Janice Arthur

Charles Looks great I just wonder about tipping factor w the rig and arm out to the side? Are u limited on heights and speeds and handling? The arm is very impressive. I always wonder because all those forces are amplified at speed. Janice

M; I don't pretend to completely get your set up but here is my troubleshooting logic 1) in 24v mode yes it would affect the pins that are connected and cause your monitor to fry 2) you keep talking about monitor being off really doesn't matter because once u plug it in you'll eventually turn on the monitor and fry it so a moot point 3) as I understand it the cable in this mode is a 4 pin xlr that powers your monitor? So set it up the same way don't plug in the cable but take your trusty meter and read what's coming out of those pins and you'll know if 24v is coming out and if its on the pins (wiring) that your monitor likes. 4) you keep calling this s short. If you're feeding 24v it isn't a short in the cable its just a cable sending 24v where it shouldn't based on the monitor type you have plugged in. 5) a short implies a broken cable. The cable isn't broken its working fine your knowledge of your rig is wrong. Again w batteries on u can short out stuff w a meter so make sure u know what you're doing. Not trying to be mean let's talk logical troubleshooting Good luck Janjce

Adam Personally, take your class first then buy. You dont know much as you will after the class and then u can decide better. Also use your complete name. Its always easy to hand someone money its much harder to figure out good deals from bad and who's to say the advise you heed here is the best advise for you? New used rigs pop up all the time and maybe a better one even. Janice

M; Random answers to your questions. 1) start with Tiffen to find wiring info. 2) I wouldnt use the cable again until I figured out why it caused you to fry the expensive monitor, personally I couldnt afford to fry another monitor. 3) You could with a meter, work out most of the wiring through the post by checking continuity on the various pins of the connectors from the top stage to the connectors out at the bottom and make a little chart for yourself. It is possible to short things with a meter when a battery is attached as I'm sure you know. 4) Yes you can still send 24 volts to an item if its off I think depending on how its wired. (maybe someone who knows more can clarify.) 5) If you used the cable before and it worked then whats different? short in it? different stuff attached? Good luck. Someone else could chime in. Janice

Matthias; 1) who made this cable? 2) can you read a multi-meter? 3) did you have battery attached at the same time and by accident send it 24 volts? 4) do you have wiring info on the rig? This you could read and see how its wired and prevent this in the future and along the way educate yourself about how your rig and cables are wired. 5) U-tube and internet makes this research on meters and cables and soldiering a breeze to access it but its still work to learn it. 6) Ive fried a couple of things over the years and each was preventable if Id just done some homework like this first and not been in a hurry to just plug it in and hope for the best. 7) As with you I've even had a few cables I marked as iffy and on a day off I intended to test them but never did or just skimmed over the exact processes to test them and I can use a meter; so they just ended up rolling around in my todo pile for years. 8) I did have to learn how to use a meter and the pitfalls of using it well, so welcome to the other skills you'll need to know to do this job. 9) If you don't learn these things you're at the mercy of others to troubleshoot your rig and you'll pay for it with money and downtime. 10) Not all of this is for you alone its a cautionary thing to others too, I know many who are in your same boat. Janice

Tom Just an idea but ditch the case put the Arm in the center of your vest and pack in extra clothes around it and check it just like a bag of luggage. This was always the way I and many many others did for decades before everyone got worried about arms If you're really still concerned drop the whole bag in a Rubbermaid bin that has snap closings and write your name and address on it with a sharpie and you're done. Costs $15. Way less than any arm rental and you'll be using your arm which is what you're used to. Lastly why 'give away' most of this job's profit to an arm rental?? Keep the $200-500. For yourself!! Good luck Janice

Hi all; Igor's last picture is a factory CP version complete with CP metal logo tag on the sled. Funny though look at the monitor is above the camera. The first however many had those but i think everyone figured out looking up as you walked was a bad idea. Ironically now with new little rigs and LCD screens built into every camera I see the same thing back again. Janice Have a fun week. (Those first few pictures are amazing and scary.)

Allesandro; i have found that if you give the DP, who is presumably reviewing your reel, something else to look at like lighting when you want them to hire you for Steadicam or Operator then they forget to look at the operating. Presumably they also know you DP from your resume so don't include it on that reel. Its easy enough to make two or even three reels these days even if they're some of the same shots on each. If you're in the room at the same time too if you say make some comment 'I only had an hour to light and shoot that.' as some form of explanation to fill a moment in the conversation the watcher, turns to you and listens and also misses the very thing you want them to watch. As hard as it is don't distract them at the time of watching. Good luck. Janice

Kent I've done hospital jobs w standard def transmitters not hd but all the rest I didn't announce to anyone I was turning on strange stuff to keep from scaring them but I did keep an ear out to any issues around me that popped up after turning them on and I turned things off when not using them just to be safe I was not in surgery or procedure rooms either just hallways I'd maybe talk quietly ahead to director and say if we have an issue ill drag a cable etc instead of transmitting Lastly. I'd take a can of disinfectant wipes and wipe off everything that came in contact w the floors there. Cases etc before I put them back inmy car. Again Id do that quietly or out of sight of shoot and hospital people. Good luck. Janice

I see Mark O'kane (Waterworld and Mr and Mrs Smith to name just 2 of thousands of jobs he did) middle back row and Jesse Garfield front row left whom the Garfield adapter was named A few othe faces look familiar but names are lost to me. Janice

Hi all; Transit connects are great I wanted one but couldn't find a good used one and I refused to buy new on principle. The used ones were from contractors and beat to death so I got another truck Good luck Janice

Juan Sadly with not only the time that has lapsed but also the distance and legal details you're probably left with only declaring a loss on your taxes. The perpetrators always know what they can get away with and also may just stubbornly unresponsive even if you showed up on the doorstep. Lastly, he may/probably say hey I tried but there aren't parts any more to fix them so not my fault. I know I had similar conversations with same motors and a different vendor who was attentive. You might take personal project to make sure this person doesn't do this to others but even that has "legal" discussions. To be safest just let it go and let this guy to a fate from a higher power. Trust me he ain't sitting around worrying about you, so why waste your life a minute longer on his? Janice

Hi all; The responses are so good and everyone should follow if you hope to have a good career and a healthy life. I have to say lately I'm more tuned in to doing the stretching and core work that I did naturally when I was younger. The amount we know now 1.5 generations in is so vast that this physical training is going to be a bigger part of operating at higher and higher precision levels its really not optional any longer. So all those that have a physical work out plan you've really done yourself a great thing; now as family and work and age and every other thing will conspire to rob you of the time for exercise keep at it. Don't forget that as you age your mind will age too, that's not bad but you will certainly change in ways that I find crazy. Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption says of his former self. 'I look back at that young man I was and he doesn't exist anymore.,' ( not exact quote.) So only good you all have exercise as part of life and it makes life more enjoyable not an add on chore. Janice

Adam Think about what cart you'll be using. A magliner takes up a bunch of space and or rips up your car seats. Your choice on carts these days is vast so maybe u won't use a magliner? Second are you working out of your car on shoots? A car that can only be packed with exactly the right amount of space is hard to pack and repack quickly between locations and takes a lot of time. Small trucks are what I use with a cap. Infinite variability and you can't hurt the bed no matter how fast you pack. They're also great for working out of. Additionally you can dive in them fast in bad weather and toss gear in as well. Lastly use your whole name here on sign in Thanks and good luck. Janice

Hi all; Here is simple test of state of your backs compression from yrs of this work and probably your fitness state. Can u touch the floor with feet together ? My back muscles are strong but shortened and so are hamstrings, not great and a recipe for injury. Maybe a little arthritis too just because of age. Can I still operate, sure but at my comfort range of what I can pull off. Is this true of everyone YES! Rowling machines will stretch out your back in no time and help a lot. Here is also my take on why; comfort. We build up skills in our world of wide angle industrials and suddenly a long lens commercial kills us because we're now 30-40-50 and out of shape. A long walk and talk with no breaks is enough to hurt. So challenge yourself to speed and flexibility or you're really limited. As we all know tired immediately robs us of concentration and then you really can't shoot. Stand up now and see if you can touch the floor, does your gut get in the way too? Even muscled fit people end up shortening their muscles so its not just age. Have a good 2014. Janice

Hi all; I think the heated hand grip would be good item! I think personal 3D printers will spell the end of waiting for replacement parts; you'll get a schematic sent to your printer and you'll print your own part. You'll also design and create your own parts like a bracket for your specific job. Lastly I've had this fantasy for a long while about solar panels over the flat surfaces that are efficient enough to charge our batteries or even some accessories. Imagine sitting your rig in the sun and charging your batteries ! How about a shroud around the rig at lunch covered in solar panels efficient enough to actually provide useable energy? Right now they're not efficient enough to g useful. Janice Have a good 2014

Hi all; One thing I've noticed over the years that as a decades long freelancer we have brief/or fewer long term relationships at work. Traditionally we were mostly day-players who would show up, learn the personalities as quick as we could and hope to thrive. Now, many shows long term work involves Steadicam ops. a different dynamic exists. The idea that you are a vagabond worker who travels around and only occasionally runs into the same crew members is hard on the worker and makes this an oddly harder business because of it. I have lots of great friends in the business but may only see some months and years apart. Work is often a source of comfort and involvement in our brains that makes our sense of well-being different. We know when people are sick or hurt; how their kids are; where they're going over the weekend and a million other things. So as a discussion point here as we get both more day players with all these little rigs out there and as social media becomes a larger and larger part of every life I think it would be fun to think out loud about this very point. The newest statistic I've heard is that by 2020 40% of the workplace will be freelance/contract workers so its growing at an amazing rate. Janice have a good weekend.

Christopher That's a lot for that rig I take a different tack and say that's a lot for my set up any chance you can get me a scarlet or epic (pick something you think would work) and say this way ill be set up and ready while A camera is working and you'll have no down time etc when you need steadicam. It will save you money and time and personnel etc. Make it a positive. Good luck Janice

Samuel Welcome and glad you posted. Your work looks really good and only the woman with the keys did you seem to hesitate on the framing of either the head or including the keys. It's tiny detail but the only detail I saw on some new really great shots. I wish you continued success. Please post new material in the future. Janice

Hi all; I've been busy and finally got a moment to add two more helpers. 9) Use tape, of a different color to mark where you shouldn't go. Like if the rig crosses this line I hit a light or I get a lens flare. This one was so obvious but Larry McConkey gave me that one and it was good. These days you don't get a lot of takes and its miserable to waste a good take because you simply went in a spot that you shouldn't have. It can also tell you where you are in space, like go over this spot and you are in physical peril. Orchestra pits are a good example, often dark and hard to tell the exact edge in your depth perception. 10) Take your own apple boxes. A full and a half or couple of fulls. When I started shoots were small and apple boxes were not common, so I made my own, ironically bigger than conventional apple boxes but they worked as a seat, a step, and a simple boom when put together with the half. Now that small shoots are the norm, again having a couple is not a big deal to carry and they get used for everything from the grips to the producer and when the you need them you can call them back. They're good for that extra height on a starting shot that is miserable boomed all the way up or any number of other uses. (All these years later I still use them in my garage, etc so not a bad investment.) Mark them as yours or they'll get stolen because they are so handy. Janice

Hi all; After Dave C's great topic of 'show us your shots' that I thought we should have an ongoing tips topic. Here is my starter tip. 1) A piece of white tape on my arm section for making shot notes. I write character names, I jot down dialogue lines where I'm supposed to move, or pan or tilt. It reminds me of anything I'm having trouble with. I also have a fine point sharpie and some velcro on it that sticks to the arm also so something to write with is nearby. The pen fits in the front of the vest with no velcro but the key is its handy. 2) i put white tape on the first and last step of stairs so I can tell where the first or last step is and its a good differentiator from the other steps. Increasingly needed the faster you're going. What are your tips? Janice

Koji; Have you googled pawn shops nearby? I'd walk into every pawn shop in a two mile radius and I'd drive down back streets nearby, it may have been too heavy and just left when they saw it wasn't easily identified item. Look around, and see. At the pawn shops don't say its stolen just say you're looking for a friend. Heck if the guy seems interested tell him you'll give him $50. if he can find it? Its worth $50. just to buy it back. Make up a crazy use for this which is why you want it back, but its clearly something no one else would ever want or need and don't say its worth anything. You work at a school? your friend makes it for a hobby? Just an idea. Janice

Hi lob4star; You have to use your real name and give us something about you or your project or no one or hardly anyone will ever fill out your survey. You'd be better contacting an operator around you for most of your information about Steadicam. Good Luck but honestly if we do all the clicking away to supply you the info I don't think you'll be doing most of the work. I do wish you well in your career, not being mean honestly. Janice

Jens; I was trying to help you with hip bruises by changing the type of foam you had or if you had bad foam. What I found was that additional layers of foam changed how the vest sits on your torso and was a further complication so I relied on changing the type of foam for a while. (I'm back the original type after playing around with the vest adjustments over a long period.) Good luck and maybe someone else has further advice. I only wish you success. Janice

Jens; Most waist pads have velcro opening in the material to let you get access to the foam. I've fixed a lot of vests here are some options. 1) the 1" foam in there needs replaced and you can go to a local fabric store and just buy simple1" vanilla white foam and cut it to size with a scissors. 2) shop around for denser 1" foam on the internet or at local stores. 3) foam options are plentiful and worth the $30-100. experiment. Just an idea but extra pads under the waist piece seldom work from what I know and often times its another element on vest fitting. I went through a painful vest fitting era and it became a whole series of trial and error things but it took some extra padding for while til it kind of worked its way out and I'm still not sure what it was when it stopped hurting on those hip points for me. Good luck. Janice