Martin Hawkes

Awesome thread! Enlightening and entertaining! M

That doesn't sound promising!

There's a group buy going on at Reduser: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?124956-GROUP-BUY-Cinegears-Wireless-Follow-Focus-Christmas-Special!&highlight=cinegears

Ha! http://dopgifs.tumblr.com/post/63561041958

Hmm, kinda shameful that all those great shots just got cut, cut, cut up. Its their scale and scope in telling/moving the story that make them truly incredible. This is now about the edit. I suggest going to steadishots and watching them.

That does look very nice and snug! Which model storm case is that? After my last flight it must have been a slow day for the TSA because one of the springs had been loosened all the way and the wires unhooked! And then they re-packed it like it was done by an 8 year old with 10 thumbs... Will have to re-think the travel cases to make them idiot proof! All the best, M

Hi, Thanks guys. That case packed for airline travel. It weighs in at just under 20kg. Vest, batts, monitor and other goes into another bag. I have flown a number of times like this and everything has arrived safely. Eric - putting together your own rig piece by piece has been good for me. You can get a lot of rig for the money. All the best, M

Just a shout out to Alec, Pedro, Joel and Afton: Frankenrig flies! Being a lurker on the site for quite some time now I feel the need to introduce a new/old frankenrig! The blue GPI PRO Wrap Grip and the blue caps on the silver spring arm were unintentional (at least consciously) but "Blue Flame" it is! Working for the most part as a cinematographer I would much rather hire a "real" steadi op! I do however live in a small market and shoot a lot of low no budget stuff when I am not "working" ( aka all day holiday ) and saw the use for a light weight sled (took the workshop in Rockport in 2009, Afton!). Picked up the sled from Alec in NYC the following year: - 3a Top Stage - 3a Gimbal (one of the cleanest and smoothest I’ve ever seen) - GPI PRO Wrap Grip - 1.5” telescoping post with two docking rings (has cosmetic scratches & the inner post is not anodized) - Tiffen Flyer monitor (Color LCD) - Custom battery spar. Fly one or two Anton Bauer batteries (not included) for 12 Volt or 24 Volt operation. - Custom upper & lower junction boxes with GPI PRO compatible connectors. (All the electronics were done by Terry West.) - telescopic monitor arm. The sweet Silver Spring arm I got from Joel in Singapore. With Janices weight plate this arm is perfect with the EX, C300 size cameras with plenty of room for accessories. Picked up the modified 3A/efp vest from Pedro in LA. It has all new pads, all new velcro. Chest spar buckle installed. Aircraft style (similar design to the one on the PRO) left shoulder Bucke installed. The rig flies great its just the op who needs to practice more! All the best, Martin

These? http://www.steadicam...aj/gallery.html Nice! Ray Kay's op looks like he just jumped off the apple truck... Peace

Warping is the new lens flare! M

Ah, I love to take a stroll through the forum. Never know what sort of public display you may see; enlightening, entertaining, enriching, perhaps even a flogging. G'day to all and happy 2012! M

There are some behind the scenes photos at the same site that show the camera and steadicam set up: http://theberrics.com/depth-of-field/go-all-day.html/view:4e6ff369-7ed8-4904-a361-0d50323849cf Good stuff! M

Great post Mike. That's a photo your kids will treasure. What sort of routines was your trainer having you do? Cheers, Martin

You kidding? A grade A bad-ass uses human arms instead of seatbelts. You go to Wikipedia, type in bad-ass, that's probably at least the second entry or something. Ha! Maybe it looked like this:

Safety first

Perhaps the recording and sharing the telephone conversation? But she did say that she didn't mind if the Queen heard... We must not be worthy. Hope that Tomas gets it sorted and keeps us posted as to the solutions provided. M

Hi Tomas, This must be extremely frustrating for you! This forum has some long threads where many respected ops have expressed their disdain for the MK-V customer service. I believe that there was talk of these radio disruptions on the forum not too long ago. It appears that MK-V would rather collect your money knowing full well there are issues and then deal with "problematic" clients as they turn up. At this point you should really go to England and deal with them in person. Either they fix it or give you your money back. If there are a number of people with this same issue they are going to be swamped and will be dealing with those who are closest to them - normal people won't shit where they eat. Thanks for sharing the info. Stay cool- you are in the right! Good luck. Regards, Martin

Looks like a disguise...

Hi Mike, How did things work? What configuration for the 5D are you finding work best? Cheers, Martin

Hey Damien that must have been an epic flight! That´s really good to hear. Alex and I were worried when you didnt turn up at the lake with L.A ;-) Hope that all is well. Be sure and get operating to keep that Rockport_July09 statistic high! Be in touch. M

Well the total was 11 because some did bring their own rigs. 2 flyers and a pro-vid and Jim brought his Ultra and Afton his Master - just dont touch their vests... I think that they like it when people do bring their own rigs because they can then be sure that its set up right. But you are by no means stuck with your rig if you bring it. Afton could probably provide more insight. All the best, Martin

Thanks Afton, We may be the newbs of ´09 but watch out for us on a set near you. We´ll see if we can bring up that student to operator statistic a bit from your class. All the best, Martin

Hi Jerry, All the rigs you would like to test were there: Flyer, Archer, Clipper, Ultra1 and Ultra2. I believe at one point there were 11 rigs- I think there is a class photo with almost all the students in a rig. Have a good time. All the best, Martin

Just got back from Maine and felt the need to thank Jim, Jerry and Afton for an amazing workshop- if you´re considering a workshop this is real good. Jim set a nice pace and by Wednesday I was thankful for his tall tales about "...shooting boots in low mode..." as the perfect time to get a little well needed rest. Jim Wells stepped up when Paul Taylor had to bail because of shooting delays. I was worried Jim would be alone but who turns up to help but non-other than Jerry Jacobs. Afton Grant´s stoic calm rounded out the trio nicely- dont forget to send me some of those stickers Afton! We were kindly informed by State Troopers that the steadicam students from Rockport are well known for their "work hard - play hard" attitude. The students of July_09 did not disappoint! Now I remember why Australia is so far away ;-) Peace out! Martin