Practice Techniques

[RickMcKinney]

Until I have the opportunity to take a workshop, what are things I can practice to become a good operator?

 

I already know about the "line exercise". What are other "newbie" things are there to work on?

[Charles King]

I'll answer this with - Just take a workshop. I bet the next response to your post will be the same. ;) Another additional response would be everything. There's a lot invovle so just picking out one training subject doesn't cut it. There are lots of variations to operatiing that you will find out later especially during operating. The more advance ops, like Charles Papert and the likes here, will tell you that.

[Philip J. Martinez SOC]

Hi Rick

I would agree with Charles take a workshop; I?m a Steadi-Newbie too. I got a rig (and a couple of jobs) before I took a workshop, then I got to meet the Curt Schaller from Artemis and he showed me how to balance the rig properly (that helped a lot) then I sighed up for the workshop in Oct. in Pa. but had to back out ?cause of a job I could not get out of so I took Peter Abraham?s Flyer workshop and it was great! Probably the best thing I learned from Peter was to keep most of your weight on your left foot (If operating normal) when stopping (I did not know that till he told me).

 

I saw an old copy of the Steadicam EFP tape:

 

Walk the line and practice going from Don Juan to Missionary with the X on the wall

 

Run a piece of rope between two stands and with the rig in front of you, shooting sideways try to keep the rope in the center of frame. Put apple boxes in your path so when you step up you have to boom down.

 

This is what I?m doing right now, still looking for 2 other people to practice on stairs

 

If anyone knows of workshops coming up in the Tri state area please let me know it seems like there are not any till the Spring

 

Hope I helped a little, like I said I?m new, there are so many things I do not know!!

 

Thanks,

 

Philip