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Super slow walking


Matt Mouraud

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It's funny because they used to have robotic peds for everything, but when they overhauled the studio to a 360º design, things got cramped. Now everything is manned cameras. I agree that it is not a shot suited for Steadicam, but no other camera can get wide enough in that space.

 

Eric is right, neither of those shots are technically challenging. It's tedious more than anything, especially repeating it 100 times a week. The Flyer LE certainly requires more work to try and match the Ultra2..

 

Any constructive criticism out there? I'm my biggest critic, so tell it like it is.

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Mike, I'm impressed with the shot that you weren't shaking the rig from laughing so hard! I just pulled myself off the floor from laughing at the "Sportscaster" crying during a sports cast about a golfer who cheated on his wife! Apparently there is Crying in Golf!

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Dan, there have been plenty of moments that almost got me. Mostly, I just try to concentrate on my framing and footwork, picking up on the important phrasing and gestures. When your sole job is to dolly back and forth, there's not much else of a story you can tell.

 

You know, I think there's a lot to be said for the distance between your body and the rig. Because of the limitations of the Flyer combined with the bulky zoom control that I'm temporarily stuck with, I'm forced to fly the rig farther from my body so I can look under the gimbal handle to see the monitor (versus looking over it). On the Flyer especially, it seems to take away some of the iso-elasticity in the arm. With the weight of the Ultra2 and the accessories we are adding, I won't be able to get away with that for much longer. Any thoughts?

 

(Yes Eric, I see the steps. That's why I'm asking)

Edited by Mike Germond
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when doing super slow moves, I will move the camera (using the arm only) then catch up with my feet...kind of a hop or fast shuffle thing. The arm is better at isolating fast moves than it is with slow moves. I always thought I was some kind of mutant or doing it some goofy way that might be embarrassing to all knights of the green screen...uh, lcd screen...uh, well, daylight viewable screen (I guess that negates most monitors all together eh?) until I saw a behind the scenes and noticed Chris Haarhoff doing the same thing (I figure if he's doing it...!)

 

rb

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...I always thought I was some kind of mutant...

 

Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie... Don't confuse the fact that you ARE a mutant with operating techniques that may seem mutant-like! We can start another thread to discuss "what kind" of mutant you are if there is enough space on the server. :rolleyes:

 

Mike, the only thing that is going to make that shot work for you is a heaping application of Lisigav. That, and/or the Director and you face-up and come to grips that you're using the wrong tool for the job; if in fact it's a shot they expect "100 times a week". Punch a short jib arm in there and let it do the slow dolly work.

 

Until you do all or some of the above, no amount of technique on the planet is going to help you deliver that specific shot on-par with a dolly or Charles Papert who has supernatural powers and abilities. It's like asking my Suburban to cover the same ground as my H2 and my H2 to cover the same ground as Ron's big-boy Hummer.

 

I would like to ask Charles (and other ops) what equipment he was / is using for those great super slow-creep shots they do so well and what the characteristics are within the gear if any that do or do not contribute to it.

 

Robert

Edited by Robert Starling SOC
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I am in agreeance that the Flyer arm is not up to the task. Robert you have a G70, correct? We should be taking delivery next week on the Ultra2. We have a 9ft Jimmy Jib in each of our studios, but no room for the base to achieve this shot (believe me, it has been discussed). The floor isn't anything special either, so dollying a ped back and forth yields some jitter. Even if I could sell the idea, a rickshaw or a dolly w/hardmount would be impossible to hide from the other cameras. I try to bring creativity to the job every day, but the harsh reality is that it's still news. Nobody but me (and the trained eyes here) notices or cares.

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Thanks, great reminder.

 

Great Tips!

 

Another little one: a slow walk doesn't mean you walk in 'slow motion.'

 

Chris

 

 

Not so little. This is quite key. The rig absorbs 1 cycle per second up to hundreds of not thousands per second perfectly well. But doing a shot that is paced as step..........step..........step..........step.......... is beyond complex. MUCH more efficient use of the tool to do a walk that slowly by doing this: stepstepstepstepstepstepstepstepstepstepstep in little precise mincing steps.

 

That way you, your torso and hips and vest and arm and rig and career, are always in motion, in a smooth flow.

 

Peter

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