Charles Papert

The Half-Inch Rails zip tie versions as Tom linked above work great, are inexpensive and best of all made by "one of us"--Sam Morgan Moore who posts here from time to time. I have them on my DSLR zooms and are quite pleased.

Matthew, that may well have been the case in the scenario, and there is some truth to what you describe. However, in a hypothetical version of this (i.e. no longer referring to you personally), there's always the possibility that the DP or director or producer didn't care for one or another aspect of what the operator did, or how they acted on set, or what kind of pants they wore. Sure, they may use all of the footage because they need it to tell the story. Doesn't mean they loved it, just that they had to use it. I have heard plenty of times about operators who thought they "nailed it" "rocked it", "they loved my work" etc, only to later hear quite the opposite from the director or the DP. It's probably happened to most if not all operators at different times. Plenty of DP's will smile and shake your hand and say "good job" and then turn to their 1st's and say "lose that guy's number". Our business is a passive/agressive one! It certainly possible to go out there and work for a low rate and get taken along on the "big one". I can't quite quote chapter and verse in my own shadowy past, but I know it happened here and there. I Recently I had the opportunity to recommend an operator to a network series and I immediately thought of one of our brethren who has been toiling in the low-budg world and has helped me out on a couple of low to no budget shoots. He worked hard, did a good job, has the right attitude and approach, and I felt confident recommending him up to the big show. So it can happen.

I guess if we are concerned about UPM's and the rest seeing discussions on alleged rate fixing etc on here because it is a public forum, we should also be very clear here that no-one is advocating falsifying documents to cheat airlines. They need to see proof that we are in film production, and we legitimately are, it's just that we aren't issued official badges stating this fact that will satisfy the average airline counter representative (Mike's suggestion of the SOC card is a solid one, although an ID with a photo always seems best). I've gotten my situation resolved with Delta but after this experience, I most definitely will bring a printout of the airline's policy with me each time I fly so I don't have to go through that hassle again. Nothing infuriated me more than seeing an adjacent counter representative make one of those "he's a difficult customer" faces at me when I was insisting on them honoring their stated policy. Amazing to think that a counter agent at LAX who must process film/television crews every day not be aware of the extended weight parameters available on that rate schedule, but I guess I just got lucky.

Delta http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/special_baggage/fragile_bulky/index.jsp#media American http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/baggage/baggageAllowance.jsp

Hi James: See design below. I did it with their on-site tools although it would probably have been quicker just to do in Photoshop when all was said and done, I was just being "lazy". Referencing Rob's comments, I decided against using network logos and such to keep things kosher. PTI is actually my DBA (good ol' Pan, Tilt, Invoice--ha) but I added the "media services" just to hit the point home! As I mentioned, the quality of the card is top notch, it's on standard thick ID plastic stock and looks as good as any company ID. I even put a bar code on the back just for fun (that's on their site). Ironically, having just flown yesterday, I was up against it as both the Delta counter agent and the supervisor messed up the (rather simple) media rate structure. From now on I may just travel with a printout of the info from the carrier's website. Pulled it up on my phone but they wouldn't even look at it. Sigh. The good news was--no-one questioned the badge!! card.tiff

Yeah but: they have to work with poop every day. Not just the metaphorical poop that we deal with in the film industry, the literal kind. That counts for a lot.

This relates to traveling in the US, so if this doesn't apply please disregard. I'm sure most if not all of you know about the media rate excesses baggage discount that is more useful than ever these days considering how they whack "civilians" with extra bag charges. Not all airlines still offer this but many do (generally $50 per item, up to 100 lbs). I would have liked to think that my days of shlepping gear around in airports would have sailed into the distance along with my rig, but I seem to own more gear now than ever, just different stuff. Sigh. Anyway: one of the hangups I've had is that you are supposed to provide ID that shows you are in the media to be able to get the rate. It's supposed to be an "official" laminate, like a press badge; some counter agents are more lenient than others (some accept business cards, others don't). At different times I've had studio badges which made it easy, but other times I've had to work around it by having the production company clear it with the airline with a letter sent ahead of time, but that is a pain. I recently found this site. You can design a card within the browser with a variety of graphics and options, or upload your own design from Photoshop or whatever. No minimum number of cards, $12 a pop and they look as legit as any standard issued card. I'm obviously not advocating anyone pretend to be part of an organization that they are not, but most here have their own DBA or LLC and there's nothing wrong with creating a company ID badge for their own company (that's what this site is for). Just thought I'd pass it along. I'm personally relieved that this won't be an issue any more. Travel is hard enough as it is. p.s. yes, obviously having production deal with shipping is best, but there are plenty of times when checking it in is unavoidable, like a quick turnaround to another job.

Not that I think the idea isn't right and you guys should be fighting for good rates, but it does depend on the budget of the project. I shot five or six music videos for major label artists a couple years ago and helped produced a couple of them, so I saw the balance sheet and it wasn't pretty. When you have $20-25K for production and post, you aren't going to be spending 1/10 of it on Steadicam. Obviously there are much bigger budgets out there and maybe this is one of them, but it's good to temper one's expectations to the size of the project.

My own setup was due to go to V3.0 last year but I got tired of chasing my machinist and it never got built. I haven't done a DSLR shoot since the beginning of the year and frankly, not missing it! So many setups have arrived on the scene, I haven't evaluated them all so I wouldn't want to suggest which one is the best, but I think there are some definite merits to the Letus Master Cinema series which Shane Hurlbut helped design.

FYI: I've suffered through two seasons shooting with the Tiffen IR ND's while waiting for the Schneiders to become widely available in the larger strengths. By "suffer", I mean having to tweak the color temperature of the camera every time we change up filters. We measured our rental set last year and found up to 800K difference between specific filters. Tiffen told us that it some of that has to do with the age of the filters, that since they were introduced they have improved the fluctuation in color temp, but even the newest ones still can vary enough to register visually. And of course, stacking filters compounds the issue. Since I can't get my hands on a full set (up to 2.1 or at least 1.8) of the Schneiders yet, I can't say for sure that this issue will be completely avoidable with those, but their reps have told me as much. Bottom line: be very careful buying used Tiffen IR ND's. If you do, put a color temp meter up to them before purchase!

I had switched to the Klassen somewhere in that period. But occasionally I would switch back (kept the PRO vest around for that reason) and I don't recall a major difference in that regard. It had more to do with body isolation I think, with body movements translating through the arm holding the gimbal handle. This was happening on a pretty subtle level, I should add, not like big honking judders in the frame. More like having objects move close by the lens, where you can see the parallax shift during footsteps, or slight surges in speed. In my salad days I felt like I had gotten on top of this but subsequently it got away from me. C'est la vie.

Awesome to hear, Peter. Just steer clear of that 3D b.s. for at least a little while, eh? (vote for the OG Pedro!)

I tested that monitor when it first emerged a couple of years ago and it was useless in daylight.

One thing the Monitor Shootout demonstrated (as intended) is that monitors are quite subjective and it's not until you place them next to each other that the real truth comes out. Many who have done a blind taste test of beer, wine etc. is usually rather shocked when they find out that they may have rated the brand they swear by much lower than ones they would have never considered before. Brand loyalty is a blinding factor that can be in direct opposition to actual quality. At the Shootout, we learned many things about the then-current LCD's but also some very interesting things about the CRT's as well. While all could easily see that the green screens were better, there were quite a few PRO or TB6 loyalists who were surprised to see how one stacked against the other. Bottom line is that if one considers viewability to be the most important factor in a monitor (assuming a standard level of reliability and features), then there may well be only one choice. But the only way to know that is to view the displays under the same conditions with the same source. Maybe time for another shootout! If that miscreant R. Baldwin doesn't run off to NYC on another gig (and since it will keep him away from Jumbo's, it may actually be a good idea since the Treasury is running out of dollar bills), I have designs on us pulling off the Great Transmitter Debacle this summer and it would be easy enough to fold in a mini-monitor comparison at the same time.

Having a smaller rig as well as the big one was one of the best choices I made a few years back. Certainly it made DSLR flying more palatable; I did a lot of travel gigs in those weird couple of years and having a complete setup in two cases was a godsend. Plus it was more fun and felt good to fly a lighter rig. They key for me was having a sled that was as capable electronically as the big rig (and shared the cable and accessory collection). A small rig doesn't have to mean a crippled system, theoretically the only variable should be the maximum payload. This is well represented in the newest offerings from PRO that allow one to "build down" the sled to accommodate smaller cameras. Alexas are indeed an industry standard, but they are by no means universal. I shot my series on the F3 last year and our sister show, "Workaholics" is shot on the C300. I'm sure there are others in the same boat. Are lenses gettings smaller? Kind of--the need for very fast primes is diminishing as cameras become more sensitive, and the slower lenses like the CP2's and Panchros are much lighter. As more low budget folks enter the 35mm sensor world, there is an increased demand for inexpensive lenses to go along with the cheaper cameras, and I foresee some interesting times ahead with that. I've seen a few Scarlet/Epic shoots recently being done with rigs like Flyers and Varizoom Aviators. No doubt those operators would be flummoxed if they had to fly a ring light like Alec did, but then again--I'm sure they were being paid so little that one could hardly expect them to have the kind of extensive kit that generally comes with a fullsize rig.

SOLD

Shouldn't be tough actually--here's one for $4K (don't know if it sold yet or not) http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/private-classifieds/507680-steadicam-flyer.html

Nimblecam has SOLD!!

Hey, you guys remember this thread? The Monitor Shootout was just over three years ago. Interesting to revisit and see how things have progressed.

I know for a fact that over a period of maybe 10 years, my once well-hidden footsteps started showing up again in slow-moving shots. Same arm (PRO) and no mechanical explanation for this. My footwork never quite recovered from a broken ankle along the way. All I can draw from this is that having the right gear makes it a lot easier to achieve but footwork is critical, along with guiding the arm in as linear a direction as possible. I like a lot of the advice that Andrew relayed. I don't agree that one should walk the same with the rig on as without, especially on slow moving shots.

Alan: no master classes planned for immediate future although they may return down the road.

To add a little fuel to the fire, it's long been my experience that operators view their own work through a remarkably wide variety of clear to deeply rose-colored glasses, so the footsteps thing may be perceived as more of an issue by some than others. Historically one can look at work done with a 3A or Master's arm by the best operators and see not a hint of footsteps; likewise there are shots being made as we speak with PRO arms featuring bobbing foreground elements up the wazoo. At my operating peak I felt that hiding the steps was one of my primary assets but by the end I had basically gone to shit in that regard. I even suspected my PRO arm but it checked out perfectly fine (maybe I should have tried hosing down my own chassis)? It's always great to use the best tools available but the meat side of the Steadicam equation is ultimately the most critical factor.

Really? Guess I haven't seen it. That must be lightning-fast.

I saw Peter's Axis 1 in action at the Stabilizer Expo today and want to point out that his system turns a lens faster than anything I've seen yet. I was very impressed. It's not generally that much of an issues for Steadicam due to the generally smaller diameter of flyable lenses, but for lightning-fast racks from near to far on a big honker like a 11 or 12 to 1. Peter, you should put up another video that shows a more aggressive spin of the knob than the one you posted above--it wasn't apparent in that video just how fast your motor can go. Would love to see it head to head with, say, the DM1X on the same lens and a stopwatch on both. Actually I just remembered an instance where this would have been handy for Steadicam--did a shot on Ugly Betty once that started with the figures on a wedding cake filling the frame, then boom up and rack to actors. We used a macro lens, as fast as the lens could rack from probably 8" to 8'. I had to modify the speed of the boom to accommodate the motor.

YOU are