Dean Smollar

Then they are talking out of their A**. Since the Preston is a digital motor they would have to know if it would work or nit, since digital encoders are VERY different than analog. My bet is that the red rock unit is a repackage of someone elses hardware agreed Eric, digital motors will not work on an analog unit, smoke and mirrors......if you don't have the money for a Preston or Cmotion, BFD is the way to go.... I third that; I'm selling some stuff soon with the intention of going with the Bartech.

Apparently he's got about 5 or 6 patents out on stuff in his gear, mostly related to the vest and the bottom stage of his sleds. Again, for what? Hi Eric, he indeed carries a couple of patents for his improvements, like the patented „dual dynamic balance“ at the lower sled, both batteries front and aft are moving independently among other things. Now used by Tiffen. BTW, The new rig features another first, a keyed! carbon fiber inner post. Again, just like everybody who came after Garret, not reinventing but improving....... Best, Jens Thanks Jens, there's no way I would have been able to answer that question well :) I just heard he was a great operator and that he'd work with me on my own rig. Now I'm just gonna start saving for the week long SOA workshop!

Apparently he's got about 5 or 6 patents out on stuff in his gear, mostly related to the vest and the bottom stage of his sleds. Like I said though, I'm not really talking about the gear, just the training. I apologize for the improper choice of words. I should have said "creator" instead of "inventor."

I remember when it was first announced they said the remote would be $500. That changed really quick, and I have no trouble believing that with everything they say their system is capable of that it'll end up being much higher than $1500. The quoted price will probably change many times before they finally lock in on the release date.

Hey guys! This weekend, the Createasphere Expo hosted a 3 day workshop with Curt Schaller, who I figure you guys know is the inventor of Sachtler's Artemis line of stabilizers and who is an incredibly amazing operator. I did my first real workshop almost a year ago when I got the new rig, and even though I've practiced almost every day since then, I know there's only so much I can do by myself. That's why I was so happy when, through a couple of lucky circumstances, I was able to get a seat in Curt's workshop in Burbank. There were about a dozen people in the class, pretty much all of whom were union cam ops or AC's. Also, I met an awesome steadicam operator named Tony Foresta, who I think was there to check out the gear. The guys (and one girl) in the class have all had lots of experience in the industry, so it was really cool listening to their stories and the advice that they had to give for a kid like me who's only been in LA for about a year. It was kinda cool that, towards the end of the workshop, many of them asked for my card. I took it as a sign of respect for my operating abilities (or at least my work ethic). Curt was a great teacher. I came into this workshop expecting at least half of it to be a sales pitch for his gear, but that was not the case. He really focused on the craft of operating with all of us, and gave us a lot of individualized instruction over the 3 days. When I told him I had my own rig, he told me to go get it; I ended up spending equal time in both his rigs and mine. One of the guys brought in a Steadicam Pilot and Curt gladly worked with him on that rig too. He wanted to make us better regardless of what we flew or would end up flying. He brought 4 rigs with him: 2 Artemis EFP's with slightly different configurations, 1 Cine HD and a prototype rig with a 1.8in. post that won't be on the market until december. I thought his rigs were really cool, and they flew well, but I won't be doing any reviews of the gear except to say that I felt really comfortable even in his biggest rig. Okay, I lied, I will make one review: his vest is AWESOME. It's the most comfortable, form-fitting vest I've ever put on. Curt originally designed it because he was too small to fit in what he called "American vests," and he made it so customizable that it can fit most anyone. There's a great picture that was taken at the workshop of me in his vest (5'11", 260 lbs.) standing next to a guy in the class who was about 5 in. shorter and probably 100 lbs. less than me, and they both fit us great (I did need to extend some portions though :P) He showed us pictures of a tiny Japanese girl who demos his rigs in Japan, and an almost 7 ft. European operator who is a popular op for soccer because he can take one step for every three the players take. He spent a good portion of one of the days talking about dynamic balance and the mechanics behind it, and he set out trying to teach us how to achieve it. Naturally, we didn't, but it was still a great learning experience. He also made a couple of suggestions about quick adjustments to my rig to improve my chances of achieving dynamic balance. I've been trying them out since, and my whip pans have gotten better. Another thing he really worked on with me was my footwork, specifically "the switch" and getting me to avoid crossing my feet. At first I was struggling to understand why I couldn't get it without tripping myself up. I was getting frustrated, and I took off my rig for a few minutes, and when I went back to it, I got it in 2 tries. Curt said, "Beautiful! You get an A+" which was hillarious. I kept at it for another 20 minutes just to try and imprint it into my brain. We got to play around with some fun stuff as well. He busted out a C-Motion digital system wireless follow focus and hooked it up to one of the RED cams we were flying, so for some of the exercises we had another person pulling focus. It was a good opportunity to feel what would happen to a rig when you pull focus on a lens that breathes. Also, Tony brought in a Model One for a little history lesson, and we watched a bunch of clips from some legendary operators (and a great clip of an epic steadicam fail on the british version of Big Brother). He even showed a little bit of Russian Ark, which is amazing to watch (although a bit tedious). After it was over (and we all had exchanged cards), I sent a big thank you email to the people who helped me get into the workshop. I really think I've improved tenfold from working with Curt, and I'm grateful to have gotten the opportunity to work with him. Dean PS: I'm working on getting some pics from the workshop to post

So then would a BFD with a quality motor come out to around $5000? Because that's the impression I've gotten from the forum.

Sydney, I'd heard many different numbers ranging from 1-4k before today in regards to this system. There have been so many rumors about this unit going around that it's hard to say what the final price will be. I personally think it will end up being in the 2-3k range for a system, but that's just my guess. My main point was that i felt comfortable using it in the demo aside from a little resistance on the follow focus (compared to how smooth a Bartech is). The guy at the booth definitely said he "estimated" $1500 for the remote, the basestation and one RedRock Motor (which I didn't get to try) but wouldn't commit to the number (which makes sense), and he was very frank about the price of the rangefinder. I got the impression that their motor might not be as strong as an M-One or even a Heden, as they didn't seem comfortable endorsing it with EVERY lens out there. However, it is not a short throw system like the HoFo, and the compatibility of other motors is a plus for people who already have them. Personally, I'd like to get an M-One no matter what remote I go with, and it's nice to feel like I have options: the Bartech, which is a fantastic piece of machinery, and the RedRock, which has the potential to cost half of that. In the end, I'd personally rather not go with a system unless I'm certain that the AC's I'd be handing it to would want to use it, but I feel like if I were pulling focus I would be okay with it (then again, that's not my job). At the end of the day, even though I'm just making enough each month to break even as a Steadicam operator, when I get a WFF (which is the very next purchase I will make) I'm not going to pick the one that's most convenient for my wallet. I'm going to pick the one that's most appropriate for my market. Unless the RedRock can knock my socks off, I'm going with a BFD, and so far it's impressed me. Either way I'm selling a bunch of stuff in order to afford it.

Hey everyone! I just got home from the Createasphere Expo in Burbank, where I got to try out a working test model of the RedRockMicro Wireless system. At the booth, they said this was the first time that they've let people really get their hands on it (which is understandable, seeing as how they kind of pulled it out of the spotlight for a bit after NAB and didn't release it on their projected "End of Summer 2010" date). Interestingly, the first two people at their booth were me and Nick Davidoff, and they let us both try it out. The guys at RedRock are really funny and cool; when they handed over the remote to each of us, they said, "Don't break it!" with little grins. At their booth, they had it hooked up to a 5D with a Zeiss ZE 50mm Prime lens. The first thing that impressed me was the base station. It is very compact extremely light weight and seems like it would be easy to mount anywhere; the one we saw was clipped onto one of the rods behind the 5d. It is capable of automatic calibration, and it works really well for a low budget system. One power line in, 3 lines out (labeled motor, accessory, and direct). They had it being powered off Anton Bauer mounted behind the camera, and it was running both the motor and their rangefinder at the same time just fine. Oh, and speaking of motors, they confirmed that, in addition to their own motors, it IS compatible with M-One and Heden motors (the motor they were using on the demo unit was Heden). When Nick asked if it would work with Preston motors, they said that they hadn't tested it but were optimistic that it would. The remote was really interesting. They had both units there (hard mount and Iphone/Ipod mount), but they were only working the demo with the hard mount. I had heard there was a slight delay in communication from remote to motor, but I didn't see one while operating. The follow focus is side mounted to the screen, but you can set it for either left or right hand operation. It runs on AA's, and they claimed that you could get days out of one set of batteries (though I imagine you lose a little bit more life when you add the Iphone/Ipod). There was a bit of what felt like friction resistance on the remote; I'm not sure how I feel about that. Also, the marking ring popped off a couple of times; they assured us that production models would lock in better. All in all, I was impressed with what I got to try out. They were hesitant to price it out, but one of the guys at the booth gave an estimate of $1500 for the remote, base and 1 motor (THEY WERE VERY CLEAR THAT THIS WASN'T THE OFFICIAL PRICE, but my guess is it probably won't stray too far from that), and they said the Rangefinder would be $495. I would have liked to test it out with the full setup (the Ipod remote, one of their motors & the Rangefinder), but what I got to use felt pretty polished. I'm glad they didn't rush it out to market in the summer, because they probably still have a few tweaks left to make, which is also why I'm hesitant to compare it to any of the other systems on the market. It would be nice to hear what some AC's out there think of it; if I were to add this to my package instead of a Bartech (which is guaranteed to be reliable), I want to make sure the guy who actually has to use it will feel comfortable with it. Dean

I'm definitely saving up for the first SOA workshop I can afford. It definitely won't be this fall, but with a little luck it will be the next one!

I'd have to disagree with that; the X-22 and the Archer have the same weight range at 10-26 lbs. Also, the design of the X-22 base is reminiscent of the original Archer design, albeit a bit blockier in construction. I'm not going to get into a discussion about quality. I've flown both, and I know the difference :)

yeah, that's definitely a shoulder mount. It looks like it has chest support too. Did you say you're putting an HVX on that? The wobbling may be because It might not be strong enough to hold the weight of the camera. I can't be certain, but it looks like it was designed for DV handycams or still cameras.

Hi y'all! I've only posted a couple of times on the board so far, so for this post I'd just like to quickly introduce myself to everyone. My name is Dean, and I've been operating for 5 years now, but only recently did I make the jump to working full time as a freelance Steadicam operator. I started operating on a Flyer as a freshman at Emerson College, and I fell in love with it immediately. It might sound cliche, but wearing the rig feels natural, like I was meant to have a deformed, mechanical third arm growing out of my midsection. When I graduated in 2008, I sold the Flyer to afford the move to Los Angeles. 2009 was a terrible year for me; I tried other jobs in the industry for a while, and kept freelancing on the side as a cam op or an ac as much as I was able to, but I realized that something didn't feel right. In January of 2010, I took out a loan, quit my job, and got a new rig (Glidecam X-22). I've been working my ass off to make a living as an operator since then, and lately it's started to pay off. I've met a lot of amazing people, made a lot of great contacts, and I hope that if I just keep working my ass of like this, that one day I'll be up there with all of the amazing operators on this site. I guess I'm gonna start posting here in the Journal section to chronicle my adventures/misadventures as a new operator in Los Angeles. Hope you like it! Dean Smollar PS: I just want to make it clear that I'm not just one of those flash-in-the-pan kids who just bought a crappy rig and is throwing himself into this world haphazardly. I assure you, I'm taking this very seriously. My teacher was C. Scott Coleman, I'm getting ready for another workshop with Curt Schaller, and I'm saving every day for the chance to go to the SOA Master class workshop in PA.

Hey guys, I've read a lot in the wireless transmitter section about everyone's recommendations and their personal experiences with pretty much all of the transmitters out there. I see a lot of people working with SD transmitter/Decimator combos, and a lot of people working with HD setups like the Camwave. From what I can gather, when it comes to the level that some of you guys are working at, it's about having the right tool for the particular gig you're working on ( or what the producers want you to have). My question is: for someone like me who isn't quite at that level yet, what would you recommend? I've been thinking the best option for me is the Modulus 5000, not so much for the price as much as for the reliability of Modulus and the built in downconverter for output. I feel like I can work with a wider range of gear if I do that, but I'd really like to hear from y'all. Dean

I saw the most amazing rebuttal post on Craigslist last night, and flagged for Best Of status. It was so brilliant it had to have been a joke post, so I saved it: Hello, I need a steadicam operator for 3 days that comes with their own rig. We're shooting on a RED ONE. In Lieu of pay I will let you take any 3 items from my recently deceased grandmother's house. She was pretty loaded and there's lots of good stuff left. If you want we can do a production meeting there so you can see if there's stuff you're interested in before committing to the job.

To Brian, Nick and Sydney, First off, I appreciate the responses. I'm flattered that you think I'm worth more than what I posted. I assure you, I'm not one of those clueless jackasses who bought a toy rig. I take this very seriously, and I am trying to make it my full-time profession. I have a lot of pride in my rig and my abilities, and I would never deliberately do anything to demean the title of Steadicam operator. I've sunk myself into some serious debt between my college degree and the equipment because I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I have had a terrible time finding well paying work in this market. I have made many connections, sure, but most of them rarely come through on a regular basis at this point in my career, and when they do, they can't afford to pay me what you all most likely make. I have to resort to websites like Mandy, Entertainmentcareers.net, Media Match, Production Notices, and even Craigslist to find enough work to live full time as a freelancer. If I could get paid what you guys say I should be selling myself for, then that would be wonderful. I'm really trying my hardest out here, working towards the day when I'm out of the micro budget indie world. In the meantime, what am I supposed to do other than what I've been doing? I really don't mean to disrespect anyone on this forum. I'm hoping to meet as many ops as I can and make friends. I still have a lot to learn from guys like you. I'd like to edit my post to delete some things (like the rates I posted), but I can't see the edit button. Help? :)

Craigslist and I have had a tumultuous history. Here's what I've learned 1) DO NOT ADVERTISE YOURSELF ON CRAIGSLIST. People who are looking for Steadicam ops will post in the Crew Gigs section. The only thing you'll get from advertising a service is spam email. 2) Don't use craigslist if you're a big rig operator or are established and have a fixed rate. The kinds of people looking for ops on Craigslist are the kinds of people who can't afford $1k/day operators, so that's not what they're looking for. Which leads me to... 3) If you're going to apply to a Craigslist gig, you have to be willing to be flexible with your rate. For a guy like me, with an Archer-class rig, a low amount of loans to pay off, and a need to build a reputation in Los Angeles, it's a little bit easier to give discounts as long as I make enough to cover my month. Big rig players, you're not going to be able to do that with these people. My full budget rate is $500/day; I often get Craigslist gigs for $200/day or $300/weekend. Remember, the projects you're applying to usually don't have money (a lot of times they're students who don't understand how budgets work). This is the most important one: 4) DON'T WORK ON A DISCOUNTED RATE FOR THE SAME GROUP MORE THAN ONCE. Here's what you do: hook them in with a great offer that they can afford, and give them a great product while you're working with them. Don't bitch about how much they're paying, but do let them know that you're giving them a big discount. Leave them thinking of you as a talented operator as opposed to a businessman. The ones who really understand will A) keep calling you and B) start paying you what you're really worth. If they don't, just move on to the next job search. FINAL VERDICT: Craigslist can really help operators if they're willing/able to be more flexible with how much they're worth, especially in the current economic climate of the industry. All in all it's a pretty good springboard; you can build your skills, your contact list, and your reputation as a quality operator in the ultra low indie world. This is really more for guys in the beginning stages of their career (like me) but I think it'd be interesting to see if it parallels in any way what the veterans of the board went through when they started out.

David Shawl isn't the only Emersonian who focuses primarily as a Steadicam operator. I was in the same boat as Josh before I graduated in 08. That said, I had already been operating for a year before that on a Flyer. The V-16 and V-20 that Emerson has (had?) worked just fine for what the average production wanted, but I always went back to my Flyer. When I moved to LA 2 years ago, I sold the Flyer to make the trip/apt money work. I saved up and got the X-22. I love it. As a matter of fact, I'm flying a RED on it today. The only issues I've had are minor ones of convenience, such as minor tool adjustments and lack of certain accessories, but those are of little concern to me untill I can afford them. Also, I'm thinking my next rig will run with the AR Evolution, so I'm glad I didn't shell out more for the Archer or Clipper just yet.