procedure? Is their a good chance they could muck up the battery/electronics inside? I have 4 hytron 50's on a red job. I can always power the camera with a red brick so I'm not really sweating it. Thanks for any input.

So I went ahead and bought the genesis. I have the v3 electronics in it. I did a test today with a red one and a 15" panasonic hd sdi monitor and ran it through the sled. The bartech caused no interference with the signal. However a cell phone that was placed pretty much on the bnc input on the top stage caused a very very tiny amount of thin pink noisy lines. No drop out whatsoever.

Got it done. That was really simple.

I'm also looking to buy a j bracket for a 5/8" post. My name is mike as well.

This makes alot of sense. Thanks for your help.

email me at loosecreek@gmail.com thanks

So I'm having a friend make me a weight plate from scrap metal. I've searched the forums and internet concerning the camera screw hole. I'm having a piece of steel cut to fit on the dovetail. However this piece of steel will likely be over 1/2" thick. I will have him tap a 3/8" and 1/4 20 holes. Where can i find a camera screw to get through the dovetail, weight plate and into the camera? I'm confused about the mounting of this plate. thanks

Was the op riding on a dolly? Pretty smooth move.

Someone passed this along to me. It looks like at the moment it does hdmi only. They are saying it is about $600-$700. Does this seem to good to be true? Any thoughts? Optitek on cinema 5d

The site looks good. It does its job. However I would say something that stood out to me was the pic on the front page. You look like you are in pain. Perhaps a pic where you are more relaxed would be better. Good reel!!

Touche MK-V does have an office in Connecticut.

I have found a great deal of info on most rigs be it tiffen, xcs and pro perhaps I'm forgetting one. I have done so much research I really can't wait until I purchase a rig because I'm kind of sick of researching. I have searched and searched and have found 2 perhaps 3 posts that mention the genesis sled and with little depth whatsoever about the rig and concerns I have. Not really much info aside from what the manufacturer provides. So I'd like to hear from some owners of this rig. thanks

I have looked at pretty much all of the pro level stabilizers out there in my price range and I'm thinking about getting a Genesis with a 1.5" gimbal/ 2 stage post and would like to hear thoughts from owners of this system. It fits my budget and its so modular as well. I'm getting a g-50 arm and entertaining a klassen vest however I don't think I'll be able to afford it. The gimbal and top stage can support a great deal of weight. It is 12/24 volt. My biggest concern is how the sled feels. I have been operating with an actioncam red edition for the past two years. It has been a great rig for me but it feels like a lightweight steadicam flyer or pilot even though is has 30 lbs of camera on it. Lots of unwanted pendular and angular action. I've gotten this under control but it takes way too much concentration away from the shot to worry about the rigs behavior. After trying tiffen and pro rigs I was amazed at how much they would just sit still. Why did you choose this system? Any regrets? How does the sled feel? Solid and inert like a big rig? How does low mode feel? Thanks for any and all info.

Do you all find that whip pans can be cut together? I suggested to some clients that we can use whip pans as points to make cuts for longer sequences in order to give the editor more options and cutting the takes together. practice practice practice.

Looking for something along the lines of an ultra or master vest. Let me know what you have and i'll take a look. Happy New Year!

What do you guys do for money when you don't have any work? Looking for something low commitment as I don't want to screw somebody over if I get a call for a shoot. Looking to buy a new rig so I need to get some more money together.

Here is a shot I did for a web series that just released. Took a couple of wooden dowels and stuffed them in the rails. Then made a cupholder out of bail wire and put some gaff tape on for cushion so it wouldn't jiggle. It was a fun shot to do. Had to brace the post like all get out when she grabbed the beer but I think the frame is so busy it didn't matter if their was a little movement. We did a 4-5 minute oner in another episode which will be coming out soon.

I have done a couple music videos, one of which made a pretty big splash. Doing corporate doc stuff, shorts, and web series type stuff. The mistakes I'm talking about are more slight bumps or slight mistakes that I could obsess over all day when in actuality are more acceptable than I think. Of course we all want absolute perfection when our shots are on the screen. I am not trying to make an excuse for mediocrity because I'm quite proud of the progress I'm making. I want to be able to rise to the expectations and become as professional as possible. From time to time I see some bumps, horizon correction and bad settles that surprise me on big budget stuff.

I'm getting better and more experienced at steadicam and am getting more work. Over the past year I have been working mostly with a production company as a camera/steadicam operator. These guys are my friends and we have a good working relationship on set. I have some interest coming in for operating on some bigger stuff and am wondering about some of the on set expectations and etiquette. Do dp's and directors expect you to nail the shot every take? For more intricate stuff its usually a rehearsal and a take or two or three for myself and the actors to work out the timing and blocking so we can get the shot. Sometimes we get a great take on the first or second go. I feel like I have really stepped up my game a lot but would like to hear what sort of expectations I need to be aware of on sets where the director and dp aren't my good friends. Sometimes I beat myself up over a bump or a half second of bad horizon which doesn't seem to bother the dp and director.

I'm pretty sure most of the moving shots are steadicam. Maybe some more seasoned eyes could better inform me. The shots and cuts are great. The horizons are pretty flawless for being so wide. The Gift

I'd like to get an idea of what the really experienced ops look for when reviewing a shot on set. I sometimes cringe after looking at shots a few days later and realizing immediately how something could have gone better. Obviously their are technical issues like staying level, actors hitting marks, wobbling/bumps but I am looking for more in the realm of fulfilling the director's vision and how to see those things on set. I know this seems pretty subjective and comes with experience, but is their anything you look for on set when reviewing? Here is an example how I could have made a shot better. I had a shot where I was in a living room and followed a trail of smoke to something burning in a kitchen. From there I walked up a set of risers to follow the "digital" smoke rising into a vent above the stove. After looking at it a couple of days later I realized I should have stayed further from the stove as I followed the smoke up into the vent. It just would have looked more interesting. I wish I would have seen this on set. But the director was happy so we moved on. Ever have shots where you know something is off and you aren't quite sure what it is at the moment?

Is their anything you can foresee that might be a problem since you bought the archer instead of the clipper? Obstacles you might run into that could have been avoided with the clipper.

Chris, Thanks for the info. I am interested in this kind of setup. Pushing the limits of a small rig from time to time and not having to buy an ultra to keep your bases covered especially for the market I am in at the moment. Anyway I have a question about balancing a heavier camera on an archer compared to the same camera on an ultra. Hope you understand what I mean. Is the ultra more bottom heavy to begin with that it does not need extra weights or the the post extended in order to balance a heavy camera? So you apply the add on weights for the archer in order to increase the weight the sled can balance?