Jeffery Cools Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Hi Guys, It's spring now and the wind is really picking up. What are some operating techniques you guys use to still operate in high wind. Do antlers help? More bottom heavy? Any advice would help. I've read and found some other posts on operating in windy situations. What I really want to know is..should I invest in antlers or a gyro? who's using these? Thanks for posting! Jeff http://www.jeffcools.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members RobVanGelder Posted March 10, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...1&hl=tennis more info in this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert Starling SOC Posted March 10, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 What are some operating techniques you guys use to still operate in high wind. Hi Jeff, it's always very windy here in the desert so I'm trying to learn to work with it too. In the other thread a few ops said they'd have a tough time saying no to a Director; but I did exactly that two weeks ago shooting on the corner balcony of a 20th floor penthouse here in Vegas. Maybe I'm a wuss but when the gusts nearly pushed me and the rig over the balcony I said it was unsafe and IT WAS unsafe for me and the grips with double doubles. Last week I was shooting tennis pro Ben Becker and others here in 20-25 mph with 35 mph gusts. We knew during the scout it would be windy the next day so I asked for and amazingly got them to wrap the court fencing and standard tennis wind break with 200 feet of Duvatine which I'm sure was a bitch of a problem to do in that wind and keep it attached. At that point we had good protection but still gusts and wind eddys coming over the top that would catch the rig no matter what. I don't have antlers but I think they would have caught more wind and have been tough to shield with all the movement. I called another op on the way to the shoot that morning with the same question of whether to balance bottom heavy or more neutral. Bottom heavy worked for the wind but created too much bottom inertia for the runs, turns and quick stops so I ended up going completely neutral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted March 11, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Hi Guys, It's spring now and the wind is really picking up. What are some operating techniques you guys use to still operate in high wind. Do antlers help? More bottom heavy? Any advice would help. I've read and found some other posts on operating in windy situations. What I really want to know is..should I invest in antlers or a gyro? who's using these? Thanks for posting! Jeff http://www.jeffcools.com Here's a brief response: Making the rig more bottom heavy is helpful. But that comes at a price in terms of mainaining level on angular momentum changes. Grips with 4X4 double nets are very effective against the wind. Held as close as possible to the camera and rig from the windward side. If wind direction is coming directly at the lens then 2 4X4 held together in a "V" pattern just behind the camera can be some help. Plus side: usually available and no expense to you. Negative side: Sometimes the wind forces the net into the rig or your sudden change of direction runs you into them, upsetting the frame. Not too effective against swirling winds. Also, grips need to be paid and fed.(and rightly so) Antlers are effective aginst the wind and relatively inexpensive. Negative side: They only help to stabilize one axis, they add weight and require a re-balance when added, and worst of all they have a rather large profile and often bang into things and heads. Gyros are the most effective tool against the wind. Negative side; Very costly, noisey, requires rebalancing when added and heavy. That being said, if you are often working in windy conditions then they are your best bet and you should invest in a set.Do a search on this board and you will see a recommendation for using 3 gyroscopes. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members JamieSilverstein Posted March 12, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 On several occasions, when I was doing a crane walk off or walk on, I have used a single K6 gyro on the post. I like the results and everyone else seemed pretty happy too. Antlers are a great tool too, but just watch out for the actors heads. Jamie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Charles Papert Posted March 12, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Antlers are effective aginst the wind and relatively inexpensive.Negative side: They only help to stabilize one axis Two actually, Doc...pan plus either tilt or roll, depending on how they are oriented. Of course pan usually doesn't need stabilizing, but it is added inertia in any event. One of the nifty things about antlers is that they can help equalize the feeling of the three axes, in that the standard Steadicam configuration has a lot of inertia in tilt, less so in roll and less still in pan. Adding antlers oriented left to right can help balance this out. As long as you don't hit someone with them, yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Lawrence Karman Posted March 12, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 Antlers are effective aginst the wind and relatively inexpensive. Negative side: They only help to stabilize one axis Two actually, Doc...pan plus either tilt or roll, depending on how they are oriented. Of course pan usually doesn't need stabilizing, but it is added inertia in any event. One of the nifty things about antlers is that they can help equalize the feeling of the three axes, in that there the standard Steadicam configuration has a lot of inertia in tilt, less so in roll and less still in pan. Adding antlers oriented left to right can help balance this out. As long as you don't hit someone with them, yeah. I stand corrected. You are absoulutely right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEdwards Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 ....................... in that the standard Steadicam configuration has a lot of inertia in tilt, less so in roll and less still in pan. ................ Hi Charles, Just being picky, but aren't the sled's roll and tilt inertias the same? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jerry Holway Posted March 13, 2007 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 No, Chas is correct. Tilt's bigger than roll, more so as the monitor and battery are extended from the rig, and also with a longer camera. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEdwards Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 No, Chas is correct. Tilt's bigger than roll, more so as the monitor and battery are extended from the rig, and also with a longer camera.Jerry Oh yes, of course! They're only the same when you pull the monitor and battery in, so their c of g is within the post...............not a very useful operating setup! Thanks Jerry Regards, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffery Cools Posted March 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Thanks Guys for all the great advice! Now, if I can only do something with all this snow on the ground! lol Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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