David M. Aronson

So when is a big rig workshop coming to DC?

I don't own either, so I was just going by the numbers on the web sites. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the PRO springs sink at 80. The PRO skeleton could probably safely take 90-100lbs if they made springs for it*. I think Papert had a flyer arm at one point that could hold 27lbs while being rated at 15. *I'm not a mechanical engineer and I've had very limited contact with a pro arm. These are only my observations and assumptions based on materials used, design, and testimonies from operators.

ask and you shall recive. F65 3D Now stick it on your sled ;)

Wow.

When all of the details are given(camera, power requirement, shot list, etc.) what gear comes with you on every shoot? I don't really have a reason for asking other than being curious. Edited for clarity

Sadly, the comparison footage might never be seen for legal reasons...it is tied up in litigation. Charles and I had no idea that Jumbos Clownroom had a bad falling out with Pro years ago about it's decision to stay with a 1.5" post, many other manufacturers went with a more stripper friendly 2" post. So once the Pro sled entered the business establishment located at 5153 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027 the restraining order that had been in place since the introduction of the XCS carbon fiber post was compromised, sinking this innocent transmitter comparison into the quagmire of legal bafoonery. Oh shiznit. It was a beautiful test showing the strengths and weaknesses of the two primary transmitters found on sets today. Charles and I had designed a fabulous shot showing a simultaneous test of the Boxx and the latest version of the Camwave. Being huge fans of 3D (and therefore Pedro) we built a 3Ality Technica 3D rig on a Pro sled with a Boxx transmitting one camera and the Camewave transmitting the other. Pure evil genius. The video village was set up in the dining area of Sapp thai food, which is a half block west of the shot's destination (the afore mentioned palace of ill-repute, Jumbos Clownroom). We had two unbiased celebrity observers (Jaleel White, and Clint Howard) watching two monitors which were not labeled with the transmitter it was receiving...though they quickly figured out which was which when one of the screens went blue as soon as the camera panned. The shot started in Sapp's kitchen. The stainless appliances would prove to be a nice first obstacle for the transmitters to overcome...and the grease on the floor would be a good second test of the operator (the initial test was if he could physically lift the over-weight silly 3D camera/sled combo of 90 lbs). With quivering legs the shot preceded Peter Dinklage (we spared no expense for this test) riding an alpine ibex out of the kitchen, through the restaurant and east on the Blvd. We wanted to use a donkey for obvious reasons but to attract as little attention as possible on the street we went with the goat. Things were actually going quite well until the camera entered Jumbos...legally I cannot give any more details about what happened, what was destroyed, who wore a corset, or who slipped on a baby oil soaked one dollar bill and tore an acl. All the info should be available in the summer of 2013 if Pro wins.

Would you consider selling 1 BFD kit and 1 motor separately?

It's not a Steadicam shot, but it's a cool little clip. and bts

Is this like the celebrity thing where they always die in threes?

Whenever I'm moving backwards, doing a really complicated move, on a platform or some sort of drop, or if it's a live event where I'll be on stage. I try to get the same person to spot me every time. After a couple shoots, we knew what the other one was thinking.

I'm personally hoping it's at least a little less than the Pro vest. If this vest rivals how I felt wearing a Pro, then a lower price point could make a difference for me. While I'm sure tiffen would love to sell it for close to the price of a PRO vest, I don't think anyone would buy it at that price point. It's been said before, but if you compare this to a PRO vest or a WK, this looks pretty cheap. You can see that quality in a WK and PRO; this looks like something in the class of a Zephyr. I'm sure it's a great vest and I've never actually tried it, but it looks pretty cheap from what I've seen and heard. The best price point for this would be around $2,000 imho

I literally just had that exact same issue with my master series gimbal! You need to adjust the two screws on the side of the gimbal, where it attaches to the yoke. They're probably covered by caps, but if you take those off and fiddle with the screws a bit, it should fix your problem. You'll need to balance the gimbal once you fix the friction.

I wasn't really paying attention. Something about llamas and vests? When is tiffen releasing this?

To be completely honest, you probably won't get a single person on these forums to touch this job unless you can actually provide cash. Steadicam operators make a living doing just that, operating a very expensive and hard to use piece of camera stabilization technology. While a lot of people see film making as a hobby or something you do just for fun, these guys pay their bills operating. They don't ask you to do your job for free, why should you ask them to do the same? I'm not trying to sound like a dick, but if someone is doing something time consuming and labor intensive, you really need to pay them. I won't touch a job for under $500/day, and that's because I've only been operating for about 3 years, I don't have a lot of gear, I'm not in an area with a lot of Steadicam work, and I'm pretty young. I hope you do find some help for your film though :)

Okay. Micheal Craigs called me this afternoon and helped me understand what to do. He even offered to cover overnight shipping. I ended up fiddling with it for an hour and a half and I think I fixed the clunk and balanced the gimbal. I'm about to go fly it now to test it out.

The first camera stabilizer designed to only work when you're on a pogo stick!

Thanks Anthony! My lizard like brain was having trouble figuring this all out. I'll try balancing the gimbal tomorrow to see if that works. I'll let you all know what happens.

They sent me instructions how how to balance the gimbal. Two issues though. I don't think the gimbal needs to be balanced and I don't understand half of the instructions. Will someone tell me what a gimbal ring, gimbal cap, and adjustment pin screws are?

Is NAB over yet? I think they had to do it quickly because they were getting ready for NAB

Okay, I got the gimbal back and filmed a live concert on Sunday. The first hing I noticed was a clunking sound when I tilted on one side. Not a huge problem I thought. Then I tried it out. On the side that it clunks on, there's a huge amount of friction when you tilt. Almost like the bearings disengage and it's just metal on metal. What do I do now?

Kidney and Half a liver has been sold! Pastrami sandwich still available.

If you can mount ENG lenses to it, I'll take 3. Event shooting with this sounds like it would be really nice.

For anyone who's tried this, how does it compare to a WK or pro vest?

Alec is always covering my butt...I will need a liver soon How about half a liver, a kidney, and a really good pastrami sandwich?

A grip who THINKS they know how to use a camera ? Grip = Retard ??? I really would love to meet you my friend ... They're no longer my friend... It took them 2 minutes alone with a camera to mess it up, it took me 20 minutes to figure out what they did. I need to start going on more union shoots...