Do I go Low Mode?...or not

[Alex Kornreich]

Ron, I didn't know that Klassen drop down bracket existed. It seems like it might be very useful, and I'm about to start a 7 week movie with a child actor as the lead. The dp informed me that he expects most steadicam work to be low mode, though I haven't yet been given the actor's height. I'm wondering if this would enable me to be more comfortable. Can you briefly explain why you like it so much? Is it a lot more comfortable than being boomed up in lowmode? Also, how quick can the adapter be put on and off?

 

Brian, I've also been told to only shoot certain sides of faces, never square on, etc. There's another female artist who will only be shot on her left profile and 3/4, never straight on or her other side. I noticed some strange blocking in her previous videos, and things seemed very mechanical. She rarely moved her head much. Then when I ended up working with her, i learned the reason, which was she doesn't let photographer shoot anything but left side.

[Jens Piotrowski SOC]

http://shop.walterklassen.com/collections/frontpage/products/ibaird

 

Dropdown is for the PRO vest

 

And there are straight and bend arms available for the Klassen vest.

[Kevin Andrews SOC]

I need that! Seems like it will get the arm's boom range a good workable height for me since I'm 6'2 and most actors are shorter. Also lower on low mode.

[RonBaldwin]

I've had a Kassen harness since '01. Got a Pro vest in '10 to have for those tight squeezes I occasionally run in to. Shooting in colder environments I naturally gravitated to my Pro vest simply because it was easier to deal with as far as putting coats over/layers under -- but I didn't like how high the socket block was. The adaptor drops the socket block 4 to 4.5 inches (it's not in front of me now to measure) to a more comfortable and familiar position. I see advantages to both vests so I like to be able to switch back and forth If I want.

[Sanjay Sami]

I have had Actresses on several occasions request that the camera height be raised if its hovering slightly below nose level.

There are some Actresses who are very vocal about this.

[RonBaldwin]

I forgot to mention the same thing as Sanjay. Some are very vocal and adamant about not being shot from below

[chris fawcett]

I am occasionally directed to maintain very specific lens heights relative to actors by their peeps. Usually slightly above eye level for women, and slightly below for men.

 

As for low-mode, I got stuck in it for 3 hours while filming a Krump Kings concert, and actually grew to like it!

 

All the best,

 

Chris

[Victor Lazaro]

That happened to me. 6ft tall on stilettos asking me to shoot her from above. I ended up with the studio's archer 2 center post fully extended and the arm boomed up all the way and she kept asking me to go higher. (I know I could have used a longer arm post, but it's the studio's rig and they don't have any accessories)

[Chris Van Campen]

I thought PRO was working on their own adjustable socket block adapter gizmo...

[Jess Haas SOC]

The usefulness of the pro drop down definitely depends on your height. With a Pro arm I have never seen any need for it and often am running longer arm posts to get higher as I seem to be working with tall actors a lot lately.

[Twojay Dhillon]

Alas, for us goofy ops, the PRO drop-down doo-hickey is pretty bloody expensive -_-

[James Davis]

My Exovest allows the socket block to get low enough to make "low high-mode" a very easy option to set-up and perform quickly, under two minutes for me including docking and undocking the rig.

I found it very useful on a recent shoot where the lens needed to be around the middle of the windscreen of a VW golf and move around in an aggressive arc at speed into a smooth lock off with the passenger side window filling the frame.

 

Typically a shot that would have required a low mode switch, a j bracket or maybe both.

 

But with my Exovest was a simple socket block adjustment, it also makes lowmode feel very comfortable when I do need to go there.

[brett.mayfield]

in not a tall dude but have been interested in the drop down block since swapping from an Archer 2 to cine live. I find myself testing my biological arm on my bionic arm. I've also grown used to this and find that I have a nice relationship with the arms movement through my own arms feedback.

I really like shooting high low mode, but the issue for me is monitor height. even when operating handheld I prefer to look down, so I set my monitor accordingly. I wish I had a little 4" monitor on the underside of the bartend sometimes.