Steve Frank Posted January 6, 2010 Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 Hey Everyone, I am excited about Steadicam! So excited that I've already broken some of the rules that i've learned on this fourm, like don't let your first time running be in the woods, and stuff like that. I have already ordered "The Steadicam Operator's Handbook" and also the DVD "The Steadicam EFP Training Video" but they haven't come in yet. I am the proud owner of a used "Flyer" (not LE). After searching on ebay and calling Peter Abraham a lot he recommended Kenny Crysler (contact info below) and Kenny put a deal together on Dec 23 at 4pm and UPS delivered a big beautiful box the very next afternoon. Kenny does everything he says he'll do. My main camera is a Canon XL2 but I am apprenticing under a videographer that used Sony HD cameras. I've been buggin Peter to hold a workshop in the Atlanta area. If anyone else is in this area, please bug him too and maybe it will get put on the calendar. I've read that the Atlanta operators get together for fun and to help each other out, is there anyone in the southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia, northwest Florida area that might be interested in getting together and doing the same? Here's my first real attempt (without any professional training) or maybe this I know it's got some serious problems but help me know just exactly what is unacceptable and how to avoid/fix it. Sincerely, Steve Frank here's that contact info on Kenny... Kenneth J. Crysler Manager/Showcase Video 2323 Cheshire Bridge Road Atlanta, GA 30324 P) 404-325-7676 ext. 1623 F) 404-321-3636 E) kenny@showcaseinc.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mark Schlicher Posted January 6, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 Steve, Welcome! Great video for a first time out. By ordering the book and DVD and seeking out a workshop, you are doing all the right things. There is a wealth of information in the book and DVD...do the exercises relentlessly, and practice, practice, practice. Some quick observations: Your framing compositions were generally good. Keep your horizons level, watch your headroom. There is some bounce in a few of the shots that I suspect are due to a too-tight grip. Same with some pans and lockoffs. Both hands should have a relatively light grip, isolate your right hand for steering the arm and sled, and your left hand for framing/panning/tilting. Some of the toughest skills, especially as a newbie, are starting/stopping moves, and holding a lockoff. Practice these critical skills until they are second nature. Beyond the technical, think about the intention of your shots...where do they start and end, what do you want the viewer to pay attention to along the way? Good luck, and keep having fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Frank Posted January 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2010 Steve, Welcome! Great video for a first time out. By ordering the book and DVD and seeking out a workshop, you are doing all the right things. There is a wealth of information in the book and DVD...do the exercises relentlessly, and practice, practice, practice. Some quick observations: Your framing compositions were generally good. Keep your horizons level, watch your headroom. There is some bounce in a few of the shots that I suspect are due to a too-tight grip. Same with some pans and lockoffs. Both hands should have a relatively light grip, isolate your right hand for steering the arm and sled, and your left hand for framing/panning/tilting. Some of the toughest skills, especially as a newbie, are starting/stopping moves, and holding a lockoff. Practice these critical skills until they are second nature. Beyond the technical, think about the intention of your shots...where do they start and end, what do you want the viewer to pay attention to along the way? Good luck, and keep having fun! Hey Mark, Thanks for the kind words and advice. I'll admit I was a little nervous about putting that out there but I figure that I'm starting at the bottom so there's only one way to go as long as I listen to those more experienced operators and practice, practice, practice. Are there any YouTube or Vimeo vids that would be beneficial for observing technique of the operator that you would recommend? Sincerely, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Amando Crespo Posted January 7, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Welcome to the steadicam forum... :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Mark Schlicher Posted January 7, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I'm a relative newbie myself, having owned a Flyer for less than a year and having recently taken the weeklong Workshop in Atlanta in December... There are other very experienced operators on the board who may chime in with help and encouragement. I've found that the Steadicam community is generally open and supportive, but you will be expected to do your homework. ;) My Youtube/Google searches have turned up very few examples of useful video of operators. The EFP training DVD will provide you with some very high quality instruction. Jerry Holway and the late Ted Churchill are masterful, and should keep you busy for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Stone Posted January 7, 2010 Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Hi Steve, I second Mark's comments. There are many, many things about the Steadicam world and culture you will not really understand until you are exposed to Steadicam operators working in the biz. The easiest way to get a jump up on this is to take a longer workshop. It is not only being exposed to the exercises for a week instead of two days but talking to quite a few working operators that will give you a huge amount of knowledge while you are in the workshop. There is one in May up near Philadelphia offered by the Steadicam Operators Association. The details on the course can be found [ here ]. An excellent place to view world class steadicam shots is at Steadishots.org. You will see it referenced here on the forum quite a bit and the webmaster, Afton Grant, is a frequent contributor here. -Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Frank Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 I'm a relative newbie myself, having owned a Flyer for less than a year and having recently taken the weeklong Workshop in Atlanta in December... There are other very experienced operators on the board who may chime in with help and encouragement. I've found that the Steadicam community is generally open and supportive, but you will be expected to do your homework. ;) My Youtube/Google searches have turned up very few examples of useful video of operators. The EFP training DVD will provide you with some very high quality instruction. Jerry Holway and the late Ted Churchill are masterful, and should keep you busy for awhile. All you guys are making me feel welcome, Thanks! When I got my Flyer there was an instruction manual but no setup video. This video was pretty useful to me at square one. Steadicam Flyer setup tutorial I found these and wondered if this Wanny guy was breaking some/many copyright laws. Steadicam EFP Video Training 3-2 Steadicam EFP Video Training 4-1 Steadicam EFP Video Traiining 4-2 Steadicam EFP Video Training 5-2 Steadicam EFP Video Training 5-3 Are these excerpts from the original EFP training video ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Frank Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Hi Steve, I second Mark's comments. There are many, many things about the Steadicam world and culture you will not really understand until you are exposed to Steadicam operators working in the biz. The easiest way to get a jump up on this is to take a longer workshop. It is not only being exposed to the exercises for a week instead of two days but talking to quite a few working operators that will give you a huge amount of knowledge while you are in the workshop. There is one in May up near Philadelphia offered by the Steadicam Operators Association. The details on the course can be found [ here ]. An excellent place to view world class steadicam shots is at Steadishots.org. You will see it referenced here on the forum quite a bit and the webmaster, Afton Grant, is a frequent contributor here. -Andrew Hey Andrew, That would be wonderful to get a week's worth of experience. steadishots.org will be a help to see what the finished product should resemble. Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Frank Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Welcome to the steadicam forum... :rolleyes: Hey Amando, I enjoy watching your work that you have out on YouTube. Sincerely, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members James Elias Posted January 7, 2010 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Hi Steve: Congratulations on your Flyer, I hope you enjoy it! The videos you link are from the EFP DVD and you're correct in that they probably shouldn't be there! You can purchase the whole DVD from the Tiffen website if you're interested, it's definitely worth owning and is still the most comprehensive Steadicam training DVD ever made. Good luck, Regards James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Frank Posted January 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2010 Hi Steve: Congratulations on your Flyer, I hope you enjoy it! The videos you link are from the EFP DVD and you're correct in that they probably shouldn't be there! You can purchase the whole DVD from the Tiffen website if you're interested, it's definitely worth owning and is still the most comprehensive Steadicam training DVD ever made. Good luck, Regards James Hey James, I've already ordered my copy from Tiffen. The work I do as a videographer, it really makes me mad for me to spend hours and hours filming an event, putting it on my computer, editing, rendering, burning and duplicating the DVD and then have someone get one copy and dub it and sell it to their friends or to whoever. Right now, in this economy, every single DVD I sell is important and I'm going to have to sell a whole bunch to pay for my Flyer. Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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