Profile addition

[Iain Baird]

Having just clicked on another members name I felt like an important part of the personal profile options was missing.

 

What type of sled do you have? or have you owned?

 

It's great that we now all have names, but I guess in a weird way I also identify myself with the sled that I have or the ones that I've owned or used before.

 

 

Just a thought

 

 

 

Iain Baird

 

To start off the knowledge base

 

my rig is a muTT

 

GPI topstage, Chroziel tilt plate, MK-5 superpost and upper junction, GPI battery III, Tiffen Ultrabright monitor, PRO Arm, Walter Klassen vest GB dual mount, Marell level - frameline gen, Canatrans transmitter and sony camcorder.

 

But it's the mutt i love,

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

You can always put it in your sig. It's going to be tough to categorize a seriously worked over Rig. For instance I fly a:

 

Pro II Battery Rack

TB-6 monitor

MK-V 4 Stage Post

Currently a MK-V V2 gimbal that is being swapped out for the XCS Gimbal

Pro D-Box 4

XCS camera plates

Scorpio Follow Focus

Canatrans Transmitter

Pro Arm

Pro Suit

 

I guess I could always use the first letter of each item then it would be a PTMXXSCPP

[Iain Baird]

I must have used the wrong terms. It would only be info that could be seen if you clicked on the name of the member.

 

IAIN

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

I'm more concerned about where someone lives.... (Hint)

[Iain Baird]

I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

But wouldn't it be cool to know what sleds I've had, what my present setup is etc, etc. That where a real knowledge base begins, knowing where your information is coming from. If I knew who had a marell level, or a Tiffen monitor then I would know that those guys are the ones that I need to reach out to for information. And those are the guys you listen to when they offer their solutions.

 

I've owned a master series sled but have never even touched a XCS ultimate, doesn't that define me a little? That's all I was suggesting, let's be open about our packages so that we all know who we need to reach out to with our problems.

 

 

IAIN BAIRD

toronto, on

hanging in ireland

[Peter Abraham]

With all due respect to our esteemed Moderators, I agree completely with Ian's idea.

 

Making a Sig become a laundry list of gear is a bad idea. It clogs down the servers, which have to load up a long list instead of a small quote or short sig line every time you post.

 

On the other hand, it IS awfully helpful to know who has what. See, if we could list our gear in our Profiles, and Profiles were included in a Website Search, then we would achieve what Janice Arthur worked so very hard for so long to try to organize on paper- a really good list of where we are, and what we have and what we are willing to loan/rent a the drop of a dime. This refers very directly to an upbeat thread in General Topics about how we help one another, even if we don't know eachother first.

 

If I found myself in Johannesburg and my BFD died or I was in Bangcock and my monitor crapped, it'd be dandy to be able to Search our Profiles and find the right person with the right goodies who may save the day.

 

My two cents. So, the question- if I do a Search, does that function scan Profiles? If not, could the software be tweaked to include it? Then, only those members who chose to can list gear, etc.

 

Best to all,

 

Peter Abraham

New York

[Rich Cottrell]

I too think it is a BAD ida to put your "rig in your sig."

For example:

If I do a search to learn more about the "XCS TB-6" I do not want every post that someone who owns a TB-6 to come up. I only want to posts that are talking about the TB-6 to come up in my search

my five cents

rich

 

BTW I love this forum and all you guys... and girls!

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Rich,

 

Very valid point regarding the search engine, which already seems underused.

[Bryan Fowler]

I think it's a great idea.

 

I'd be more than happy to put what gear I have up for others to see. I'm happy to help whenever I'd be able to.

 

Also I think it is a great opportunity to show new ops, and the film community how supportive, and

happy to help some of us are.

 

Do we just add what we have to our profile? Or do we need to have a special section added to the profile?

 

Bryan

[Peter Abraham]

I did not think of that angle- that a search for ,say, TB-6 would yield ALL results on that search word. Not what I was thinking of.

 

Tim, is there a way to allow Profile Search only, to facilitate the amazing chance of finding gear in an emergency ? Or, create a listing under our Profiles that say " Gear List" or somesuch, that can be hit upon discretely in Search?

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

Tim, is there a way to allow Profile Search only, to facilitate the amazing chance of finding gear in an emergency ? Or, create a listing under our Profiles that say " Gear List" or somesuch, that can be hit upon discretely in Search?

 

 

That's why I would like to see everyones location in their profile under searchable location and also in their sig so that it displays. Worst case you could call people to see if they have what you need or know of someone with it.

[Peter Abraham]

That's a great starting point, but it would take 25 calls in NYC to find what - given a full list of gear- would take one, maybe two calls. Location ( location, location :P ) and gear info as far as folks wish to provide.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

That's a great starting point, but it would take 25 calls in NYC to find what - given a full list of gear- would take one, maybe two calls. Location ( location, location :P ) and gear info as far as folks wish to provide.

 

 

I see your point, Just don't know if it's practical. There is always the thought of someone doing an external database and hosting it

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

I just had someone call me yesterday, shooting in Connecticut who blew a rod end bearing in his arm and asked for numbers. I searched the SOA site for him since the search engine is not that good here and because we don't have that detailed of a profile here. Not sure what the best thing to do is. More complete profiles wold be great, but I think we need to somehow have a separate search than the forum postings. Have no idea of the logistics involved for this though. Tim T. is the man for that one.

 

Cheers,

[Afton Grant]

I could easily set up a small and simple website that lists everyone, their locations, contact info and equipment list. It would be searchable (contact info protected too). I would even build in a mobile version of the site that could easily be used from set via your cell phones. Obviously, it would be easier to not add an additional site to worry about and build something into this site. Tim, contact me on or off forum to let me know if I can help out in this or any other way.

 

On a related note, I'd like to add to the "Ops Rock" post. Being on the East coast, we're not right next door to many of our equipment manufacturers and are often at the mercy of the various pony express companies should our gear need servicing. While I'm definitely envious of the stories from the West that sound like, "The other day my doodad broke, so I drove on down to..." I have little concern for being stuck without gear here.

 

While customer support might not be right nearby, operator support is. Alec, Brant, Dave Ellis, Mike O'Shea, and many more have all made it clear that help is just around the corner. This is a quality I've seen in operators from all coasts and countries. It's excellent.

 

A fast, searchable database of operators and their equipment could be a great companion to this kind of support. It would eliminate a certain chain of phone calls that occurrs in search of a piece of equipment.

 

Best Regards,

Afton