Christopher TJ McGuire SOC Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Guys, I just wanted to formally Congratulate Mr. Howard Smith on winning the British Society of Cinematographers Technical Achievement Award, last night at the Associations Operators Dinner. He was presented with the Award by Alex Thompson BSC and Joe Dunton. Howard was so pleased to be recognised by the BSC for his ongoing development of the AR, although what made his evening was spending time chatting with Ray Harryhausen. So, again, Well Done man! And I Look forward to some wicked shots! Best...Chris :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Davis Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Guys, I just wanted to formally Congratulate Mr. Howard Smith on winning the British Society of Cinematographers Technical Achievement Award, last night at the Associations Operators Dinner. He was presented with the Award by Alex Thompson BSC and Joe Dunton. Howard was so pleased to be recognised by the BSC for his ongoing development of the AR, although what made his evening was spending time chatting with Ray Harryhausen. So, again, Well Done man! And I Look forward to some wicked shots! Best...Chris :) Out STANDING! ongrats to Howard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members John Buzz Moyer Posted December 10, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Congratulations Mate!...Well Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Burton Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 Good to see some recognition close to home for all that hard work :D -matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jason Torbitt Posted December 11, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 Congratulations to all concerned - well deserved, it will be interesting to see how the AR progresses as a tool over the coming years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members chris fawcett Posted December 12, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Congratulations Howard! Here's to your continued success. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Guido Lux Posted December 13, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Congrats Mate! Very well deserved! Hope to see you in january in munich! Keep up the good work! Guido Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Grammatikos Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 congratulations Howard even i have not try yet the AR i believe its the revolution in steadicam once again congratulation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RonBaldwin Posted December 16, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 I am a friend of Howard's as well as a fan of his products...congrats on the recognition, I know you've put alot of work into the A/R and deserve accolades. In addition to congratulating Howard, let's not forget the "A" in the "A/R". I have yet to see any kudos given to Lynn Nicholson. I don't know Lynn as well as I know Howard, but I know he's been working very hard and spending alot of $$ on the Alien project since the mid 90's. Maybe he prefers to remain silent in the partnership (if there is one), but he did have a really nice prototype many of us flew back in 2001 (was it 2000?) and a pretty cool demo the year before that. I'm not trying to ruffle feathers or start something...just giving credit where it's due -- to both. I'd say congrats to both Lynn and Howard for the development, testing, fine tuning, and production of the A/R. btw...I'd love to hear more real world experiences of folks that have them (thanks Will Arnot for your great write-up about your experiences on Rent). I think Chad's on West Wing with one, and Jeff Mart is lurking around with one. Anyone else? What show can I Tivo to check this thing out...I know I need to get out and see Rent. Where else can I see it work? I'm serious here, not being facisious (Charles...did I spell that right?). Ron Baldwin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted December 17, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 (edited) Uh, no. But we all still love you, RB. Edited December 17, 2005 by CharlesPapert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RonBaldwin Posted December 18, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 damn you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Erwin Landau Posted December 18, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Sorry guys, but I'm missing a name here... It's like honoring Ed DiGulio and not even mentioning Garrett. Lynn is holding all the Patents on that subject. And he would be the person with the longest history on that subject as well as the longest experience with a unit like it ... It's still the Alien Revolution... as I remember the Revolution never worked properly... Erwin "disturbed" Landau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Howard J Smith Posted December 18, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Hi Guys Thank you all for your kind words ? it has been a long and hard road. It was a great night and also wonderful to have an in depth chat with Ray Harryhaussen, my hero and reason for being in the film business. The BSC award was for ?my continued advancement of the ?Steadicam? system as a whole and also for the ?AR?. As voted for by the board of the BSC (of whom some I have worked with since ?The Saint?) therefore it is a great honor to be acknowledged by my Peers. They also made me an Associate BSC. Thanks Ron (how are you?) for your points, but the award I got is for the MK-V system, and the ?R? part of the ?AR? system. (Re: Lynn please see below) Regarding working; Will did a stunning Job on ?Rent?, though sadly it is not out here yet and I have to wait until I get to CT at Christmas to see it. Jeff Mart has shot a feature and loads of promos with his AR, from the new ?Pepsi? duelling Violins to ?Black eyed peas? promos. Guido Lux has been very busy with his as well. As have Mike O?Shea, Grayson Austin and of course Chris McGuire and the other pioneers. We will shortly be having a page for each of the AR pioneers on the AR website and CV?s (resume), agents, mini Gallery etc and their showreels to download. (so Guys please email me photos and showreels, resumes, etc.) I feel (yet again) I have to set the record straight. ?The Revolution? system was designed without any knowledge what so ever of ?The Alien? system. 2 1/2 years into the project, I heard here on the forum of Lynn?s wonderful achievements. After I recovered from the shock, we started to correspond. I never saw Lynn?s system or even knew how it looked or worked, until I had a working system my self. We then showed each other our systems. I was very surprised when I saw ?The Alien? as it was so Alien, and not at all what I had imagined or done - still very nice though. As my concept was based around different needs and cameras, I had done something very different and I hold 5 patents for this system. Also as I had approached the system from a completely different viewpoint, I also had to completely re-design the platform (Sled) from the ground up so it would work the way I wanted it to. Hats off to Lynn, who I have tremendous respect for (hence the ?Alien? part), but the system you see today and I was awarded for is 100% MK-V. And I look forward to standing side by side with Lynn for the Oscars next year (fingers crossed??). Lynn has the patent for the Alien and I have the patent for the Revolution. (As even though the AR is not the Alien in any way shape or form), if there is anyone on the planet that knows how hard it is to do, it is Lynn and therefore I wish to share this with him. Regarding Erwin ?shaky on the facts? Landau, I have nothing against you in any way. But I do wish you would get your facts straight before posting. The ?AR? is the Revolution 100%. You were never a part of the Revolution development whatsoever and therefore know nothing of what went on, or what is what. The first time you saw it is when we demoed the prototype to selected ops. Because we were working in total privacy on our own thing in the UK (unaware of anyone else attempting anything similar), people were totally unaware of our progress, ideas, etc. etc? (and still are!!) The bottom line is - The Revolution (AR) would still have existed exactly as it is, even if Lynn had not done the Alien. I designed it because I was fed up with changing modes. Unlike in the USA, here in the UK we rig our own sleds 100% (unless we have a full time assistant ? very rare). I was also DP-ing a lot of 2nd unit on features as well as being on the Main unit as an Op. The whole concept was for speed and being able to rig the sled once in the morning and then be ready for what ever they threw at me. Then I got carried away?.. Also we have updated the AR site www.alien-revolution.com and have all the demos in full to download and keep. We are going to be shooting some new AR demos soon, so if there is anything you would like to see in them please let us know. AR@mk-v.com All the best to you all and Happy Christmas. I look forward to seeing you all in 2006, have a great time. Howard J Smith MK-V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RonBaldwin Posted December 18, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Howard, sorry for my misunderstanding...my impression (as well as others I have spoken to) was that you and Lynn were partners -- as in he developed and you added to/marketed/maufactured this device. Oops. Again, sorry. I look forward to seeing more footage (as well as Rent). How's wife and baby? Ron B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Howard J Smith Posted December 19, 2005 Premium Members Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) Hi Ron No problem, we are all fine, thank you. You are right Lynn and I do have an agreement. But the AR as it stands today was concieved, made and designed in the UK. So you were half right. Like I said I have the upmost respect for Lynn and I look forward to seeing him and Roxanne soon. What shots would you like to see, let me guess, a Red Hummer going off road, could be good.... Hope to see you soon All the best Howard Edited December 19, 2005 by HJS-MK-V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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