Premium Members Michael Hauer Posted March 15, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hello All I'm a pretty new operator, so first of all i'd like to introduce myself and say that i'm excited to use this resource for years to come! I took my workshop in december, bought a demo archer2 almost immediately afterwards and since then I have had a few small jobs, one 'real' commercial and have also done a few self produced shoots for my reel, so I'm still figuring everything out. With that said I'm still struggling with don juan. I don't think it really a form thing necesarily, i can make successful switches doing my line dances at home, but when I'm on set in the heat of everything I find that I don't want to take my eyes of the monitor to look where i'm going. So i've mostly done don juan 'blind' to where i'm going, which seems to defeat the whole point. So yesterday I did a test shoot running (fast) down stairs. To achevied this i flipped the camera backwards facing the battery so I could look at the monitor and where I'm going at the same time. Doing this worked well but when I got to the bottom of the stairs I i tried to make a switch and whip pan to another charachter and everything was completely disorienting and backwards. So then it dawned on me, why not mount a lightweight monitor like the smallhd dp6 by the battery bracket? I guess I'd have to add more counterweight on the 'A' monitor side to make things work. Has anyone tried this? thanks, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jerry Holway Posted March 15, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Yes, people have tried this - in some sleds there's even a monitor bracket waiting for this possibility. One operating note: When the 2nd monitor is 180º to the camera, you have two choices for mounting, right side up or upside down. Upside down is nice if you can deal with it - you tilt down to lose headroom, tilt up to gain headroom. It's reversed when the image is right side up. So play with it, and practice, and find out what works best for you when. There are lots of monitors out there that should work fairly well - mounting them will be the trickiest part. With your Archer2 you have the benefit of accessory weights and a wide range of monitor positions, so you should easily be able to balance and fly your rig with the extra monitor. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Michael Hauer Posted March 15, 2011 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks Jerry! Forgive my ignorance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jess Haas SOC Posted March 15, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 how far forward do you have your monitor adjusted? i find that Don Juan works best when the monitor is not too far from the sled. You should be able to look more sideways than back to look at your monitor allowing you to keep where your feet are going in your peripheral vision. i have played with mounting the camera backwards but it never felt very natural even with flipping the image. -Jess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrey Yazydzhi Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 (edited) Michael I used backview monitor some years ago but realy it was not very effective. Edited March 16, 2011 by Andrey Yazydzhi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Sanjay Sami Posted March 16, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Hi Michael, I have twisted my camera stage around 180 degrees, usually going down stairs. It allows you to keep an eye on the stairs and still operate looking at the monitor. Maintaining headroom can be tricky (was for me) but I figure I'd rather do another take, than risk going down those stairs head over heels. PS - remember to twist the stage back in the correct direction ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Bryan Fowler Posted March 16, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 PS - remember to twist the stage back in the correct direction ... AHHH! that's my problem! Thanks Sanjay. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Peter Abraham Posted April 9, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 PS - remember to twist the stage back in the correct direction ... AHHH! that's my problem! Thanks Sanjay. =) Hey, you come by the nickname " HarnessShredder " honestly! :D Jerry's right. Mounting a second monitor on is an easy bit with the second monitor mount provided on the larger Tiffen Steadicams. Coupled with the right weight clamp kit, you can keep the rig very nicely balanced. I'm a huge fan of the Don Juan ( sorry, Charles.... :) ) and encourage folks to master the art of it. A few times I turned my lower sled 180˚ when I had a very very long Don Juan shot to do. Interviews in Central Park that went on endlessly- and constituted the day's work? Great time to rotate the rig. My old MS rig had no easy way to mount a 2nd monitor. Now, with very bright small LCD monitors and brackets ready to go, I wouldn't rotate my sled given that situation. I'd mount the second monitor over the batteries. Best to all, Peter Abraham Dir. of Technical Services, Steadicam® The Tiffen Company Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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