TimmyKane Posted January 19, 2004 Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Greetings all. New Member and New to the Steadi world. I realize that there are some issues with the naming of the "Garfield Mount.", but regardless of that - what is the best resource for picking one up? Is there a comparable mount that you suggest instead? Thank you for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Stephen Murphy Posted January 19, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 19, 2004 Hi Timmy, Jerry Hill makes an excellent Garfield/Vehicle mount: try www.steadimoves.com And i belive Walter Klassen's Garfield mount is also very good: try www.walterklassen.com also sold through Pro-Gpi at www.pro-gpi.com Alternatively you could try Baer-Bel who make a mount designed to fit on the Moy fitting of any Bazooka. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyKane Posted January 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 Stephen. Thank you for your assistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 I've got a shot coming up where I'd like to track with a young woman riding a bicycle - my thought was to hardmount a steadicam to one of those maintenance golf carts (with the flat bed back) - however, I've never done this and am wondering if someone could point me in the direction of where/who I might speak with about required equipment, the hows, advantages/disadvantages, etc. The operator I have available to me has heard of doing this (as have I) but has never actually done it. This a practically no budget shoot (as they all seem to be). Gracias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikk Hearn-Sutton SOC Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Since your using a flat bed why don't you sit with the rig on you while ithe cart is in motion either in normal or low mode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members charlesneufeld Posted January 24, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Walter Klassen makes a vehicle mount that accepts 2" pipe. http://www.walterklassen.com/vehiclemount.htm Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members charlesneufeld Posted January 24, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Whoops... Just read about your "no budget", perhaps this is not the way to go then... At the very least it may give you some ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SebastianMatthias Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Hi Jason If you can´t get hold of a hardmonut that you rig to the golf cart,just go to lowmode (if necessary) and sit on back of that cart.make sure you are sescured with some ropes/straps so you don´t fall off.also ensure you put enough counterweight at the front of that cart.another possibility is laying on you belly.(but than you might find it hard to operate in lowmode,because the gimble might be to high ).just try out before the actual shoot.it allways works out somehow. cheers sebastian :ph34r: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Michael Stumpf Posted January 24, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 There's several options for you to get this shot. But, the questions are: How far do you need to track this person on the bike? How fast will he/she be riding? What kind of surface? (Dirt road, smooth street. level street, etc etc) Depending on those scenarios you could do several things from just walking it, to the golf cart or ATV. If it's only a block or so and the bicyclist isn't going very fast, but faster than walking speed, get a Western Dolly. Mount the standard tripod to it, hard mount off of it and have 2 or 3 grips push you at a decent pace. This would be the cheapest route. But again, it will depend on the variables above. If you can get a golf cart, there's no real reason to get the "flat bed" kind. Get one with the backward facing seat. You can ride on the back with the rig hanging over the side of the cart. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Gross Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Just a note here that Jayson is a DP and not a Steadicam Op. He was looking for information on the cinematography forum and I suggested he post here. He's not entirely uneducated, but he's not particularly familiar with the tools we make take for granted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry McConkey Posted January 24, 2004 Report Share Posted January 24, 2004 Before working on films that are supported by a whole truck full of grip equipment and very experienced grips (that was a long time ago), I used to carry a 4' square of 3/4" plywood and a lost of sandbags, or cement bags, or whatever I had available. Any of the popular hardmounts could generally be attached to the plywood base with a small supply of bolts and nuts, along with ratchet straps, ropes and any other bits I could assemble (like caribiniers, climbing harnesses, C clamps, etc.). The simplest hardmount probably is based upon speed rail and a small collection of various fittings and pipes could be very useful as well. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted January 25, 2004 Moderators Report Share Posted January 25, 2004 Larry, that reminds me.... About six or seven years ago, I was scheduled to work on a documentary (where they obviously don't have the grip truck, etc.) on Icelandic horses. By coincidence I was in a rental house before this job prepping for something else when I discovered they had a set of old baby legs for sale (dirt cheap). I bought them, went home, found a large piece of wood, drilled holes in it for the tripod's spiked feet to be inserted into, and added rings for ratchet strap hooks. Between the holes and the straps, it was very securely attached to the board. Called production and told them to bring a HUGE pile of sand bags and we'd be all set. Indeed we were. Plunked the thing dow inside a pick up truck and off we went. Very easy solution, gave me a good lens hight for horses, and I didn't have to worry about hanging off the vehicle when we didn't have a platoon of grips looking after my safety. I have since used this very set up in a utility golf car on another documentary. Mitch, thanks for pointing out Jayson was the DP - I was actually wondering if he was the grip. Jayson, just make sure your op has a Garfield mount to begin with! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry McConkey Posted January 25, 2004 Report Share Posted January 25, 2004 I think the oddest hard mount that I ever rigged was for a high angle tracking shot - something that would approximate a helicopter shot - for a film about horse racing. The farm we were shooting on had a dump truck, so we raised the bed until the front of the dump bed was as high as possible, and we rigged a garfield on this apex! I don't even remember how we attached it, or my body, but our total crew was 3 people including the Director, so we didn't have many resources. Pretty cool shot as I remember. Another common trick back in the days was to rent a cherry picker, or other not very suitable crane for boom shots for a friend who specialized in films for colleges and universities around the country. Once I can remember having terrible difficulty trying to keep the horizon level as I boomed up over the rooftops of a quadrangle, when I suddenly realized that the automatic hydraulic levelling system for the platform had failed. It was listing about 45 degrees from level and I was about to slide off and fall 70' to the ground. Obviously I got down OK, but the one arm that was holding me and the Steadicam from certain death was badly cramped by the time I got down. It pays to focus on what you are doing, but it also pays to maintain situational awareness!! Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted January 26, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 I just shot off of one of those flat bed golf carts. The grips rigged a mitchell plate off of speed rail that went across the bed and was held down with ratchet straps. You could do the same with a sheet of plywood or a plank with a high hat bolted to it that is ratchet strapped to the cart body or chassis. I don't recommend sitting in the cart wearing the rig as the g forces could easilly throw you off. It is just too simple to rig a hard mount. Larry, your story regarding the cherry picker begs me to tell of what happened on a shoot I was on a week ago. Between takes on a night shoot as I docked the rig I heard a terrible noise. As I looked up I witnessed a 60' Condor with 2 18k lights and an electrician fall over, hit another unmanned 45' Condor and knock that over as well. Lights, 4X frames,grip rigging and tree limbs went sailing through the air and crashed to earth making a series of terrible sounds I never wish to hear again. The electrician survived with a broken leg, ankle, and orbital bone. Lucky to be alive and miraculously no one else was hurt. Most unbeleivable thing I have ever seen on a set (with the possible exception of Dolly Parton's breasts). Still no explanation as to what caused it. No wind and on level ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted January 26, 2004 Premium Members Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 Still no explanation as to what caused it. No wind and on level ground. It's starting to look like an overload situation that basket is only rated for 500lbs and from what I heard it was loaded to 700lbs.... We won't talk about what else took a tumble the next night, but my knee is still a little tender.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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