Preston vs. Bartech - Politics

[RonBaldwin]

something I forgot to add to my previous post...

I started with a Seitz, which has mixed reviews to say the least (I happened to have a good one) but was the indutry standard for many years. I would get crap about it on a regular basis from assistants, my response was "sorry you don't like mine, we'll just use yours and I'll give you the crap rental I'm getting for mine." They usually shut up.

 

It is a bit disconcerting that a guy who shows up with a magliner, a larry bag, a front box, and a few hundred in tools is bitching that your $75k equip isn't good enough for him -- a bfd has got to be $5k each channel with a motor. Your cables and motor mounting brackets alone are worth more than what he shows up with.

 

rb

[Janice Arthur]

Hi all;

 

I too own both.

 

I have one of the orginal Prestons. It has worked flawlessly for probably 15-17 years, with maybe one or two minor services in that time. (Hundreds of shoots, maybe a thousand.)

 

The Preston is one of the few pieces of gear that has managed to stay "state of the art" for 20 years, quiet a statement.

 

I also own a rental Preston and a rental BFD system.

 

The BFD works great too. The difference is you have to set the limits of a BFD and that little detail makes some ACs nervous and you don't just snap on a new ring while the lens finds the limits. Everytime my BFD goes out I have to make sure they know how to set it up, because they forget.

 

(I started out with a Seitz and you had to set the limits of that one too.

I got really good with the Seitz and I could reset it on the way to the shot. )

 

The only reason I bought a Preston way back when was that, as someone described, it would make the difference between who was hired and who wasn't.

 

The world is different now. What you do need is a Follow Focus that works and that you can sell to your AC.

 

If you can sell them the virtues of a BFD you're golden because it will do the job well.

 

If you run up against a wall REPEATEDLY then maybe you'll need a Preston.

 

It has to do with jobs, market, your skills, dollar value of the shoots, etc.

 

You can't pay off a Preston in Montana.

 

I always use a follow focus on the smallest of jobs, video or film and without a "professional" AC lots of the time. I set it up and hand the controller to my guy (either unit) and explain it to them and they get it.

 

I have said for a long time "If my FF isn't working then I'm not working." Its not an option. No one does "laundromat" lighting these days and you need lens control.

 

(one more bit of info. to support that which you've already heard.)

 

Janice

[Lawrence Karman]

Just a footnote to my previous post: Today on a commercial I mounted my fairly new MDR2 on the rig because I thought there might be a mid-shot zoom. Well, of course we wound up switching to a prime for reasons of minimum focus distance and eventually the MDR locked up. Wouldn't cycle, no communication from host was the message on the hand unit. Power LED was unlit, receiver LED was green. Off came the $25,000 unit and on went the $5,000 Bartech/motor and the day was saved. One thing I did not think of before was that if you have a 2nd BFD unit for Iris, you essentially have a complete back-up unit on hand, unlike the usually reliable Preston.

 

Interesting shot today involved circling around a long Thanksgiving dinner table in low mode while walking on raised steel deck until I stepped up onto the end of the table a marched down the length with cups, saucers, plates, cutlery, wine and water glasses being flown out of the way and ending on the freshly steamed turkey being carved. All in 11 seconds for several of the many versions. Stepped on a few plates but broke none. Must be light on my feet. They actually asked how tall I was before I got the job, as the ceiling was quite low. I hate to admit it but this may have been the perfect shot for the AR, although given the limitations of the impractical location the battery end might have run out of manuevering space.

[JimBartell]

Check the ICG magazine... David Emmerichs running balls out Handheld with a 235 and a BFD attached to it... can't be that bad for Michael Bay. On his rig yeah he has a Preston...

 

I would be very grateful if someone could send me a copy of this so I could put in on my website. The 1st AC is a good friend, Todd Schlopy, and I'd like to put a photo of him on the my website. Or if you could let me know which issue so I could order one.

 

Jim "auto-paparazzi" Bartell

[Marc Abernathy]

Jim,

 

ICG sent me two mags so i can send you one. ill put it in the post today.

 

cheers,

 

marc.

Edited August 23, 2007 by Marc_Abernathy

[JimBartell]

Many, many thanks to David Allen Grove (for identifying the issue), Lawrence Karman (for scanning it and sending me a copy) and Marc for sending me the issue!

 

The picture is already up on my website along with another picture of Todd Schlopy and Angelina Jolie.

 

Jim "living vicariously through my toys" Bartell

[Julian Cheng]

Hi, guy

I like Bartech very much, so I decide to buy one. Unfortunately, Jim told me that I need to wait for parts for three weeks....

I did use Bartech and Scorpio at the same set and same event, Shanghai Motor Show 2007. The Scorpio get jam channel once per day, and the channel light always going red and cannot find the channel back again. When it jam, the gear attach to the lens keep non-stop turning, and it hit the lens,....@_@ until I unplug the power supply on the Scorpio receiver.....

But the Bartech run very smooth during the days in Shanghai. No Problem, no jam, no delay....

So I now want to buy a bartech for my Movcam

 

Yours,

Julian Cheng, SOA

[Mike McGowan SOC]

I've owned 2 Preston's and used every make and model of focus pulling gear out there. I've used the Scorpion, the Arri focus, the Preston, the Seitz, the Bartech and I've even put a studio follow focus on my rig and had the AC 'lightly' pull as we ran around the room. The point is a good AC (heck even a decent AC) 'should' be able to do their job with whatever tool's you give them. Great movies and great steadicam shots have been done with far less super duper equipment than we have available today. A Bartech is a great and cost effective piece of focus pulling equipment.

 

The reality is this, the AC can and will directly effect how much you work. I would guess that at least 10% of the work I get is from referral of Ac's. At least a few of those guys have said outright that they always suggest me because they like working with my equipment. A steadicam operator has if not the hardest, certainly one of the hardest jobs on the set. Any little thing you can do to make your job easier is worth it. If you can find a way to afford a Preston, buy one. I doubt you can find many people that were unhappy with the decision to buy a Preston.

 

Finally, I've never really looked at my equipment as a big money making investment. It's an investment in my career by giving me the tools I need to do the job and get hired again. Also, if you were to buy a Preston and for some reason not like it, you could defiantly sell it in probably a day for almost what you paid for it. In fact, if you happened to own a a new Preston (for which the lead time is about 6 months) you could probably sell it for more than Preston does!

 

mm.

[Stueycam]

Any follow focus should assist the AC to do their job, I must admit I DO NOT like the slopiness of the fitting of the focus band around the Bartech (some constructive criticism Mr. Bartell :) )

 

They all have a market and a Price Point, hell i learnt focus pulling with a steadicam operator that uses an old UHF Seitz and horizontal heden motors.

Anybody who bags other crew for their equipment is probably a little self conscious of their own ability in my book.

 

Stuart Drayton

1st AC

Sydney, Australia.