julian chojnacki Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Wow! I just now noticed this thread on me! I'm very flattered and humbled by all of the interest. There are a lot of questions regarding my operating this 3D rig that I would love to address. Most of your observations are right on point. Ya! It was heavy. But I started my Steadicam career almost 30 years ago flying a Panaflex Gold with a Super Panavid. Long before any lightweight cameras designed for the Steadicam. It also helps to be a big guy. :-) I've always believed that form over size always wins. You just learn how to deal with it. I'm sure most of you know that. Now that I'm back in the loop here, please post any specific questions you have. I'd be happy to share. Just in case any of you find yourself facing that kind of a beast hanging on your dock! Best Julian Chojnacki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Steve Acheson Posted February 6, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Wow! I just now noticed this thread on me! I'm very flattered and humbled by all of the interest. There are a lot of questions regarding my operating this 3D rig that I would love to address. Most of your observations are right on point. Ya! It was heavy. But I started my Steadicam career almost 30 years ago flying a Panaflex Gold with a Super Panavid. Long before any lightweight cameras designed for the Steadicam. It also helps to be a big guy. :-)I've always believed that form over size always wins. You just learn how to deal with it. I'm sure most of you know that. Now that I'm back in the loop here, please post any specific questions you have. I'd be happy to share. Just in case any of you find yourself facing that kind of a beast hanging on your dock! Best Julian Chojnacki It was great seeing you flying that rig Julian! It was even crazier seeing the bottom stage more with the top camera for convergence!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian chojnacki Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks! Vince Pace and his crack team did an incredible job of building the components to make it all happen. He was kind enough to let me be involved with the refinement of the system. We had to update the software within the 'sled' a few times but other than that the rig worked flawlessly. As far as the weight goes, well...what can I say. It was a brute. I quickly learned how to deal with that. I bought a 'Moses Pole' to dock the sled between takes, but most of the time I just cradled it on my shoulder. Oddly enough, that in itself became a problem as the very delicate mirror assembly was thrown out of alignment when pointed straight up. I got a lot of evil looks from the AC's(who had to re-align the mirror) everytime I did that. LOL All in all, it was an incredible experience. My wife loved the way I 'buffed' up after 3 months of slugging that baby around. :-) I literally made '55' the new '35'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mike Germond SOC Posted February 7, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I'm happy to hear your support for the Form over Size argument. I'm not a big guy by any means, but when I'm shooting a full football game with only halftime to rest, I'm glad that I'm being such a stickler for good operating form. I hope it all pays off if/when I do move onto the film scene. You still make my spine hurt seeing those pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mark Karavite Posted March 4, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 "My wife loved the way I 'buffed' up after 3 months of slugging that baby around. :-) I literally made '55' the new '35'." Julian, Glad to hear there were alternative benefits to carrying that beast around :) I noticed you had 2 Dionic 90 batteries on the sled, where the battery cage seemed to accommodate 4. I'll assume you traded shorted battery run times for not carrying another 3 lbs. How long did the 2 F23's + 3D motors run on 2 Dionics? Do you have any close up shots of the moving parts on the base? At least this was one sure situation where, when asked to fly the SRW-1 on board, you could tell them no with a smile. Very cool! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian chojnacki Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hey Mark! Good question. Since those batteries essentially only ran the lower module and monitor, we got a few hours of 'hot set time' with each pair. The cameras and 3D sled were all powered externally through the cable harness. I'm not allowed to show any details of the system due to an agreement of confidentiality with Pace Technologies. Thanks for your question. Best Julian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members BJMcDonnell SOC Posted April 25, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 I just recently did the Los Angeles portion of a 3D film called "The Hole". I was flying a 3D camera that Paradise FX made specifically for steadicam. When I got the call for a 3D shoot I instantly got flashes of the pic of Julians rig. I went to prep the camera and it was a tiny camera that worked like a charm. It was the same camera that Howard flew on "My Bloody Valentine". I suggest if you are going to fly a 3D rig, call Paradise FX. This will save your back. They are all very nice people that work there too. Paradise FX 3D cameras Contact Max Penner 818-785-3100 I will try to post some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members BJMcDonnell SOC Posted April 25, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 3D camera on my PRO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members nick franco Posted April 26, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Ah ya pansy, you should have flown the Red setup they were using! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members BJMcDonnell SOC Posted April 26, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Hells No!!! That rig looked like ED 209 from Robocop 1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted April 26, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 I like the duo Preston MDR setup... does that mean that we now have to buy a second piece of gear we never touch? Nice job BJ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members BJMcDonnell SOC Posted April 26, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Not at all Erwin. One Preston is for focus and the other is for convergence. The two Preston setup came attached to the camera. I actually had to disconnect my Preston reciever and bracket because some of the lenses were so wide that my Preston was in the shot. Its pretty cool because when you watch video playback you go to video village and put on 3D glasses and watch the scene in 3D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jess Haas SOC Posted April 27, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 You mean you didn't replace the monitor on your sled with a 3D one? :-) That could be kind of trippy. I was reading a little about 3D today and it looked like it was possible to use a single preston to do 3D. You can gang two of the channels to put a focus motor on each lens and then use the third channel for convergence. Was the second preston to allow the use of zoom or iris or was it doing something completely different? ~Jess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian chojnacki Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 LOL No, I used a Marshall HD monitor. No small 3D monitor yet. We did, however, have a 50 inch LCD 3D monitor on set. You viewed it with glasses and could see 'real time' what the 3D image looked like. None of the camera controls used Prestons. It was all hard wired. Focus, Zoom, Iris, Mirror, IO, and convergence. All to the 1st AC and Convergence puller using the Cameron/Pace system called CAMNET. When using the Steadicam, we reduced the cable bundle as much as possible but it was still a little cumbersome. A lot of intelligent cable management was required. The system actually worked great! You mean you didn't replace the monitor on your sled with a 3D one? :-) That could be kind of trippy. I was reading a little about 3D today and it looked like it was possible to use a single preston to do 3D. You can gang two of the channels to put a focus motor on each lens and then use the third channel for convergence. Was the second preston to allow the use of zoom or iris or was it doing something completely different? ~Jess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members John Buzz Moyer Posted May 16, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 IO.. Convergence.. 5/15... "Bring in the Chart"... 3D is a big process. Those Buddy Holly glasses don't look too bad either. Having had 2 F35's with Cooke S4 primes on the steadicam during a training session, I was less than anxious to walk on set and move around. We opted for other devices to get these beasts moving during shots. Having just finished the first week of shooting, we're still learning the process... dealing with "issues" and coming to terms with all of the equipment, cables and personnel needed to make it work. In the end however... It looks really cool. Julian... Indy is Fantastic. Our steadicam system is a modified 950 rig that is more suitable to the style of shooting we're doing... A fiber system has made the cabling difficulties an non issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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