Paul Kellett

Hi all. I'm looking to get some Steadicam experience / pick some brains. First of all i want to point out that i'm not a student trying to scrounge a go on someone else's kit, i have my own kit, what i'm after is to gain some knowledge and onsite experience from some steadi op's. I know this'll probably mean a bit of running or whatever,probably unpaid, that's fine. I've been shooting on a freelance basis as a camera operator for a couple of years, then i first got a glidecam just over a year ago, then sold it and "upgraded" to a Pilot, which i currently use with my EX1. I've done a fair bit of live event shooting and also worked as camera operator on a couple of low budget shoots but steadicam is what i like most, (read addicted). I recently attended a 2 day workshop with James Elias and thoroughly enjoyed it, a few clips shot by me with my EX1 and Pilot on the link below, this was the first time i'd had any stairs tuition, please feel free to critique. http://www.vimeo.com/10576789 So, if any steadi op's need an assistant then please give me a shout, i'm Bristol based with transport and don't mind travelling. Thanks, Paul.

I had the same thing with my Pilot Gimbal, lens pointing left and i could balance level, spin 180 degrees, lens pointing right and the lens was pointing down. It was my gimbal not centered properly. The Ultra 2 manual, specifically the gimbal centering part tells how to fix it. I needed a special tool to adjust the bearings, i didn't have such a tool so i made one, a flat head screwdriver cut down the middle of the head, so now it has 2 pionts instead of a flat head. Link to the Ultra 2 manual below. Hope it helps, Paul. http://www.steadicam.com/images/content/U2_GimbalCentering.pdf

What's wrong with the Manfrotto ? I use a Manfrotto MN357, (bigger plate than the 577 but same receiver) on my Pilot. I've tapped threads in the furthest apart holes on the manfrotto receiver so now i've got 2 screws fixing it to the pilot stage plate. I had to file the screw heads down so that they cleared the underside of the stage, for adjustment issues. Also, the original pilot screw which goes through the plate into the receiver, that screw has hardly any thread on it, not much at all goes into the manfrotto receiver, think low mode, camera upside down hanging by about 2 threads, makes me shudder, my 2 new screws thread all the way through the receiver flush with the top side, so plenty of thread there now. Paul.

Hi Matteo. With me stood still the sled stays by my side in the correct operating position, when i walk slow in a side tracking shot it flies away from me slightly. When i shoot missionary walking forward the sled flies very slightly away, i can walk and shoot no hands without the sled flying away by using my hips. Since i first posted about the slow walking problem i've spent quite a bit of time experimenting with my vest fitment, my slow walking is now better, so my problem was probably vest fitment and obviously with all this experimenting i've been doing more practice, expecially foot work with the slow stuff. Thanks, Paul.

Thanks Jess. For me to bring the camera lens back up to my eye level would mean bringing the socket block up most of the way up the spar, or extend the post (it's already about half extended) and lower the gimbal to raise the camera. I really like the way this set up feels though. Maybe my vest is set up wrong, i'm off to a workshop next month so maybe get some advice there. Thanks, Paul.

I know there's a lot of "do's and don't" with steadicam, i also know there's a lot of "do what's best for you". I'm still in the stages of experimenting with my Pilot, yesterday i put the socket block adjustment right down near my hips, it's now level with, not above, the waist part of my vest, as soon as i put the vest and rig back on it instantly felt right, like an old shoe, no more stress on the lower back and i now get this flying with the hips thing, i can almost now walk hands free and swap my body from one side of the rig to the other without the rig changing path. Also i don't have the problem of my elbow hitting the ride adjustment knob anymore. The lens is obvioulsy now lower, the back of my camera (EX1) is now just in front of my shoulder, i've got less head room during shots whereas before i had too much headroom, which sometimes required a tilt down. I'm about 5'9 tall, (or is that short). I've been looking at photo's of other operators on the net and in the Operators handbook and none of the photo's show the socket this low. So is having the socket block this low one of those "dont's" or one of the "do what's best for you" things ? Paul.

I just tried saying it, what's a toot ? Seriously though, today is slow practice day today for me for a few hours, so i taken all this advice onboard. Thanks guys. Paul.

If you want the lead qucikly and cheaply and if you can do basic soldering, then here's what you can do. On the sony charger, cut the lead which you can use to power the camera, don't cut it near the plug end cut it a few inches away from the charger end, now you've got a piece of lead with the sony end on it, which you need. Get 2 connectors (5mm jack plug, male x 1) and (5mm jack plug, female x 1). On the end of your length of sony lead solder on the male, that's your power lead done. Going back to the charger, solder the female onto the bit of left which is still coming out of the charger, so now you can still use the output from the charger, just plug your made up power lead back in, male>female. Also a way of getting more power from the rig without swapping batteries is, on my pilot i have a swit EX1 battery on the camera, on the bottom of the rig i have a dolgin EX-V plate with a sony BP-U60 running the monitor, now i'm betting that the swit powering the camera won't last as long as the BP-U60 running just the monitor, now the swit battery has a little lead which plugs into the camera for powering, if the swit battery goes flat and the monitor battery still has power then all i have to do is unplug the swit lead but leave the swit battery on camera, now my power lead which i made goes from stage to camera and i have power again, no swapping of batteries or rebalancing, i made my power lead the exact length so it weighs nothing. Paul.

Hi Brian, yes that's right, the sled is not moving at a constant speed, i'm not moving at a constant speed, due to me shifting weight from one foot to the other when walking, i think i need to relax my boom arm and smooth my steps. I'll be practicing some more in a few days, i will cure this problem. Thanks, Paul.

Hi guys, thanks so much for all the replies, i've been out for the day and have come back to all these replies, excellent. Ok, my problem is not roll, the sled is perfectly balanced, statically and dynamically, i've even adjusted the gimbal with the special little screwdriver, (it was slightly out of alignment) The problem i have with slow walking/creeping is that my footage looks like move,move,move,move, in the direction i'm walking, it's not a roll, say i'm shooting sideways,lens toward the edge of a table, i've got a good horizon to look at, the table edge is not rolling/tilting, it stays pretty level, it's just the move,move,move which i can see. I'm sure it's the way i'm shifting from one foot to the other, maybe locking my own arm so not letting the boom freely float along it's path. If you're going really slow/creeping do you walk heel to toe, no gap at all between footsteps ? And yes i have noticed how operators walk slowly then quickly move the back foot to the front. Many thanks guys. Paul.

I found this old thread while using the search function, (some people should try it, it works), anyway, i'm having some trouble with my slow walking, not the vertical bobbing as most of this thread is about, but horizontal. Here's my problem, say im doing a slow creep, shooting sideways, it's like i can very slightly see my footsteps on the screen, not up and down bobbing but more like when i'm transfering my weight from one foot to the other, the horizontal speeds then slows down slightly each time i step. I know it's the weight transfer from one foot to the other but i can't seem to stop it getting through, i take little steps and roll from heel to toe. Am i gripping the gimbal to tight therefore inadvertantly locking my boom arm so that the rig arm doesn't freely float at the same speed in the same horizontal direction ? I'm a new operator, i haven't done a course yet, the first available course for me is a Tiffen course in March this year, which i'm going on. I'm using a Pilot with an EX1. Thanks in advance, Paul.

I've just bought a Pilot, it'll be used with my EX1. The price for the AA mount, IDX mount or AB mount was all the same, so AA mount, buy some AA batteries,(cheap) and that's it ready to fly, or the IDX or AB, which means i had to buy a battery and charger, i was quoted £620, for a battery and charger, no way. So i bought a Dolgin EX-V, basically a battery plate which fits EX1/EX3 batteries,BP-U30 or 60, or the swit battery, i've got a BP-U30, a 60 and a swit battery and obviously a charger so this works out the cheapest. About £70 delivered for the EX-V plate. Link below http://www.dolgin.net/EX-Vadapter.htm You can take the AA battery box off the AA mount and easily fix the EX-V adaptor. I run the EX1 from the on camera battery and the monitor from the BP-U30. The 30 will power the monitor for easily over a day, i know i've been practising with it. This is gonna be the cheapest and easiest solution for you. Some pics on the link below, this is where i got the idea. http://www.pauljoy.com/gear/steadicam-pilot-bp-u-conversion/ Paul.

Sam, the top of the back plate digs into the back of your neck ? You mean the top of the vest at the back, is so then yes it sounds like you need longer straps. Do you have the straps going over the shoulders aswell like mine ? I could change mine for longer straps very easily now that i've modded it. The workshop i'm going on is for the Pilot and Flyer only. http://www.flysteadicam.com/ I like your showreel. How did you get the shot at 2mins, the preceeding the car shot ? Some sort of mount on another vehicle ? Paul.

Good tip Andrew, i'll keep an eye (or should that be ear) out for that. Thanks, Paul.