Charles Papert

I was on that list also. Extra receiver is $1000 more.

On the p-tap setup that Alan posted a pic of early in this thread: I've recommended just that setup to a number of ops over the past few years. Just to clarify, for those who might think it makes sense to just wire the Lemo direct to the AB breakout: it does in theory, to keep bulk down by the top stage. However having owned four or five of these breakouts and had several of them exhibit failure of one or more ports, it's more cost effective to have the Lemo to female p-tap cable made once and keep the four-way splitter stock, so you can easily replace it. And if you only need one p-tap source, you can eliminate the splitter. More often than not, I preferred to put the splitter up by the camera anyway, to keep the camera self-contained for when you move to studio mode. This setup just gives you more options. One last thing: the p-tap standard is not an ideal one but it is here to stay. The splitters do have a tendency to live up to their name in a less desirable fashion, in that the two halves that make up the outer shell can start to separate. When this happens, it becomes possible to insert a connector the wrong direction, which will obviously reverse the polarity. I've had it happen and it wasn't pretty. You can bind the sucker up with tape but at a certain point its safer to replace it with another splitter. Have been trying to coerce various parties to build a "pro" version of the four p-tap concept with a metal case and a power switch and no-one has taken the bait yet...

Because equipment that has been announced but not shipped does not effectively exist. Until there is a production model in the wild, making comparisons is folly. $3K Scarlet, anyone?

To add to this: I was always pretty proud of how this arm came out. My machinist did a fantastic job on the mods. Many have asked about the design since. To clarify Michael's description, either the socket or the armpost mount can be quickly reverted to original in the field. So, you can use the arm with a lightweight Tiffen vest with the mini-socket, or any standard vest. You can mount any sled with the smaller gimbal handle size, or any 5/8 gimbal. Mix and match as required. And all mods were non-destructive, the arm is still stock except for the improved bearings and springs. It's a really great little arm and would be ideal as a backup for light cameras etc.

Janice--as a reminder I have a Flyer vest to sell.

OK yeah, the downconverter is indeed 12v. I didn't notice that you described it as such. This is after all a thread about HDMI to SDI convertors. Blackmagic is a little erratic about their power conversion--it seems weird that some of their mini-convertors have upgraded high-voltage capability and others don't. Meanwhile: AJA still has some units that are 5v, and others that are fine with higher voltage. For the record, Decimators all take the voltage that a hot battery can dish out.

Specs on the heavy duty converter are 12-31v as indicated on the Blackmagic site, and here, above. You should be fine. There is also a battery converter version available that has the same heavy duty case plus inetrnal battery but is cheaper, inexplicably. Same price as the "classic" converter. That is also 12-31v.

Well yes, they are all based on the Amimon board as far as I know, same goes for the "big boys" like Boxx, Transvideo etc.

Well, being that it is HDMI I/O rather than SDI, that would seem to make it more of a competitor to the Paralinx than the Bolt.

Regarding the EF lenses: simple solution is to use lenses with hard stops, like the Zeiss ZE/CP2's (primes) and the Zeiss LWZ's or older Tokinas. All have coverage for full frame. A digital system that does lens mapping such as the Preston HU3 will actually make the hard stop lenses very functional; you tape out as many reference marks are required (focus visually against a tape measure) and the software interpolates the rest. This way you can effectively turn ZE's into CP2's for a fraction of the price--only difference then being the manual continuous iris.

I handled it at DV Expo but the company rep was not particularly forthcoming nor friendly. I have a feeling it was his first show. What I saw on the monitors looked fine (clean image and no lag) but it wasn't a distance test. I never really trust trade show demos anyway, would rather put a transmitter through the paces in multiple environments before deciding anything about them. The Camwave did pretty well at NAB that first year... Trying to get a tester but they seem to be on lockdown. I have a feeling that the promised delivery date is misty.

Canon C300 offers both 24p and 23.98 frame rates. Unless your project is intended for projection, it should be at 23.98 and thus the downconverter would work.

What's the preferred drop time on a Sigmantovich?

Nanoflash does not downconvert. At this stage it seems like the smart money would be to buy an HD monitor.

Kyle: There aren't hard and fast rules on reels--every viewer is looking for something different. The one thing we do know is that the first 30 seconds is a make-or-break. If you haven't drawn them in by then, chances are they'll be on to the next. If it's good, then you advance to the next level of scrutiny, which means they may watch more before making a final decision to hire you. Along these lines, my last Steadicam reel had a 30 second montage and then got into more lengthy stuff. It was way too long overall, but the montage was sound enough. I still think that's the best way to do it. I don't particularly care for 3 minute montages because after the first minute of quick cuts, I want to see the kind of choices and operating that go into more complete takes. Five or more seconds of walk and talk to check out headroom consistency and horizon, five seconds of lockoff, fast pans that turn into a lockoff, slow moving shots. All these take screen time. But I think they are very important. It's great if all of the projects you use are recognizable faces but barring that, I don't care if it's a student film if the operating is stellar. By the way, the shot of the girl in the red dress cracked me up--you'll see why if you check out this 13 yr old clip: http://charlespapert.com/DP/DPtahari.html

Just to clarify, there is no governing body granting certification for instructors (just as there is no formal certification for Steadicam operators).

The complication of what you describe, Rob, is that there are a lot of people out there who don't know how they come off, who probably fancy themselves to be quite the great guy on set and political and all that good stuff when in reality they are viewed by others quite differently. I don't think there are many here who consider themselves to be egotistical assholes, but ask for a show of hands on set and they may be in for a surprise. The problem is that sometimes we need to assert ourselves for reasons that may or may not be understood by others, because they are bringing their own personality quirks to bear on how they view you. One can act exactly the same on two jobs, and being assessed entirely differently by that crew. I'll be the first to say that I don't expect everyone to love me and think I'm the greatest guy. I can be direct and sarcastic and sometimes abrasive (hello Boston), but I try to do it with humor and if someone doesn't get it, f**k 'em if they don't get the joke. I actually like the peeps I hire to have a little bit of edge, quite honestly I'm a little apprehensive of people who are all folksy and pleasant and never stop smiling because I don't quite trust it, and sometimes it doesn't get the job done quick enough. That may sound surprising but I've seen operators talk to grips like "hey old buddy old pal, I was just wondering if you could possibly rustle me up a lil ol' something so I can get this here actress just a bit higher in my shot--what do you think might do it? Hate to bother you.." blah blah blah. "Can I get a quarter apple please?" works just as well and it might actually arrive before we start rolling. You never know what a particular DP or director is looking for in the personality of a Steadicam operator. It's not a one-size-fits-all proposition. You can ultimately only be who and what you are. If you can and want to wear the rig all day long, go right ahead, but all I really care about is what you do with it when it's on your body (but god help you if your last take is floatier than the first even as you've been refusing the dock for appearances sake). One of the things you can regulate is how much you participate to make the shot work better. Some people like to hire operators that are basically walking remote heads/tanks; keep your mouth shut, execute the shots and yes, wear the rig all day. In some cases those are DP's that like to operate the conventional and handheld themselves and would probably do Steadicam if they could. I personally much prefer operators (Steadicam and otherwise) that are have my back while I'm focusing on the big picture, i.e. fixing things in the frame, working with all the other departments, solving problems as they come up etc. This all works as long as our aesthetics happen to dovetail--if not, it's a lot of noise and fuss and I'll probably have to switch the guy into "walking remote head" mode just to get through the day. I have played a game with myself on the odd occasion, which is that if the me of today hired the me of yesterday as a Steadicam operator, would I be happy with mini-me? Generally the answer would be yes, although there were certain periods where I was something of an arrogant douchebag (so not then), and by the end I was much less proactive (so not then either). Then it's helpful to play the same game but now picturing myself as a producer or director working with me as a DP. You can't please everyone all the time, and it's important to be able to read the personality of whoever you are working for and mold yourself as much as reasonable to satisfy their quirks, but if you can be the person that you would want to hire, you are probably doing pretty well.

Indeed Doc, confirmed that Poptent takes a $40K fee while the filmmakers get $7500: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/08/business/la-fi-ct-poptent-20120508 Also to address the "it hasn't caught on" theory--look at the list of clients. The number and diversity mean that this is not the type of situation like Doritos where it's easy to spot the spec on a reel. Poptent is doing brisk business and no reason to think it won't grow. Even if they chose to reshoot, they have used the original filmmakers as an ad agency that created and even shot a proof of concept spec to get the idea across--still a bargain at $7500. And since Poptent owns the concept, I imagine they get an additional payout if the spot is remade (and of course the filmmakers get nothing). It would be nice to believe that the crowdsourcing concept is a fad that will die out and everyone will get back to work as usual--wouldn't count on it. And it's not accurate to say that it is clearly low quality, as some of it is all but indistinguishable from the "real thing". Look at the dollarshaveclub.com promo--it's just about perfect in every way, and it cost under $5K to make.

Meh. You guys are being paid to operate the rig, not stand around in it. Any director or DP or especially AD that expects otherwise and makes a thing out of it is missing the point. Sure, it happens, but I always found that having a quiet conversation with the right parties can fix it most of the time. More than a few AD's insisted that the only way to get the set to settle in before a take was to call "camera up", but then I'd be left standing around while a mike was fixed or a last note was imparted. I used to explain that instead, I would be standing at the dock, post in gimbal, rig ready to be pulled out and when I heard "roll camera" I'd pull it off. My promise was that if we were ever held up by that procedure, we'd address it. But we weren't. There's a difference between complaining and working smart. Saving energy for the take is smart.

So here's a sobering one. Meet Poptent (poptent.com). They put together corporate giants and filmmakers via crowdsourcing to make the former spots. How it works: a brand like VW, Budweiser etc. contacts Poptent with a loose concept, and Poptent puts it up on a page on their site. The, an army of 50,000 filmmakers have an opportunity to create spots (out of their own pockets, of course) and post them on the site. If the corporate entity decides they like any of them (and they are under no obligation to do do so), they can purchase them for a buyout fee of $7500 per spot. $7500. It's obvious to see how this is a win for the corporation, since they have very little time and no money invested in the process. I'm sure Poptent takes a fee from every spot sold. And you can see why a gaggle of enthusiastic filmmakers in Poughkeepsie are inspired to go out and shoot a spot in the hopes that they will get tapped to make more, plus they get to put a legit spot with a national brand on their reel. What of course these leaves out is everyone from the agency to the production company to the talent to the crew that used to make a living from this sort of thing. Like, for instance, working Steadicam operators--because you know that even if someone here did work on one of these, that whopping $7500 payout isn't going to be split too much in their direction (unless they happened to also direct/edit/produce/do crafty on the shoot, because it was made by three people or something). I'm sure most of those eager filmmakers think that once they get enough of these spots on their reel, they will graduate to the "bigtime". The problem is: this approach makes too much financial sense for this model not to grow in other areas. Sure, there will always be high-budget fancy ads--but this kind of thing will undoubtedly eat away at the middle ground and put a lot of people out of work. So by the time the kids are ready to graduate, there won't be any more work for them to graduate to, other than more $7500 paydays. Yay! Progress!

The key here is "bright overhead sun"--as in, don't shoot it then, shoot it backlit in the morning or late afternoon when it's not overhead and fill with a bounce will do it, as Eric notes. This may sound flippant but it's the simple solution and just a matter of scheduling. Otherwise, California Sunbounce makes some lightweight traveling diffusion and scrim for this sort of thing. But it will still look better shot at the right time of day.

Kinda cool that they refer to the "Hill Bracket rosette" in the product literature--Jerry, you made an industry standard!!

Think you meant 12-31v? The original convertor is still 12v maximum but both the heavy duty and the battery convertor versions are 12-31v. Looks like the battery convertor version is the same price as the original ($280 street) so that seems to be the one to get.

FYI something is wacky in the Delta system--had same issue on return flight with them where the counter agent was seeing 75 lbs as the upper weight limit on their system instead of the actual policy of 100. Definitely bring a printout and be prepared to fight. I spent 20 minutes on the phone yesterday trying to explain to three different people that there was a glitch in their system that needed to be fixed..

FYI something is wacky in the Delta system--had same issue on return flight with them where the counter agent was seeing 75 lbs as the upper weight limit on their system instead of the actual policy of 100. Definitely bring a printout and be prepared to fight. I spent 20 minutes on the phone yesterday trying to explain to three different people that there was a glitch in their system that needed to be fixed..