Tom Daigon

If you own a steady rig with a gimbal and have come to this forum looking for information or answers to questions, you are in the wrong place. This site is for professional Steadicam operators only. If you are looking for a site more appropriate for your rig then I suggest you check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/1406996236899300. It is intended for professionals and hobbyists using the "Minity" kind of rig.

Yes and the context may not have been apparent to those of us using a different work flow (due to the wide variances in camera stabilizer uses these days). So the innocent desire to share information and participate in dialog need not be met with condescending or rude responses from isolated members. The desire to stay on topic is understood, but an appreciation that we all dont approach this and other subjects from the same angle should allow for a less rigid approach to topics and a little decency in dialog. If not, then this is a good argument to limit this forum to only camera stabilizer users that all work in the same arena and dont want to be distracted with the involvement of "amateurs".

And herein lies the source of a lot of the heated discussions, disagreements and alike. The original intent of this board was to service professional Steadicam ops that worked within the LA type models of film / video productions (i.e. directors , ADs, Cam Ops, ACs, etc) . With the advent of Steadicam models at a lower price point, every Tom (me) Dick and Harry that worked for some type of media organization (local production facilities, corporate media divisions, event/ wedding businesses and independent film makers) suddenly are cohabiting this board as well. All are valid uses of the device but they have their own unique requirements and ways of doing things. I have seen that everyone here is serious about their craft and want to excel at what they do. So even though our work situations and equipment utilization may differ, we are united in our desire to pursue a craft we love / like doing and we all want to communicate with others that share that feeling by participating in this forum.

Charles, I just finished typing my response to Eric when I caught your last post. You very aptly summed up the different needs and options available now that was not the case several years ago. As I said in my other post, "horse for courses"...

You miss the point Tom, It doesn't do analog inputs, it's LARGER than the nanoflash and it's HEAVIER than the nanoflash, Who cares about workflow when it's not the primary recorder... Obviously you missed my point Eric. Operators shooting VIDEO projects with HD-SDI spigots on their camera want to feed a unit like this (acting as the primary recorder) the uncompressed SDI output so the units conversion to PRORES uses the best signal possible. Maybe film shooters need the anaolog inputs but all the professionals I know shooting HD video projects do it in the manner described. MPEG sucks as an edit codec on most NLE systems and takes time to convert. Folks familiar with the post production process generally concur on this point. Its another case of "horses for courses..." ;-)

so for those of us that shoot film this box is worthless And extremely worthwhile for video shooters, especially those that understand how it streamlines the process posting in a Prores workflow ;-)

Robert, check this product out from AJA. Its cheaper than the Nano...it records SD and HD...its a bit more compact ...it generates a variety of Prores files that need no conversion and are edit ready. http://www.aja.com/products/kipro/ki-pro-mini/ki-pro-mini-description.php

Beautiful moves and framing.

Now that scares me... to see the bones is a lot of radiation... but by then, we may have already burned off the ozone and living in a Riddick world -Alfeo And by then you will probably look a lot more like Arnold Schwarzenegger...

Brooks, let us know what the solution is so those of us with websites can learn from your experience.

OSX Snow Leopard, Firefox 3.6.12 - loaded instantly (played automatically), never waited for buffer

Is it an older model? I heard they had bearing issues. I have a newer V-25 / X-45 since last January and have had no problems at all. Did they fail while you were in the low mode?

Jay, we are in complete agreement on how helpful workshops can be. I was just sharing the economic perspective as to why they might not be filling up as fast as they have in the past. As a enthusiastic person new to the experience, the best thing I ever did (after practicing the manual and dvd for 6 months) was to take a very personalized 2 day workshop with Robert Starling. Even though after a 30 year career as an editor I was layed off a while ago, I scrapped up the funds to take the class because I know how essential it would be to my learning curve. And it was all I hoped for and more.

Good point, Mark.

This brings up a very good point. In professional ""Media land"" there are several markets with associated expectations for cost. 1. LA/NY film/video industry 2. Local commercial/corporate industry 3. Wedding industry (what I believe we are seeing here in the attached clip) Different budgets, different expectations.

Brooks, check out my website at www.hdshotsandcuts.com. I took full screen SD and HD 30 second shots and clips and used Compressor to convert them to H.264 240 x 176 files (about 3 mb) that are sharp and load like greased lightning. Since image quality and fast loading were my priorities, I am ok with the small size of the frame. Folks viewing my page have commented on how good the clips look. The bigger the images, the slower the load or the more compressed the image or both!

Let me draw an interesting parallel to the editorial world. Just 3 years ago I worked for a very successful video boutique that was charging $350 an hour for the Avid DS suite I operated for 9 years. There was no shortage of big money clients (casinos here in Vegas and regionally). Then about a year and a half ago things changed. Economic factors that had affected the rest of the country started to affect the facility. Suddenly clients were telling the owners what they could afford to pay. Since everybody and their dog owns Final Cut Pro many clients decided to go "in house" to save their dwindling resources. The facility owners were forced to do projects at a fraction above cost to prevent long time big clients from going elsewhere to work. This trend continues. What is being experienced by some members on this forum is pretty widespread in the industry. Money is tight, budgets are down, people are scared and some are desperate. A fine editor I know worked on soaps ( Y & R) for years. He won a daytime Emmy for his work. He cant understand why after being laid off a month ago he still cant find work in his field.

Hey, I resemble that remark ;-)

Hey, there will be NO post polishing in public please ;-)

I am a relative newbie as well. I do have one of the more advanced Glidecam systems (V-25 / X45 / Gold vest) and would hazard a guess that the vest was not adjusted for your height and and not configured to be tight and absolutely straight and centered on you. For beginners, the EX3 can feel kind of heavy very quickly (I have one as well). I cant emphasize enough getting the book I linked you to. What it teaches applies to all rigs. There is tons of stuff you need to know to use the stabilizer I also strongly encourage you to take a 2 day course offered by Tiffen. This will insure you will learn the right way to do things and avoid hurting yourself by just guessing. I have been practicing with my rig for 10 months and I still need a break after 20 minutes, but the class I took really steered me in the right direction.

So do you have back problems? Are you in shape? Please include more info as to which Glidecam system and vest you were using. It could be the vest was not adjusted to accommodate your height. If you are really interested in learning and using a stabilization system,you really need to buy this... http://www.amazon.com/Steadicam%C2%AE-Operators-Handbook-Jerry-Holway/dp/0240811658

Janice, thanks for expanding on the previous helpful comments. After a brief hiatus due to knee issues (resolved) I return to daily practice with renewed enthusiasm and motivation. My challenges seems to include: very slow production activity in the Vegas market for projects that suit my current abilities and limitations (no remote focus or puller or transmitter and very limited general experience), a local college market that is unresponsive to my contribution of steadicam for their advanced students and a certain hesitation to jump into anything that comes along due to the desire not to screw up on major productions or get hurt with minor (amateur) productions. My goal was always to augment my 30 years of editing (www.hdshotsandcuts.com) with occasional steadicam work for the facility I worked for 9 years (until I was layed off a year ago and they are close to shutting their door). I will take full responsibility for my failure or success with this new love of mine...Im just trying to get a toe hold and direction at this point. Your suggestions are appreciated.

"In the mean time I am thinking about making an ad on craigslist advertising my services pro bono..." William, Blair mentioned his Craig's List work was to be pro bono (i.e. no pay). In light of that, doesn't that negate some of the items on your very helpful list? * 12 hour day (or less) ? * Production insurance (not just gear insurance, but injury insurance) ? * Overtime agreements ? * Reasonable payment terms * Limitations of Steadicam or shots expected with Steadicam ("We need to jump from the fence...") * Meals and craft services * Expectations ("Can you help light when you're not shooting? We'd like to have an extra set of hands.") I wanted to clarify this since some items didnt seem to apply to his situation.

I'm in the same situation.I need more experience to develop skills beyond the standard exercises and drills before considering myself a professional (i.e. someone who is paid). I asked the person I took the two day course from (Robert Starling) and he suggested many things.Volunteering for advanced students at the local college seemed like a good start, until I bumped into some administrators that seemed eager and then were never heard from again (apparently others ops have had this same experience with these profs). Another suggestion was offer your services for a a definite time period (i.e., 3 hours). Otherwise you will run the risk of getting roped into all day affairs that may involve sitting around a lot. Secondarily getting info about what the scene is about to insure your safety and ability to do what is expected. And since it is Craig's List, I would do a little research to see who I was getting involved with...even in a gratis situation.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/stabilizers-steadicam-etc/485752-steadicam-zephyr-upgrade-changes.html