Fabian Meller

hey there! I recently got my (heavy duty) black magic sdi downconverter. For now I thought of using a common D-Tap to power it but I measured that one of my batteries got up to 15Volts. So I'm fairly concerned about that method - Now I heard the heavy dutys were supposed to work with a bit more than just 12V? Or should I consider another power supply? Maybe a customized 3pin LEMO to DC cable? Might the Aux Power off the sled go beyond 12V? (Having an old Artemis EFP) I'll appreciate your help :)

haha good one! need to remember that ;)

sure I know - but just seeing it was severe ;-)

wow! kudos in advance to the ops flying the titan with 4 grey canisters at the very end ;-))

No problem! Best of luck, Anton hahahaha - made my day :D

looks pretty wobbly to stand on with the steadicam, huh?

Hey Victor! I think you should definitely get to carry a Steadicam for a tiny bit first. Either ask an operator on one of your next shoots or contact someone in your area. Also it might be good to have somebody to ask for all that other questions like own equipment, insurance and working as an operator in the biz. If you still like it - Take a workshop! There's nothing better than that. I learned it myself - Bought a cheap, bad rig from ebay and trained everyday very hard with the help of the Steadicam Operators Handbook and the EFP Training Video (which you should get btw). When I took the Workshop then after 2 years of autonomously leraning it's still been very informative and important! Especially proper posture is hella important and should be learned appropriate from the beginning on! (If I were to get started on steasdicam again I would take a workshop at the very beginning...) Good luck, Fabian

That shot really looks like a techno shot, it's got the typical retraction shake in it Yet you see the camera and the operator in the tail end window - Unless that remote head is mounted under the camera it cannot be a techno shot. And that vibration might occur from the steadicam as well..

Well, their customers are. ;-)

hahaha - that basson crap made me laugh so hard! The whole video is just a damn good joke.

Oops haha - sorry the name of the video's confusing ;-) Thanks for clarifying John! But it would have been very innovative, though! Anyway I'd still like to see it.

hey there - I just came across that following video were Hector Ramirez is talking about that one shot with the Tango on Dancing with the stars. Couldn't find a video from the shot itself and since I don't know when it was shot I'm probably not gonna find it on the ABC site either... So if anyone has a recording or a link of it, it'd be really cool if they could post it! :-) Best! Fabian

Highly recommended - I attended the last one nd it was just awesome. Its definitely worth every cent!

Thanks Amedo, Lars and Sebastien! I've been aware of the wobbly ending on the escalator shot and I was really pissed with me, though for any reason I wanted it to be cut there... Well, the shot in the padded cell is from a short movie - a very weird and sick one - so at least within the movie its an emotional shot. But I know what you mean - in the reel it's just one shot... I think I won't re-edit it for now but I'll look out for thoses things when putting together my next reel! So that there's enough improvement to see :-) Best, Fabian Any other advice maybe?

Hey there! Since I was just bored and my back needs some rest from operating anyway I thought of putting my reel on the forum.. Somthing to mention: All the shots are from productions in 2010/2011 with a lightweight system. I took the SOA workshop in Fall 2011, though all those shoots were before then. http://vimeo.com/32532102 I'd like to hear all about the Steadi/camera work as well as the reel itself etc... I appreciate your time :-)

Sure, it goes for slow moves too. Cause it becomes more obvious.

Uh? Sorry but I don't quite agree with you. As I attended the S.O.A workshop I've seen that people beeing new to Steadicam have way more bobbling in the footage than experienced ops. By the way, I've worked there with both the G50 and the 70 and haven't had any bobbling issues with them! Best

Hey Wolfgang! I guess your talking about the common bobbling problem. As you've already said it's mainly a matter of training. On a side note: I've been workig with a lightweight (whispering) movcam - and after 2 years still struggeled with that problem (only when passing near objects, though) Now I own a heavy older Sachtler rig - And the problem seemed to just disappear (mentioning that this old arm is one of the poorest ones out there) So now I'm not sure if it's due to the weight or probably that movcam was just crap. Thus, since you have a genuine system the main issue might be yourself... (no offence ;) What I figured out in my initial years is that you need to find the right amount of "pressure" you put in your boom hand. Yet that's just my (little) experince. Best, Fabian

Oh I see! Thanks for clarifying!

Thank You Eric! I actually know about the term iso-elastic. What I wanted to describe with it is just the effort that is needed to boom up. As the springs are tightened (due to a heavier load) it definitely gets easier to boom!! So thats what I meant with "iso-elastic" I think I'm good with the machine oil... Maybe if I can find one, I'll give the frog lube a try some time

Hey guys! I recently got my first big rig - It's an older Sachtler Artemis - It's fairly okay except the arm is a bit clumsy, though. Anyway, it's a good way for me to start out.. I'm not sure, but the Artemis arm is a 3A arm type, right? Now I'm wondering about how to adjust the arm. I've heard that it's supposed to adjust the 4 screws pretty much the same. (I'm working with lighter cameras too, what forces me to relax the springs - Certainly it becomes less "iso-elastic" then. Yet, playing around with it I found it better to have the lower bones (regarding only one arm section!) tighter/ the upper ones more relaxed. This makes it feel easier for me to boom it up and down, even with lighter loads. But now I'm concerned about the mechanics. Could this adjustment be any bad for the arm/springs? One more thing - What grease would you recommend for this arm if squeaking occurs? And also where to grease?? Thank You in advance!

Norman Bever is using an Sachtler Artemis Vest and Rig but a Pro Arm - Artemis is pretty cheap and popular in Germany... Tom Bierbaumer uses a whole Pro system.

The other op was Tom Bierbaumer. They did a great job! I also really like the interaction between the Steadicams! It's damn timing and accuracy.

hey again! I haven't received an answer yet and I got nervous but anyway I just booked the Workshop. I'm still waiting for my answer, though because I wanna be sure that my age of 18 won't be any problem. What is more, since I'm from Europe I'd better not call the hotel due to the enormous telephone charges... So could anyone please help me out with a specific email address of the Exton Comfort Suites! I would really appreciate your help! :-) I hope everything will be good and I'm hella looking forward to the Workshop! All the best, Fabian

hey! I definitely want to attend that workshop finally! But since I'm only 18, I just sent an email to be sure that this won't be a problem (concering the workshops or hotels restrictions...). As soon as I'll get an answer I'm going to reserve myself a space :-)) Best, FM