Front vs. Back mounted

[HALusznat]

I used # 41 Steadicam vest from modell I for over 16 years, replacing nearly every think including a modell III front. But I like the back straps and never felt happy with a master vest. When working for hours, several days a week, than somethimes later I had a deaf feeling in the leg.

So I switched to DSD # 48 and it was not an easy decision. I tried it for a week always switching between both typs. With the DSD there is not so much pressure on the shoulders and I can fly the rig more far from the body. Lens hight comes more to peopels eyelevel when sitting.

But I keep the old vest for special application.

 

Hans Albrecht Lusznat

My Webpage

My Webpage

[TJ Williams]

Just got my new Suave/Klassen???? (some what conflicted here)

:unsure: :unsure: rear mounted harness late this Summer. This is one great device in open areas. Just finished a series of spots for the Portland Trailblazers, (speed up the video long runs around the stadium and down on the floor, slow the video to catch "moments" then 200 MPH speedup the tapes to the next "moment".) Was just in another proposal to do this again back East, will every sports team now do this? Anyhow the thing basically made a believer of me on these days.... None of the usual pains, some foot pain from the concrete but that was all. Downside as has been mentioned, I've made a couple of scenic artists unhappy with the big thing that sticks off into every door frame, I feel like the ultimate fat guy. Have gone back to my old MkIII (yes I still have it. The adjustments are bolted together and the harness plastic is replaced by leather) for those tighter spaces.

 

On to a better 2004

TJ

[JohnPinella]

David:

I remember some discussion of adding back straps some years ago. As I came into Steadicam operating with my Master series, I've never really seen an older vest with back straps. Do you have some pictures of your modification?

Thanks!

-John Pinella

Indianapolis

[David Allen Grove]

David:

I remember some discussion of adding back straps some years ago.  As I came into Steadicam operating with my Master series, I've never really seen an older vest with back straps.  Do you have some pictures of your modification?

Thanks!

-John Pinella

Indianapolis

Hey John,

 

I took some pictures of my vest and put them on this page, hope it helps.

 

http://www.geocities.com/steadidave/vest.html

[David Allen Grove]

Hey John,

 

I took some pictures of my vest and put them on this page, hope it helps.

 

http://www.geocities.com/steadidave/vest.html

FYI: By 2 screw holes I mean 1 hole for each side of your vest.

[RonBaldwin]

I guess I'm lucky not to have experienced the "leg tingling" sensation everyone is talking about. Oh, there was this one time I was bouncing a particularly friendly extra on my knee.

[Lawrence Karman]

OK here'e the word from my brother in law.He's a doctor and longtime backpacker. The numbness is caused by pressure on the median femoral cutaneous nerve of the thigh where it exits adjacent to tensor fascia lata. He has personally experienced this from long back packing hikes. As with my experience it only happens to him with heavier loads. It can be mitigated by spreading out the load at the pressure point with more or different padding. I am curently experimenting with some different combinations of padding and it seems to have gotten slightly better.

[Thomas English]

Is there any more news/tricks on dealing with the numbness. I have only just begun getting it.

 

So far what has seemed to help me is

 

- Removing my belt

- tightening only the top klassen skiing strap ratchet and leaving the bottom one loose

- Loosening the vest between takes

 

What kind of build are people that have the numbness? Would padding out the muscles where this nerve exits with weight lifting help? more circulation.... I am a medium build with a mild beer belly. I had a better beer belly before, when I had NO numbness......

[David George Ellis]

Hey Thomas,

 

Where do you feel the numbness? Sometimes it could be that you need to inflate/deflate the air bag or change the position of the arm itself. Whether up/down, in/out, there is a sweet spot and it may change from camera to camera. I've marked off an area on the arm mounting bracket and then tweak it a little dependent on where the pain is. Doing that has given me some guidance to where I like the vest and I can make adjustments between shots.

 

It doesn't take much though, as I have painfully found that out. I, too have a bit of beer muscle myself (ladies love it), and it can get funky when I begin the shoot, but a few minor relocations of the arm and I'm good to go. Try contacting Mr. Klassen and tell the doctor where it hurts. I'm sure he can prescribe something to help. Either that or start drinking more beer. Good luck.

 

David

[Thomas English]

It seems to be my thigh muscle, although this clearly is not my thigh muscle but the skin layer above it. My vest does not seem to bite into my leg.

 

The bladder on the back is not something I ever gave much thought on... maybe thats my next step.

 

Your right about the arms position vis a vis the vest, now I think about it, I moved it up the vest for some high shots and worked like a donkey for hours and did not have the problem (also forgot about the problem). However I do like to position that for the shot..... maybe I need to think about that and find a sweet spot towards the top and only lower it for them low modes.

 

I suspect the beer muscle protects the "median femoral cutaneous nerve of the thigh where it exits adjacent to tensor fascia lata" ...

 

Armed with that latin, I wonder if seeing an acupunture man would be interesting for a chat.... because it is a little bit of acupunture after all.

 

Thankyou very much for your advice Dave.... Oh and thanks for my trivia about dutch painters painting churches at 45 degrees! I keep using it in the battles of trivia whilst attempting to develop my beer muscle.

[RobVanGelder]

Regarding the tingling skin in the legs, does anybody has a sort of treatment against it, once you have this?

 

I just did a four days shoot where the director wanted to do all shots on Steadicam, what could or should be on sticks, dolly or jib.

This made me wear the rig for very long times, and through many, many takes.

We had 12 to 18 hour days!

Many of the shots were minimal in motion, hardly one or 2 steps, but impossible to hard-mount as the director wanted the freedom (for me) to move more or less at will or taste.

While everything was fine at the end, the director and producer and client very happy, I got increased tingling in my outer, upper legs, but only on the skin. After 3 days i still have this, though less strong, and i hope really that this will go away with rest.

 

I have a WK BM vest which always has done well for me, but with the Asian diet i have now for 6 years, my body structure and fat layers have changed a bit.

For sure i will contact Walter Klassen for an upgrade for my harnass, as there is now way i will go back to FM.

 

For now I will use Counterpain or such to distract me from the tingling, but it would be nice to know a bit more about a possible treatment

 

Rob :unsure:

[BJMcDonnell SOC]

OK well I will chime in here, I have a WK harness and I love it. I have been using it for a long time now. All of a sudden I did get the sensation of a tingle in my right leg and it would come and go. I ignored it thinking maybe it was just "One of those things". After awhile I got the tingle and it would never go away. I also got really stiff on my right side. I got a bit stressed out about it and called around to some other ops and listened to their experience with the back mount. I then bought a PRO FM vest. I started stretching more and exercising a bit more to strengthen my legs and lower back. I started using both FM vest and Back mount vest for different situations. If it is a simple walk and talk I use the front mount. Any time I go low mode I use the back mount. Also long takes I use the back mount. Almost everything else I use FM vest. The tingle has gone away now and I feel 100% better except for the fact that I now lug around more gear than I care to. I also recomend taking the rig off as much as possible. Don't walk around with it if you don't have to. I know you guys know this already but there are still people who just wear it during discussions btwn. the DP and Director. Take the thing off! I was very guilty of doing this myself as wearing the WK harness, you kind of forget about the weight.

[chris fawcett]

For now I will use Counterpain or such to distract me from the tingling

Hi Rob,

 

I'd call that a really bad idea Rob. Aren't we talking nerve damage here?

 

Fly safe,

 

Chris

[Rob Vuona SOC]

Regarding the tingling skin in the legs, does anybody has a sort of treatment against it, once you have this?

 

I just did a four days shoot where the director wanted to do all shots on Steadicam, what could or should be on sticks, dolly or jib.

This made me wear the rig for very long times, and through many, many takes.

We had 12 to 18 hour days!

Many of the shots were minimal in motion, hardly one or 2 steps, but impossible to hard-mount as the director wanted the freedom (for me) to move more or less at will or taste.

While everything was fine at the end, the director and producer and client very happy, I got increased tingling in my outer, upper legs, but only on the skin. After 3 days i still have this, though less strong, and i hope really that this will go away with rest.

 

I have a WK BM vest which always has done well for me, but with the Asian diet i have now for 6 years, my body structure and fat layers have changed a bit.

For sure i will contact Walter Klassen for an upgrade for my harnass, as there is now way i will go back to FM.

 

For now I will use Counterpain or such to distract me from the tingling, but it would be nice to know a bit more about a possible treatment

 

Rob :unsure:

 

 

Hey Rob,

as BJ said, I used a WK BM vest the other day for a show in a comparison to my Pro FM vest and I, like him, experienced the numbness in my leg as well. I was wearing it for maybe 2-3 hours . . . on the next show I went back to my nice light Pro Vest. I liked the Wk vest but for my applications the Pro Vest rules.

 

as for the numbing, i just message the shit out of it until it finally goes away

[Charles Papert]

I experienced a taste of the tingly-leg some years ago but it has been a long time since it last appeared, and the Klassen continues to serve me well. I recently have been noodling with my trusty old PRO vest and while it is still the best front-mount, "those" muscles have definitely gone to pot somewhat from disuse and I don't have anywhere near the stamina with a front-mount that I used to. Also I have to say that I loved not having a plate across my chest, limiting breathing. However the light weight of the PRO vest is enticing. It's an intriguing concept to switch between them but it would be a pain to have to reverse the socket block for a given shot...BJ?