Tommy Stork

Good stuff, Louis. Garrett has certainly done some interesting and innovating stuff. Thanks for posting this.

I agree totally. It's reassuring to know we're always in good hands.

I've recently started putting in my deal memo that production is responsible for paying the deductible on the insurance in the event a claim is filed. I'm not sure if this is reasonable or not, or redundant, but no one has ever said anything about it. Not sure if we're on the hook for the deductible or not. Seems like we might be?

Sorry if you all thought this was a serious post, but I was being utterly sarcastic. I'm aware of Lynn Nicholson's superior invention, but I just found this clip very funny, especially the low to high mode execution. Cracked me up.

You may have already seen this video but, man oh man, can't wait to get my hands on one of these baby's.

Thank you for the info i.e. Terry West. I've only used the Blackmagic a couple of times just for testing purposes and it performed flawlessly, but I was using a nearly dead battery or AC power, so obviously either of these would be untenable in a real life practical application I think, until an inline or in-box voltage reducer were added. It seems to be built well, but Charles mentioned there are some customer service issues apparently with this company.

The Blackmagic is my backup down converter so I'm not too worried about how durable it is, although it is discouraging to read about the problems with their other products . Charles, thanks for the link and the info. Boy that sucker from Switronix is nasty! I'll probably put something together this weekend and see if I can keep it smaller, (never thought I'd say that.)

Hi dudes, I made a D-tap power cable for a Blackmagic downconverter that I'm using for a backup. The Blackmagic unit shows +5V printed on the housing but when I plug the D-tap in with a fresh battery (Dionic 90) on the camera (15.8V) the unit's power light doesn't come on. After a friend suggested using a nearly dead battery. I did this (only two bars showing; 14.2V) the power light came on and the unit was operational. Obviously it has an operating voltage range. Anyone hear of a good (small) inline "voltage dropper?" or another idea? Thanks, Tommy

Lawrence is right, press and hold baby, press and hold.

Thanks, Charles, I'm sure there are people who are happy with them, but I'm not one of them... at the moment. I run the decimator off of the P-tap. The p-tap cables all checked out fine. I've never powered it off of the sled. I do still see the green power light and the red HD signal light indicating that the decimator is seeing the HD signal, but nothing comes through. I verified this by connecting the BNC cable, (which was tested independently to work) to an SD/HD auto switching monitor and it did not pick up any signal being delivered by the decimator. I then disconnected the BNC from the Decimator and ran straight from the camera SDI out into the monitor and an image was displayed. I also went to PRO and had my sled checked for anything out of the ordinary especially the monitor and everything checked out fine. SD signal passed through the sled with no problems to give me a crystal clear image in the monitor. I then passed an HD signal through the Decimator and out to the sled and got no image in the monitor.

My Decimator 2 just went down on the first day of of a two day video shoot. I've had it a few months and I have never been able to get the thing to work properly. From day one, I've had to remove the Decimator power and plug it back in, in order to see an image. I also started leaving my monitor on because every time I would put it in standby and come back and turn it on, the image would be gone and I'd have to start problem solving. This time though it just took a dump. After talking with many operators and assistants it seems this piece of gear is a piece of sh@#.

Ahhh, I used to love it when my mom would tell me about the little farting unicorn that could. I also like the hockey analogy though, too. It would be better if the hockey player had gas.

Just bought a system. Thanks, T

I like turtles.

I'm looking to purchase a Preston HU2, MDR2, and 2 motors, with cables and brackets. Please let me know if you have these items for sale. Thank you, Tommy

Nothing, in my opinion, will ever beat the pleasure and exhilaration of immediate gratification. Production isn't paying for, "I hope we can get that handheld shot to look good in post." They are paying for "you better make that shot look perfect NOW!". After you complete a shot and the director jumps out from behind video village and yells some positive proclamation like, "brilliant, check the gate", you know he has the satisfaction of his expectations for the shot met, and that's why a good steadicam operator is essential to doing a shot and not a tripod. We satisfy immediately. In the end though, I'm not that afraid of technology taking over my job. I enjoy the perspectives that both Lars and Brian brig to the topic. In my opinion this type of conversation is what will sharpen and hone steadicam operators into the operators of the future: an asset for any set. I think Lars put the hammer to the nail when saying that we are "camera operators first" and steadicam is just another tool we endeavor to be excellent at using.

[ So far I've only had a chance to test it with the F3, and it worked very well. Thanks, Alan; keep us posted when you get busy with this project again. Happy Holidays.

I'm in agreement. Although he did pull the original video, which is counterintuitive to a devilish scheme to seduce the general populace into believing he is an incompetent twiddle-dink. But then a genius would pull it to further the mystery. Or he really is just a horse's ass. Whatever the case, real or fabricated, it's laughable.

I get infuriated, too when the shit I paid good money for requires me to set it up or to be "playin dick-dick" with before it works. Dick-dick is the worst. I'd hate to see this guy with a VCR+.

Hi Alan, Which cameras have you tested this with so far?

Colin Anderson has a pretty neat sidecar set-up that utilizes bicycle wheels, speed rail and a half sheet of plywood. It sets up and breaks down quickly and can be configured to either side of the bicycle. Wish I had a photo. Johannes, did you end up fabricating that conceptualization?

I agree wholeheartedly. Jack, at GPI, has spent at least a few hours with me going over various idiotic questions I've had. Probably all seasoned steadicam operators would know the answers to these questions, but Jack, (and Ashley) treated me with respect and answered my questions in depth anyway. Because of this, and other things, I never hesitate to recommend them.

In Ridley Scott's 1991 director's cut of the film, in the finale scene where Batty is hunting down Deckard in Sebastian's house, you can see some shadows on the wall as Deckard is looking for a way of escape. Batty howls for the second time and directly after this it cuts to Deckard walking from one room to another as the camera leads him. It's in the second room right before it cuts to the shot of Deckard at the boarded up window with the searchlights blasting in, that you will see the shadows of the crew on the wall. I always thought this was a steadicam shot, but I revisited the film because of this post and it seems clear that it was a handheld shot. It's still fun to see the op and ac's (Robert Thomas and Mike Genne) shadows on the wall though. Sadly, they didn't make the credits for there cameo appearances. Sidenote: in the 2007 released "The Final Cut" this shot has been omitted.

Huffing a can of red Krylon can relieve stress... and brain cells. Then again it could permanently relieve your stress so you may not want to do it.

Where can one go for more information about this class? Is there a skill level requirement? What is the cost, etc.?