Flyer in Philadelphia

[Tom MaCoy]

Hi all; first time post from a new member, looking forward to seeing what kind of insight I might gain here. I'm mainly looking for responses from any other Philadelphia based ops, but if anyone's got a thought I'd like to hear it.

 

My basic question is, does anyone in Philly have any feel if there's a market for the Flyer rig? Do any Philly ops even own or run one?

 

My own quick background is Drexel Grad, been working mainly as a camera op, technical director, and DP for the past two years. I was in school when Drexel got their first Flyer and brought in Peter Abraham (fantastic instructor) for a two day workshop over a weekend with about 10 students; managed to get into it and walked out with a certification, a love of flying, and a nice free T-Shirt. Since then, besides the usual student films, I've actually managed to operate on some actual industry jobs, and by now can probably work up a passable demo reel. The idea of owning my own rig's been floating around for a while, and price-wise the Flyer isn't cheap, but certainly affordable. I think there may be a nice niche market for someone focused on the smaller body cameras that the Flyer's built for, but I'm really curious to see if Philly's got any prevailing opinion on that. Thanks very much for any thoughts.

-Tom MaCoy

[Greg Roth]

Hey Tom,

 

Sounds like we have a lot in common. I'm currently a junior at Drexel and my post-graduation goal is to work as camera/steadicam operator. I too took the steadicam class which is now taught by David Schwartz. Sadly they did away with the t-shirts :( .

 

Currently I'm just working on a bunch of student films, and I haven't really heard much about actual industry jobs. I only know of two steadicam ops in Philadelphia; David Schwartz and Ben Semanoff (haven't met him personally...yet). And as far as I know, they both own the larger rigs.

[Tom MaCoy]

Hey Greg,

 

Thanks for the reply. (Was starting to wonder if there's anyone out there at all.) I TA'd for Schwartz's shooting and lighting class senior year and picked up a few operating tips from him as well. Too bad the t-shirts went away and the Certification went away, so far as I heard. As far as the school in general though, you can't beat Drexel; the Film/Video program is excellent. Maybe we can co-ordinate on some future work.

I've worked with Ben Semanoff a couple times; the only other ops I know are Tom Upton and (I believe) Mike O'Shea. All of them own Master or Elite rigs as I remember, serious stuff. Any other Flyer owners care to weigh in? Philly seems quieter than I expected in this area. Thanks!