Charles Papert

True enough, the bowling alley in Burbank is pretty good. I was just thinking the atmosphere at the spot in Hollywood might be a bit more groovy for those who aren't bowling. And by "atmosphere" I mean "scenery"...and by "scenery" I mean "eye candy"...hope you are all following me on this...

Chuck Jackson and his son Travis are the names you seek... Rob, was I teaching at that workshop? That may have been just before my tenure at Rockport.

Here's a reason why transmitting video to the director while you are controlling the video at the sled is not a good idea: if you are docked any distance from video village (likely), many times during playback there is a need to discuss things with the director/DP, point at the screen, use slow mo or freeze frame to point out something, etc etc. Being separated will make this a yelling match across the set. That's not to say that it isn't nice to be able to transmit video anyway, since there are many other departments and personnel that can benefit from playback (the AD's can fix background issues, the AC can see exactly when you are leaving one actor for another etc.). I just find that you have to be physically next to the director or DP when watching playback for it to be a truly useful tool, and have control of the playback as well.

Aww Peter, now I've gone and hurt your feelings! No really, I've been planning to get DA's for this other project for a while. I'm just going to need an extra minibrick for these odd DV eventualities, apparently. I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this same issue.

Thanks guys. I spoke to VAC yesterday and they are have a variety of units available with different configurations, and can ship direct, which is nice.

OK, so lots of thoughts and ideas, thanks everyone. Jason: the cameras are indeed set for 0 IRE, which is recommended while in the digital domain. My understanding is that TV's, DVD players etc. will add the setup needed to bring it to the proper 7.5 IRE for the analog world, so we are doing the right thing. I should have added the following: cabling direct from the camera to the monitor worked just fine. Cabling through the rig caused the image to appear double-terminated. And as I described before, cabling from the camera to the monitor (again, fine) and then looping out of the monitor to the rig caused the image to go bad again on the monitor. And I should clarify that the image is not just a setup issue--the whole image drops down, with the appearance of an improperly-terminated signal. A VDA mini-brick like the one Peter describes and offers (thanks Pete, I've actually got a couple of projects that I'll need these for so I'm about to order a handful) should do the trick...shouldn't it? Will a termination issue on one output of the VDA affect the others? In other words, a clean signal going into the VDA (from the camera) can then be passed on to the monitor, while another output goes to the sled. If the sled somehow terminates or otherwise messes up the video signal, are we saying that this will contaminate the other outputs, including the one to the monitor? I thought a VDA keeps things discrete. But then again--we've been seeing these problems on the Ultimate also, which uses an internal VDA. keep 'em coming folks, we'll lick this thing yet. Oh, and if anyone (Peter etc) has a recommendation on a brand/place to get good deals on 3 output VDA, I'm all ears. Doing the research but recommendations are good too.

Mitch, I thought so too. Sort of really annoying, since that means it has to be powered...ugh. The real question is, why is this happening? And why, since the Ultimate has a DA in it, would this still be happening under these circumstances?

Here's the thing: I flew an XL1s on my PRO last year and discovered that looping video out of the rig from anywhere (including the BNC on the TB6) for checking lighting on the broadcast monitor during setup was problematic. The image was dark in a "double terminated" fashion. The transmitted video was the same. The image on the rig was fine. We even tried cabling direct from the camera to the broadcast monitor, then looping back to the rig, which should have definitely worked, but it still double-terminated. We tried using a T out of the camera, didn't work either. Any available termination switches were thrown and re-thrown. Different cables were tried. All obvious techniques failed. This week I saw Erwin's Ultimate do the same thing with a DVX100. So, two different DV cameras, two different sleds (and of course the Ultimate having a built in video d.a. to boot). What's going on here??

Will, I sort of recognized you, but wasn't sure (without those dreads...!)

The operator appears to be using the new "invisible" gimbal--extraordinarily low coefficient of friction due to complete lack of mass...!

One last question--wasn't Kimberley supposed to be picking up Jonathan's lunch at the Breakfast Club? She arrived back empty handed...another of these supposed "reality show" farces?

Ozzie, just so you know, my girlfriend thought you looked "really cute" after the haircut. She was quick to add that you looked fine beforehand also. I told her it was OK, that you used to be a longhaired freak and now you were just a freak with a $125 haircut....!

Looked like 5 or 6! So fess up Ozzie, you weren't just sitting at that restaurant in Beverly Hills when Jonathan picked you, right? It was some sort of set-up, yeah?

OK, I'm definitely going to tape that. I'm going to wager that you are wearing one of your industry T-shirts, Ozzie! Seeing as everyone else gets a reality show these days, maybe it's time for a Steadicam operator to get one. Or maybe we just put all of the participants in the A-R thread together on a desert island for a month. It won't be on the air until at least the end of the year, but my gal and I are going to be one on of those home renovation shows on HGTV--they did the first taping yesterday. Can I just say how much I enjoyed not having to shlep any of the gear? And I did make it most of the day without making any suggestions to the shooter, at least until he and the producer couldn't figure out the angle they needed. Luckily he was a really good sport about it. It reminded me of the story (from that great book that Teddy appeared in, "Light Years") when legendary DP James Wong Howe was experiencing a slowdown in work and he opened a Chinese restaurant; a newspaper photographer came to take some pictures and Howe made a suggestion on his lens choice. Allegedly the snarled response was "listen, you cook the noodles, I'll take the pictures"! Looking forward to tonight's "Blowout"...!

BJ old boy (or bitch, as it were), I've been meaning to ask, and now is as good a time as any: what exactly is your little avatar picture of? It looks like one of Hannibal Lecter's victims. Or did you have a horrifying mountain bike accident...? Please, do tell.

David, I knew you were going to think I was razzing you, I should have pre-empted that, sorry. There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't have a goal of becoming a DP, and no reason why you can't learn to light (that's one of the great things about operating; you get a free education in watching someone else light a set, and take as much from that as you want). I guess I'm just pointing out that it's getting sucky for just about everyone out there working below the line, although I can't say that there are many positions that have seen as great a percentage drop in rates as Steadicam operating. Of course, in many people's minds it was just too inflated to begin with. I take that back, there is one below-the-line position that never ceases to amaze me income-wise: colorist. Those guys and gals are making BANK! Mebbe we should all be learning the DaVinci.

Gents, this "DP's make twice as much--don't have to wear the rig--that's the way to go" reasoning is about as realistic as the company grip who looks at us and figures "Steadicam operators have it made". In today's environment, the responsibilities, pressures and politics in the DP position are only increasing; and except for those at the top, the good money is becoming harder and hard to get. I know for a fact that I have often made more as a Steadicam operator than the DP (I'm talking full-on union shows here), and that's not even considering the countless after-hours and weekend meetings, discussions, phone calls/visits to the lab or telecine, all of which is included in that flat weekly deal. Obviously not every DP has to do this, but many do. Today's cinematographer is held accountable when days run long even if it is the indecision/inexperience of the director that is causing this. Dealing with the studio pinheads, the production company, the producers and the UPM on a near-daily basis is exhuasting (different than humping around a Panavised Cinealta, sure, but bona fide exhaustion nonetheless). I'm not denying that it can be a great gig. I've seen (and myself had some experience with) the dark side of the position to know what kind of a toll it can take, and how little monetary return is involved considering the importance of the job. And honestly, considering the amount of bristling that goes on in here about the attitude "buy a rig, become a Steadicam operator", isn't it the same thing to suggest "buy a light meter, become a DP?" (I'm referring back a few posts).

Hadn't seen the second one of those, thanks for posting Ruben! The laughs get a bit more forced each time they do one, sadly. If you can hunt down the original "Truth in Advertising" clips that preceded both of these, it's worth it.

I have one I don't use any more. It's a bit Frankenstein-esque, but it worked great for me back in '94 on the World Cup. 6' long, Kings connectors, and the ground wire has triple back-ups. I tried to use it once with a digital Triax setup, and it didn't work for some reason although the engineers tested it and all of the wires showed continuity, so I don't know--some sort of digital weirdness. If you interested in buying it, email me and I'll send some pix. Charles

Definitely this is an important issue to take note of. I flew my old rig for years with a wonky vest that forced me to compensate by twisting/leaning a certain way. Knock on wood, my back has never troubled me yet but that right hip has a little conversation with me each and every day.

Nikk: Just because I see a potential red flag, thought I would make sure to clarify something here: I'm don't know what you own for gear, but if you don't have a wireless lens control system this could be a major factor that you don't want to have to deal with at the last minute. All of the other accessories would be "standard" i.e. non-Steadicam specific (mattebox, filters, and STUDIO follow focus). But the lens control system is not likely to be automatically in the order, and you will definitely need such a thing--there is no "set and forget" mode of working with a PRO35 setup, it's just as demanding on the assistant as shooting 35mm (sometimes more so, in that most DP's like to squeeze all the goodness out of the adaptor system by shooting nearly wide open all the time!). And the bottom line is, a decent lens control system is a slightly exotic and certainly not insignificant additional rental on a low-budget project; indeed, they may be already expecting you to provide one with your package. Again, if this is all things you know (and already own a focus system), please forgive me for stating the obvious. I'm just reading between the lines, and I may be hallucinating!

Adding the PRO 35 is going to complicate things, Nikk. Now you are talking adding the weight of the adaptor itself, the cine lens (can range from quite light to quite heavy), a clip-on mattebox (not bad), but also a wireless lens control system if you weren't already planning on flying that before.

Hope you had a nice relaxing birthday Erwin, tucked inbetween your prep and shoot! Chas

Ki ora! Had an INCREDIBLE vacation in NZ and Oz a few months back--South Island is my new favorite place on earth. That rig on eBay (although owned by Ozzie Silvaro, a lovely chap) is lacking a vest and arm, so you would be having to hunt those down as well. It's a bit hard to recommend a system of that vintage these days. The monitor is very small by today's standards (and monochrome), but quite bright; but let me ask you this, how are your soldering skills? Because you'll be sure to need to work them on a semi-regular basis with an older rig like that, plenty of tinkering required. If you were planning on working your way up to a full-size rig, that would be an inexpensive way to get started (you would spend more money on a decent vest and arm, and keep those down the road when you upgrade the sled). But realistically--it's probably not the way you'd want to go.

Michael, I can't think of what damage could be done if you had someone's license plate number and knew their name...? Is it that they would figure out the address and then go look for that vehicle on the street to try to break in to steal the equipment...? Trying to follow your thought process on this.