Keith Francis SOC

The Zalex handle, for me, is the single best modification I could ask for on a Gen 1 Flyer. It fits my hand like a gimbal on a big rig does therfore making it easier for me to operate--especially when I have the payload of the Flyer maxed out (which is almost always). Thanks Peter!

Markus, Which model did you decide on? Cheers, Keith

Niall, I am pretty new to the Steadicam and I had to laugh when I read your post as I felt very similar the first time I put the rig on. I was thinking, I thought this is supposed to be a Steadicam not a Swayingcam! It looked as if I was on a ship at sea. Have fun with it! It's a lot of work, but the payoff is watching your work after a good day! Keith

Kevin, I tried the link to see your LE work and had no luck. Is your URL still the same? Cheers, Keith

Thanks for your replies gentlemen! Excuse the ignorance, I water ski, not snow ski, but what exactly are elastic gaiters?

I got caught in a massive rainstorm yesterday during strike and have now decided it's time to stop talking about buying a rain cover and actually buy one (Glad I brought a large garbage bag because of the skies!). My question is: What is the difference between a Camera Essentials and a Jerry Hill Arm Protection Cover? Does anyone have a preference for one or are they so similar it does not matter, or ... are there other rain covers out there I do not know about? Thanks, Keith

Jason, Janice Arthur sells 6.5 and 11 pound weight plates in the Steadicam Marketplace on this forum. Drop her an email and she will send pictures of them. I bought a 6.5 lb plate from her for my flyer and it works great! Just used it yesterday while shooting stunt motorcycles and plan to use it today on a shoot I have. Cheers, Keith

Mark – Can you post a photo of your aircraft pin in place? (And how do you post photos in the forum?) I haven’t tried ‘goofy foot’ yet, but probably need to. I use a VariZoon PZFI Zoom/Focus/Iris Control. http://www.varizoom.com/products/controls/vzrockpzfi.html That way I have control from my gimbal, where I mount the controller. The cable is a bit short and stiff, but I wrap it through my fingers as in the Steadicam Handbook and it works ok. It is driven by a little circuit board, so the feel leaves a little to be desired. I definitely prefer a mechanical focus/iris control. Dave – Thanks for the heads-up! No need to bring the rig and have it sit for a week. Kevin – Thanks for the tips!

Thanks Kevin! I'm checking with her now. I am looking forward to the stability it will provide. Where should I watch for the vibrations you mentioned? Would it be like having a loose shoe on a tripod plate?

Kevin - thanks for the quick reply. An 11 pound weight plate combined with my HVX and a few accessories seems like it would put the total weight for the stage over the 15 pound limit. Being that I have yet to fly the rig with that much weight on it, do you think it would present any problems? Mark – the kip handles are a great suggestion. I have already thought about them (and checked to see if B&H carried them as they do carry replacement locking stage screws—but not kip handles). So you have the smaller diameter metal post on your rig too? I fly the battery (mine came with IDX batteries and I use one to keep the gimble as high as possible) near vertical for dynamic balance as you suggested. How does the aircraft pin aid in right-handed operating? I prefer left-handed operating as I operate the jib with my joystick on the left and zoom/focus on the right and aim to keep the inherent muscle movements similar, but welcome any and all advice for growth as an operator. I, too, look forward to meeting you at the Eastern Classic Workshop? Are you bringing your rig to the workshop? And … if you’re a beer aficionado, Atlanta has some great beer bars that I am looking forward to visiting after the workshop is over. (Consider that an invite!) Brandon – I guess you found your weight plate then (reference to you tearing your truck up looking for it when we finished that shoot last month). How many weight plates do you have and was is/are the weight of it/them? I have a jib job this afternoon, but I’ll call you this week for sure!

Hello all, Since I am new to the art of Steadicam, I want to introduce myself. My name is Keith Francis and I am a camera operator who resides in New Orleans and runs Emerald Coast Film & Video, L.L.C. I have operated handheld, hard, and jib (Stanton Jimmy Jib) for 10 years in the region. Like most of your, I’m sure, I work on a wide variety of stuff from live sports and music to commercials, film jobs, reality tv, and everything in between. Because I have been on many jobs as the jib op where Jerry Jacobs was the Steadicam op and seeing how much Jerry was sweating in an air conditioned environment (thinking of a commercial we shot for ESPN's first Monday Night Football after Katrina), I always thought to myself, “that looks like a lot of work,” and although I thought it was a really cool camera support device, I never considered becoming a Steadicam operator. That changed after about a year of owning a HVX200. I bought the camera to travel as it just got to be too much of a hassle to travel with my betacam after 9/11. The travel difficulty of a large camera on a small budgeted production combined with the fact that my betacam was becoming outdated, turned my little HVX into a workhorse (and with the constant upgrading of technology, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to buy a Varicam, HDX900, etc. to replace my betacam). Working long hours on the HVX200 and its inherent shakiness due to no shoulder support because of its size combined with my love of the smooth “tracking” or “dolly” shots I get on the jib, got me thinking of buying a support system for it. At first I simply considered a shoulder harness to provide support like a shoulder mount camera, but soon I started looking at smaller Steadicam rigs. It started with the Merlin, but I decided I put too many accessories on my HVX to make it practical. The pilot was the next rig I looked at, but the arm on the Flyer really attracted me since it was a smaller version of an isoelastic arm. Through all of my research, I was firm on buying a Steadicam, not a fly-by-night cam, as I wanted the best made rig on the market—barring custom rigs such as the AR, which is quite intriguing. While researching the Steadicam, I found a used Flyer F12VLBN for a price I could not pass up and hastily purchased it. While I feel the thicker post of the newer models would make operating easier for me, I am nonetheless determined to learn to use the rig to the best of my ability and become a badass Steadicam operator. I have read the Steadicam Operators Handbook cover to cover and are working the exercises diligently and … I am signed up for the Eastern Classic Steadicam Workshop in December. I have been making my way around the forum for a month or so and am completely impressed by the passion which everyone on the board has. It makes one proud to be a Steadicam op … even us new guys!!! It is my hope (and passion) to be able to give the world something great with my operating and I welcome any and all hints, advice, and shout-outs. Respectably, Keith Francis Emerald Coast Film & Video, L.L.C. www.emeraldcoastfilmvideo.com P.S. I cannot leave without asking one question. It should probably be listed under “Gimbel,” but since I’m a newbie… I find that my gimbel rides lower on the post than I like. At first I thought it was because I did not have enough counter weight at the bottom of the sled, but now I feel it is because my camera is so lite (I practice with many of the accessories I use on ENG gigs removed). If you want to raise your gimbel but still have a 2 to 3 second drop time, do you add weight to the stage???