Mark Schlicher

Don't forget these market segments 1. Music video (low-budget as well as full-budget) 2. Broadcast/multicam 3. Documentary/reality 4. Low budget/indy film The world looks very different from different vantage points...

As for your weight questions, the Flyer can often handle a bit more than spec'd, but the gimbal can fail if you abuse it in this way. It can't be upgraded to a Flyer LE. The LE gimbal is said to be more robust. Buy a postal scale. You can find them dirt cheap from ebay sellers. Weigh your configuration. The Flyer/Flyer LE spec's are for the "camera payload". You don't need to weigh your batteries. Weigh everything that will live above the gimbal.

Major differences: (Flyer LE/Flyer) 1. Carbon fiber telescoping post vs. aluminum fixed length post 2. Larger diameter post and grip 3. Larger, heavier-duty gimbal 4. 19 lb arm vs. 15 lb arm (some other design modifications, too) 5. slightly improved vest (metal shoulder buckle attachments) 6. Hitch pins in the arm sections to make the arm easier to switch to goofy (earlier arms can be upgraded cheaply 7. Earlier Flyers had a black Steadistand. The later FLyers and all LE's (I believe) come with a Steadistand that is a short C-stand. Some things that were NOT changed: 1. top and bottom stages basically unchanged 2. vest basically unchanged (except as I noted above) 3. standard def monitor unchanged Some other changes were slip-streamed into the Flyer line, such as the earliest Flyer vests had a slightly different attachment between the vest spar and waistband. Some of the later Flyers had an improved pivot for the battery paddle, similar to the one that all LE's had. The very earliest Flyers had gray-painted arms and red anodizing on some knobs and bits (a partial carryover from the Mini, which the FLyer basically replaced). The most recent version of the compact vest (shipping since early 2010) is re-designed to be even more "compact" than the earlier version. Keep in mind that you may encounter (on the used market), several variations of both the LE and original Flyer. 24 volt and HD models were produced. The original Flyer had an "SE" (Special Edition) model that included a leather vest and some other goodies. Standard-issue soft case or rigid Thermodyne shipping case were offered.

Yeah, feel free to PM me...demo reels are very subjective, but I'm happy to give my 2 cents. By the way, I think it's best for a newbie (and I sm still pretty new to Steadicam myself) to have a short reel with only your absolute strongest footage. My gut feeling is that there are two types of people viewing reels: those who know what to look for and those who don't. For those who do, your first three shots or so will determine whether they even look at the rest. For those who don't, it's all eye candy, they just want to know if you can make those cool Steadicam moves (and they wouldn't know a bad horizon if it smacked them upside the head).

If they were designed as overcranked shots, I'd personally use them as designed (if they make the grade overall). I'd also use them judiciously, and not let them be the majority of the shots. Pick the best shots overall, make sure you DON'T select shots that exhibit mediocre operating. Skilled eyes will pick those out, even at slo-mo speeds. As all shots, choose slomo shots with good shot design and good technical-and-aesthetic compositions. Also, select for other production valuee (good lighting, art direction, etc.) Even if you weren't responsible for those aspects, showing that kind of stuff demonstrates (or at least appears to) that you are working on higher end shoots.

I suggest you cut to the chase...contact Glidecam directly. Gimbals can be off-center and behave in the way you describe. Some gimbal designs can be shimmed and some can be aligned in the field. Glidecam should be able to tell you what, if anything, can be done to fix your problem. Good luck.

Generalizations are difficult but here are a couple, from my somewhat limited experience... 1. A spotter's job is NOT to steer you, except from danger. You can't control the rig when someone is trying to control you. Micro-rehearse with them before the take, go make sure they are not influencing your operating except to keep you from falling. Essentially, you are responsible for knowing where you are going, even going backward. 2. If you're going through a (un-controlled) crowd, I would think the better way would be to assign another assistant to "part the waters". Everyone should know ahead of time where you are going...the talent, you, your spotter, and your crowd control assistant. Don't let the talent think that they can just wander around and you can/will follow them anywhere. 3. I am partial to the "hand-under-the-bottom-of-the-vest" technique, per Peter A. Your assistant puts their fingers inside the bottom of your vest back (palm up). If you are coming close to an obstacle, a sharp upward tug (with steering if needed) alerts me and helps keep me upright. Otherwise, they do a light touch that you can barely feel, and they follow the pace and direction you set.

Probably the actual screen is the same between the 669HB and 668GL...the nit rating is the same, so it would make sense that the 668GL is a re-housed version of the other model with the battery and improved connectors.

Oh, yeah, the top monitor has the factory protective-plastic adhesive sheet on it. A misleading (or at least ignorant) way to demonstrate the "non-transflective" version of the screen.

Lilliput USA sales guy or third-party sales guy? There are third parties that will add transflective film. That is not the new model 668GL. It may be the 669HB, which has the same 450 nit rating, or a standard (300 nit?) 669GL. Their sales guy sent me this picture comparing the regular version with the sun-bright version. The regular version seems to have some kind of film on it, which might contribute to some of why it looks so awful, but the sun-bright version is faring pretty well, considering that according to the EXIF data on the pic, it was pretty damn bright outside! (ISO 100, F 6.3, 1/160 shutter) As I said, no Transvideo, but it looks like it's actually doing what a transreflective monitor should. http://tom.willsmediagroup.com/lilliput.jpg

True, not a picnic when the sun is at just the right (wrong) angle. Naturally, one shouldn't expect high end features or performance. This ain't that. When I get a chance I'll meter the Lilliput against my 500 nit Flyer monitor. I'm curious about their transflective version, given the strong showing of transflectives in the monitor shootout. May just pick one up to play with. 450 Nits sucks in direct sun.... Just saying

The 668GL is 450 nits for $200. For another $200 Lilliput will add a transflective film. It is a new model, marketed toward the DSLR/prosumer video market, but based on monitors they've been making for the car video/car-puter/gps market. Analog component BNC, Composite BNC, HDMI. No pass-through or HD-SDI. The connectors feel solid. The build quality is reminiscent of the Flyer monitor or consumer monitors. It can handle input up to 1080, and has 480 actual vertical pixels, quite good for a small monitor. The internal battery is lithium polymer and lasts about an hour and a half of use, but it has intelligent power saving routines. No particulary professional features other than image flip. No focusing aids, no underscan, no blue-only. But then again, the Flyer SD monitor doesn't have these either. I bought the non-transflective version for a director's monitor/focusing monitor, direct from their US website, after calling and speaking with a rep in their office. It is a LOT of bang for the buck for $200. It supposedly doesn't like non-regulated power over 13 volts, so that could be a big limitation for Steadicam work without modding your sled or using only 7-12V velcro'd on battery sources. I'm very curious as to how the transflective version would look, but I used my non-transflective monitor outdoors all day on a shoot last week and was very pleased with its performance. It was much more viewable than the 7" Marshall that we had on our small jib. Here's my take: for $200-$375 you are not risking much if you decide you don't like it, and it probably could find a place in your kit as a focusing monitor/client monitor. www.lilliputweb.com

Rory, First, I tried to watch the video on Vimeo and it wouldn't play for some reason. Second, you should probably post in the newbie section, that's usually the best place for a post like this.

I called the number on the US website www.lilliputweb.com and asked whether they could do it. I had the impression that they do the modification her in the States, but that is just an impression. I gather there are cheap ways to modify the monitor (less effective) and better ways. Didn't pursue what process they use. After all, it's a $200 monitor. Just for grins I did order one of the monitors without the modification and I expect it any day.

To the excellent advice you've been offered already, I'd add: - If you haven't yet bought and studied the EFP training DVD and the Steadicam Manual, stop everything and do that first. - The best way to add weight (and inertial resistance) with a DSLR is to make or buy a weight plate or weight cage. Contact Janice Arthur. This will improve controllability. - It appears that your right-hand grip is too tight and your arm/shoulder tensed up, transferring the up-and-down from your steps (defeating the isolation that the Flyer arm is there to provide). Take Eric's and Charles' advice. Relax your arm, keep your shoulder, elbow, and wrist relaxed, and use the lightest grip you can. - When you stand up straight and relaxed, can you release both hands and have the rig pretty much "float" in front of you, or does it want to race toward you, away from you, or to one side? If that's the case, your socket block is mis-adjusted and you are having to work too hard to compensate with your grip.

The Flyer monitor is basically a beefed-up SD consumer monitor, with increased NITs (500). Better sunlight brightness than any other consumer-grade monitor I've encountered; pretty good outdoor visibility but when the direct sun hits the screen, forget it! Also the Flyer monitor has no framelines, no tally, no level, no features found on the big rig monitors. Plastic case. Marshall makes a roughly-$1000 6.5" HD monitor that has professional features, connectors and build quality, preset framelines, and a tranflective coating that fared very well in the Daylight Monitor Shootouts. I highly recommend reading the thread. It lacks higher-end features but gets good grades as an entry-level/backup monitor built to pro standards. The video DSLR prosumer crowd loves Lilliput (a big Chinese monitor manufacturer that sells cheap monitors under their own brand and also OEM's). What makes them interesting is that they just came out with a $200 7", "high-brightness" 450 NIT HD monitor with HDMI, RGB and Composite (BNC) inputs. For another $200 they will add a transflective coating. Junk? By high-end pro standards, sure. But intriguing, especially for a newbie thinking of an incremental upgrade to a Pilot or Flyer setup.

Belated thanks for that rundown, Eric!

Actually I get where the original poster is coming from...while the basics are the same, all the inertia and grip and balance/cg stuff is scaled way up in the big rigs. When I took the Workshop last year it took me a bit to adjust my Flyer muscle-memory to the significantly-higher forces needed to start, stop, pan and tilt a big rig. A violin and double-bass are both stringed instruments, but the physicality and skillsets needed to master one or the other--though closely related--are not identical.

Wow, I'd missed the Scout. On first quick glance, the Scout will occupy pretty much the exact niche the Flyer LE base model held. Customer benefits: low-cost SD sled with a new bottom stage that can be dynamically balanced. An attractive price point. Manufacturing benefits: repurposes parts from the Pilot and Flyer, including the Flyer vest...reducing R&D and parts stocking costs. I noticed that the Steadistand is not included in the published kit for the Scout. Looks like if you want more weight, connectivity, 12/24V and an HD option, the Zephyr is the up-sell. For a price similar to the Flyer LE, you get an upgraded sled and beefier arm (allowing more lightweight RED configurations and more HD Video configurations). From some IBC pics I saw, the Zephyr vest looks to be an updated, upgraded version of the Flyer vest. So now there is a "budget" Tiffen rig that can come closer to the Archer in capability (especially with a 24lb camera payload) without having to make that big jump in price to the Archer. No room between the two for the Flyer, so I'd guess that it will be retired as soon as stock is depleted.

http://johnperry.tv/

Contact Janice Arthur through the board, she has weight plates and cages in various wieghts, at very reasonable prices.

I'm curious as to the history and characteristics of the main models and generations of CP/Tiffen vests...what vest was/is supplied with each rig, what the major differences are, the generally agreed strengths/weaknesses of each design, and common/desirable mods. I've found scattered bits here and there, but not been able to find this information collected anywhere, so I'm starting this thread. Thanks!

Libecs aren't bad for zoom and start/stop only, I find it to be fairly robust. They do need to be rewired with a thinner cable for best results, though. Also there's a Bebob Zoe model for zoom and start/stop. Lots of positive reports but I've never tried one. Both are setup for Canon/Fujinon. If you ever plan to fly the Sony EX series, you can get a zoom control adapter cable for the Zoe or Libec for $100 from Jonyjib. You can order through B&H.

:-) Jim did a great job recently for me, rewiring my Libec Canon/Fujinon controller with some slinky Mogami. Anyway, the only marking on the motor besides the CP logo is "1120-F" inscribed on the barrel.

I have an old CP16 motor that was/is part of my CP-16R kit. It is matched with a J-5 pistol-grip zoom control. Naturally, it's geared for film lenses. I've used it with a clamp ring on a Cooke 9-50 and Canon 12-120. It's 5 inches long and has a lemo 4-pin connector (hermaphrodite). I have a short cable that connects it to the J-5 (another 4-pin lemo). My questions: 1. Is this compatible with other zoom controllers? Which ones, particularly can it be used with a Stanton or other Steadicam-friendly controller? 2. Is is a useful piece of kit; ie., have current motors rendered it obsolete, or can it still be put to use? With what limitations or caveats? Does it have any non-standard power requirements? 3. Since it's a zoom motor, am I correct in assuming it would not be useful as a focus motor? Thanks for any insights!