BenSemanoff.com

HD video transmission is upon us… and there are more and more solutions available every day. The question bears asking… “Is the Steadicam Operator still responsible for transmitting video?” 20 years ago Steadicam was one of the only modes of operation that required being wireless. Today, not only are there new support options that warrant or require wireless transmission, but the availability of wireless tech makes almost every other mode of operation easier. With that… productions are equipping themselves with camwave’s, boxx meridian’s and other solutions right out of the gate. So are we still responsible?

If we are still responsible… how good of a system do we need to provide? There are systems out there for hundreds of dollars… and then there are systems (like the Boxx Meridian) that cost upwards of $18,000.

In the pursuit of the answer, I did some research and found a product by HP Video. Their big claims are:

- 5.1-5.9 mhz range
- similar range as the Boxx
- transmitter the size of a Modulus with only (2) antennas
- free / built in Marshall monitor
- uses the same connectors as the modulus
- range 200-250 ft line of sight, & 100-150 ft indoors
- price tag of $7500

In addition, they back their product with a 3 day trial – no questions asked. So we gave it a try.

I found the system to be built well. Indeed it’s a nice compact package. I’m not sure if it is truly as small as a modulus, but its close. The unit does indeed use the same 6 pin Hirose connector found on the modulus, but the connector on the HP Video transmitter is only wired for power. You have to input your SDI signal through the BNC input. This is a little inconvenient since all of our modulus cables are wired to carry both power and signal. Plus many of our support systems (including our ZipCam) are wired to output video and power on the same connector. So that was a little disappointing… but not a deal breaker.

The receiver has a built in Marshall monitor. It’s a nice display, and great for carrying around… but as a stand-alone receiver, I’m not sure if its that convenient to have the monitor built in. The unit is a little awkward to mount anywhere. It might be better if it came with an adapter for a c-stand’s 5/8″ pin. We placed it on a table and found it to be a little unstable. Also, there’s no way to input a video signal if you wish to use it as a monitor only.

Finally, there’s the issue of performance. Let me first say that we tested the system with our ZipCam System, which is a point-to-point suspended cable camera system. We tested it outdoors in a field, with very little reflective surfaces nearby. With that said, the range of the signal started to break up at approximately 100′ max. In addition, we mounted the transmitter to the base of the head, so at times it was blocked slightly by the camera body or other parts of the head. In these instances the signal broke up much faster and was very unpredictable. Unfortunately, once the signal is lost it takes quite a long time to reconnect. HP video claims (I believe) 7-8 seconds. This made the system quite unusable for our purposes since we operate the camera from the transmitted image.

On the flip side, picture was sharp & there was <1ms latency. I would have liked to have tested it for Steadicam purposes on a stage or location, but since it clearly wasn't a match for our ZipCam, we decided to return it. If anyone would like to share their experience, please feel free to add your comments to this entry.

Filed under: Equipment by BenSemanoff
Tags: « boxx meridian - canatrans - modulus - steadicam advice - steadicam equipment - steadycam advice - steadycam equipment - video transmitter »
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Tiffen historically has had a pretty bad rep when it came to service. Not to name names, but I think this had a lot to do with personel that was previously employed there. In the past few years, service has been handled by Michael Craigs, and service has improved dramatically. Turnaround on parts is quick, and if not they always seem to have a loaner. And they seem to have become pretty reasonable with their fees. So I’m here to say… If their device reputation was the only thing holding you back from buying a Tiffen Steadicam product… You might want to give them a try.

For the record, this entry was in no way solicited by Tiffen. Just thought they deserved some credit.

Filed under: Equipment by BenSemanoff
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Let me begin by saying that most of what I’m about to write about could have been avoided if I had just read the damn manual! But who reads manuals anymore?

I am a relatively new owner of my Ultra2 Sled. Bought it back in December of ’10, so I’m about 9 months in. On one of my first jobs I was flying a RED. I thought to myself, why don’t I just use the rig in 12v mode. Unfortunately, I got very little run-time in that mode. Hmmm. I had two PowerCubes on there… should be getting better performance. But, I’m at work. No time to diagnose… just switch over to 24v mode and let the down-converter do the work. Viola, better run time on the two batteries.

Then, a couple months pass, and I’m back on another job with the RED. This time I can’t even get the rig to boot properly in either mode. Camera gets 50% through booting and dies. Weird! So, again, no time to diagnose, just slap on the camera battery and go!

Now a couple months go by… in the meantime I’m flying the Alexa a lot. Back to a job with the Red and again, camera not booting. Here I have a bit of time so I decide to figure this out. I start trouble shooting and realize that if I power the monitor via 12v the camera dies during boot up… if I go with 24v, then it makes it through boot up. Hmmm. Guess what else is happening!?!? The battery bracket is getting scorching hot!

So, its pretty clear what’s happening… the RED pulls so much current that its overworking the 24-12v down-converter. It in turn is getting VERY hot. AND if you add the stress of the addition current demand from the monitor (if you connect the cable so as to power it off the down-converted 12v source) then you officially hit the limit and the camera shuts down.

Great, now I know what the problem is, but how do I fix it. Here are a couple answers to that question which might benefit others!

1) Its important to note that out of the box the Tiffen Steadicam Ultra2 is configured as follows: Switch the unit on in 12v mode (indicated by | on the switch) and you are ONLY using the rear-most battery in 12v mode. Switch it on in 24v mode (indicated by || on the switch) and you are now using both batteries in series – giving you 24v and implementing the 24 to 12v down-converter which is housed in the battery bracket. My guess is that this down converter maxes out around 8 or 9 amps… so beware. HOWEVER, if I had only read the manual I would know that I could configure the unit in 12v mode to use both batteries in parallel. This is done by removing the battery plate closest to the post and swapping around some cables (see your manual for details). This effectively eliminates the 24v mode, but sure does solve the problem described here! Only pain is that you have to open the unit up to switch back and forth. Shame they didn’t build in a switch… will work on a solution for that.

2) Another alternative that I implemented and like is to use the IDX E-HL9 batteries instead of the PowerCubes. These are essentially the same exact guts as the PowerCube, but have the ability to stack onto one another. So what I’ve done is to switch the rig into 12v mode, and just place two stacked batteries on the one active battery plate. It does essentially the same thing as achieved by the procedure mentioned in #1. Furthermore, you can combine these two solutions and fly 4 batteries at a time! I’ve done this when flying gyros.

So I hope this has helped some of you that were also scratching your heads about using power hungry cameras like the RED with your Ultra2 or other similar Tiffen model.

Filed under: Equipment by BenSemanoff
Tags: « E-HL9 - HL9 - IDX - PowerCube - steadicam advice - steadicam equipment - steadycam advice - steadycam equipment - Tiffen - Tiffen Steadicam - tiffen ultra - ultra cine - Ultra2 - ultracine »
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TheBerrics.com recently posted a video sponsored by Gatorade featuring Chaz Ortiz, a 17 yr old skateboarding phenom. I was given the honor of operating, and it turned out to be some of my proudest work. Thank you to TheBerriks.com and thanks to all of the operators in the Steadicam community that took notice and have shared their thoughts and kind words.

We shot the video essentially MOS with a scratch track. We used the AWESOME Arri Alexa and with an Optimo 15-40 zoom… although we did not zoom at all in the video. I flew the camera on my Ultra2 with an MDR2, CamWave, and a pair of Ken-Lab KS-4 gyros powered off my own custom made gyro inverters.

The biggest factor in the success of the video was that the producers realized we needed time to pull this off. I think less seasoned producers would have pushed for a 1-day shoot. Fortunately, they understood the complexity and we had 2-days to make this happen. For those of you that might not have guessed, the video was shot in 3-pieces (2 cuts only). The two cuts bookend the time-lapse section… but I will get into that more later. The three sections were “Arrival,” “Time-Lapse” and “Skateboarding.”

So, since we had 3-sections to shoot, we spent Day 1 rehearsing & shooting the more complex section… “Skateboarding.” We figured that if something went wrong, it would be in that section and we would have Day 2 in order to resolve the problem. Day 2 was spent first rehearsing the first section of the video, “Arrival.” We then shot the “Time-Lapse” section, and then shot the “Arrival.”

Now there’s never enough time, but I have to say it was nice having as much as we did. The AD would work with the extras for the first couple hours of the day to work out a rough blocking. Meanwhile we were setting up the camera, discussing the days schedule, etc. Then we would spend a couple hours walking through the section we were shooting that day. No camera! Just working out logistics. This obviously included the shot and blocking, but we had to also consider communication with extras for cues, vehicles & safety (more on this later), and coordination of a spotter, my AC, the DP, and at times the AD.

Once we were satisfied we had addressed every detail, we started running through it with the camera. We would walk through the shot, piece-by-piece, stopping and starting to make minor tweaks to blocking until we had it down, and then ran through a full pass or two. When we came back from lunch we had specific things to tackle each day. On the first day we had to give Chaz time to practice his tricks. The ones in the hallway seemed like cake for Chaz, but that giant rail slide was a different story. It took about an hour for Chaz to warm up to it. It was amazing to watch. He approached it very meticulously. He first took a couple dozen approaches to it stopping right before the rail. Once he was finally ready he took to the air, and didn’t quite get it… but I’ve never seen any one take a fall so well from that height. That was it… after that he was a machine.

While we were actually shooting he did 10 takes in a row without fail… it was amazing. What was even more amazing was he had to wait at the top of the stairs while the shot continued, listening to the marching band playing, and waiting for a cue to go. Not the ideal scenario for prepping yourself for a big trick like that. Nonetheless he was a champ! We did 11 takes (I think), and he only fell once.

On day 2 we shot the “Time-Lapse” section between rehearsal of and shooting the “Arrival.” This was done with a lock off camera, but during one of our tech scouts I suggested that I shoot a minute or two of the hallway on the steadicam (without anyone in the frame) and that the visual effects person map the “float” from that onto the finished time-lapse footage. They loved the idea and it worked great. It really sells the move as a single take.

“Arrival”

The “Arrival” was shot on day two. It was certainly the shorter and less complex of the two. What was lost in the edit was that we actually built a platform on the front of the car Chaz is arriving in and drove for a couple hundred feet at the head and tail of the shot. Then stepped on/off the platform as Chaz got in/out of the car. Problem was there was a lot of time killed in the slowing down and stopping of the car. I had suggested a crane step on/off instead, but I think budget was prohibitive. So in the edit they just cut out the gimmick… oh well!

The stairwell inside the school was of course challenging. I didn’t want to just follow or precede the entire way. I find this so boring. It needs to move the story forward or there is no point. I also had to consider the two or three others from the crew that were following along to make sure they weren’t in the shot. We knew we wanted to start the stairs following, and end preceding… at least that’s what the director envisioned. But I wanted to make the transition at the first landing. So I worked with the director to come up with an action that would allow this to happen. This is where the two girls came in (one of which was the daughter of our focus puller Al Cohen). The girls toss some paper at Chaz, this draws our attention over to them, which in turn allowed my AC, DP & AD to pass camera left. Once they were on the landing, I used the girls look to draw camera back to Chaz. This allowed the crew to get ahead and above me on the next set of stairs, which I climbed walking backwards if I recall correctly.

After this, it was simple stuff. Chaz puts skateboard in locker and goes to class. Of course I had to land and lock off on the same mark each time, at the same lens height, with the same tilt. To do this, we set up the end frame before rolling either the “Arrival” or the “Skateboarding.” Then we placed an apple box on the mark with a furniture pad on top of it, and of course marked it like crazy in case it moved between takes. During the arrival I used the pan at the very end of that segment to hide a very slow boom down. This was in order to kiss the bottom of my rig down onto that furniture pad…which told me I was at the right height & position. Then I held the shot locked off for about 20 or 30 seconds. At the beginning of the “Skateboarding” section I started with the rig just barely touching the furniture pad and floated away. We were able to get the camera within an inch or so every take… and this was acceptable for visual effects to stitch the shots together.

We did 11 takes. In my experience on these long takes… take 7 is the one everyone nails… then it kinda goes to crap for some reason for a couple takes, and then everyone finally nails it again on take 10 or 11. That was of course the case here… we nailed both “Arrival” and “Skateboarding” on take 7, then again on take 10 or 11 which was the last take we did for each. Once we had two keepers we went home.

“Skateboarding”

The “Skateboarding” section is probably the more interesting section from a technical perspective. Again, I started the shot with the camera floating just above a furniture pad, with the post over the mark we set for the end of the time-lapse. The camera then floats away as Chaz sneaks out of class and heads to his locker.

The stairs again posed a challenge. The client (Gatorade) was not too aggressive in getting product shots… but they did want some visibility. In all, we have Chaz drinking from the Gatorade bottle twice, a Gatorade water bottle sticking out of the basketball players gym bag, and an orange Gatorade cooler carried through the background right before the rail slide. So they were pretty hands off. However, this was where we needed to show Chaz drinking from the product. So we needed to be in front of him going down the stairs.

I took the first set of stairs in Don Juan with my crew just below me on the stairs. Then they all tucked against the wall as I switched out and followed Chaz down the second set of stairs. We needed to follow down this set of stairs so we could establish a trash can at the bottom of the stairs that he would stop at and throw out the bottle. However, this made it really tough on the crew. They got stuck behind me going down the stairs. So when we reached the bottom they needed a way to get by. We were already working with a tight space and close to minimum focus on the lens. So at the bottom of the stairs I had to play it just right to stay outside minimum and leave just inches for three people to clear (my AC, DP & AD).

After they cleared they flew out the door and loaded onto a golf cart. Many people suspected a segway, but this would have been tough (but not impossible) to step onto… AND, you have to remember I have three other people with me. So instead, the key grip (Gus Vasquez) built a platform on the front of a golf cart just inches off the ground which made the step on/off really nice.

I worked with the directors to create a beat for the step on… it made sense anyway that since he was sneaking out of class that he would pause to check if the coast was clear. Then we chased Chaz as he nailed the three tricks in the hallway.

As we approached the third trick, Gus and I worked it out that so that he would slam on his breaks. This essentially propelled me off the golf cart at the speed it was moving and I continued the chase for the next 100’ or so on foot. This gave Gus enough time to throw the golf cart in reverse and back up beyond the bend in the hallway.

Finally, the big trick. For me, there wasn’t much to it… I just needed to make sure the camera was pointed in the right direction. I would have felt terrible had I missed even one take. Sure enough I was in place for every one!

The original vision for the shot at this point was to then follow Chaz as he walked across the school lawn back to the car that was picking him up. For logistical reasons I thought this was going to be difficult, and not really pay off. So I suggested that especially at this moment of climax it would be so extremely cool if he hit that rail, landed and walked a couple steps right into his car. Colin & Steve weren’t sold, so I showed them and sold the idea. I think it really punctuates the video nicely.

I’d like to give credit to TheBerrics.com for having conceived such an application for Steadicam. TheBerrics.com is owned by a couple skateboard legends, one of whom is Steve Berra. Steve is not only an accomplished skateboarder, but a gifted filmmaker. His film “The Good Life” with Bill Paxton was featured at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. I’m not sure if the shot was Steve’s idea (Steve acted as EP on the job), or the director’s, Collin Kenedy… but nonetheless it was a cool idea to approach a skateboard video this way! I got involved with the job through Patrice Cochet, the DP for the spot and whom I’ve worked with for years now. He was the cinematographer on Steve Berra’s Sundance Pic.

Thanks to all those in the Steadicam community for taking notice, and for your kind words regarding this piece.

Filed under: Operating by BenSemanoff
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I’ve recently began my study of 3D. At first, I must admit, I was a bit resistant to 3D. I probably used all of the cliche arguments. I am, now, warming up to it for a few reasons. First, I’m discovering that there is truly an art to 3D cinema, and that it’s not just a gimmick. There are quite a few good and bad examples of 3D out there. Having seen enough of both now, I can truly say that I do enjoy watching good 3D!

The second reason I’ve warmed up to 3D is because I believe it’s here to stay. From a financial standpoint, any movie released in 3D makes more money. And the people that make decisions on what we shoot are the money people. So if you can’t fight ‘em, join ‘em! With that, I’ve decided to embrace the new trend and learn as much as I can about it.

The first thing I did was participate in the ICG Stereoscopic Workshop at the Sony 3D Technology Center. This workshop is free to members of Local 600 and is well worth the time. It doesn’t focus too much on the technical aspects of 3D, but more on the aesthetics. You learn the vocabulary of 3D… and boy does it open your eyes up to a new world.

Since the workshop I’ve been trying to watch as much 3D as possible. I realize that I need to be able to understand 3D as well as I understand 2D Cinema. Most recently I saw Thor in 3D (which was converted from 2D), Hoodwinked (which we only made it halfway through) and Rio (which I had previously seen with my son in 2D and was excited to compare the experience in 3D). Without making this into a movie review, I’d like to comment on things I’m learning about 3D.

1) Thor & 2D Conversions – these really don’t work for me. It just reads like a bunch of cardboard cutouts placed in space. Of course, all of the CGI is rendered in true 3D… but anything acquired in 2D looks odd. Plus, the lens choices were made for 2D, but when converted, I believe it forces post production stereography to make compromises with inter-axial settings that just don’t work for me. Basically, many over the shoulder shots and even shots where two characters were having a conversation in the front seat of a car, felt like the actors were much further apart than geography would dictate. I hope this trend ends and we start seeing studios make the call to go 3D earlier on in the development of projects. I can’t believe its a good financial decision since it costs $8,000,000 on average to convert a movie and you end up with a sub-par product.

A big challenge that I’m beginning to notice is that extreme wide shots that include people, or animals, just don’t work well in 3D. The people and/or animals begin to look like little models in a diorama. Its really weird, and I saw examples of this in every movie I reference here. I suspect that the filmmakers are choosing an interaxial that is way too big in an effort to make this ultra-wide shot look 3D. Past 30 feet or so, we can’t see 3D. Everything becomes 2D… but we are able to use our knowledge base to determine distance to objects beyond that point. However, I think filmmakers are insisting every shot have as much 3D as possible. So they widen the IO and this changes the relationship of space to size of objects beyond the point we are comfortable with and things begin to look “wrong.”

2) Lighting in Theaters – make sure that the theater turns the overheads off completely. I was in a theater and they left the overheads on, but dim. It wasn’t until about halfway through the movie that I realized why I was having so much trouble watching the film. The overhead was flaring either the left lens of my 3D glasses or my left eye. This was essentially causing an iris mismatch between eyes. This is one of the violations you want to avoid in making, and watching 3D… it makes it very uncomfortable to watch. Once I repositioned myself it was fixed. So if you are in a theater and they don’t turn the overheads off completely… complain! Damn you Regal Cinemas! Where’s an ArcLight when you need one!

3) Hoodwinked (into going to this movie) – besides the movie being pretty bad, so was the 3D. Actually, I take this back… I’m not sure the 3D was that bad… it just didn’t work for this picture. Hoodwinked uses a rather simple style of animation. Definitely not photo-realistic in any way. Feels a bit like the “Far Side” comics… which I have no need to see in 3D either. Probably a bit lax on the textures. So it seemed a bit silly to me to see it in 3D. I suspect it works much better in 2D.

One very interesting thing they tried, which didn’t work for me, was a split screen. This 2D convention just doesn’t work in 3D. Perhaps had they framed the split screen to make it look a bit more “fish bowl” like, but this particular execution doesn’t offer too much encouragement. With that said, I’m not a huge fan of the effect to begin with.

4) Rio – This picture was surprisingly good in both 2D and 3D. I wasn’t surprised it was good, just that it worked well for both! I have to admit, out of the three movies I saw this weekend, I think I learned the most from Rio… but to point out just a couple things…

Dissolves don’t work for me in 3D. Or perhaps the ones I’ve seem are odd. In 2D we are dissolving two, flat images over each other. It works. In 3D, we are dissolving between two spaces with different depth. We could be going from a close up of a picture frame on a night stand, where there’s virtually no depth to the shot, to a wide shot of an expansive room like a church. Ultimately, the dissolve forces these two volumes to fit into each other… its a bit odd! Maybe it just requires some serious storyboarding and planning to be sure the two shots will compliment each other.

And finally, volumetrics. This refers to things in the air that define space like smoke, fog, dust, etc. These are hugely important for defining the 3D world and providing depth cues. However, what I noticed while watching Rio was how amazing volumetric objects looked… not sure if I’m using the correct term here, but I’m referring to things like glass. Objects that have volume, but are transparent or translucent. It was amazing having watch Rio in 2D where I didn’t notice the rendering of glass at all, to 3D where all of a sudden glass just popped! It suddenly had volume and dimension. It was almost as if they couldn’t “dumb” down the glass to match the animation style. Perhaps this is a characteristic of any transparent solid in animation… as soon as its given a 3rd dimension it becomes photo-realistic! Regardless, incorporating glass and reflective surfaces into 3D in both animation and live action is a must!

More to come in Part2…

Filed under: 3D by Benjamin Semanoff
Tags: « 3D Cinema - 3D Steadicam - Inter Axial - Interaxial - Stereography »
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No, I’m not talking about anything to do with filmmaking! I’m actually talking about fabrication. Many Steadicam Ops (myself included) have gotten involved, to some degree, with fabrication of parts and/or equipment. I must admit… its a blast! Seeing that shiny new part in use is quite a high. But of course, if you end up with a heap of junk… you’re note going to find yourself receiving too many compliments. So what’s the key to making good looking parts?

The first is a good cut. This is too complex for just one blog entry, but if you are cutting the part yourself you need to be sure you:

- hold the part well
- use the right machine for the job
- use the correct cutting tool
- set the machine to the proper RPM’s
- use cutting oil when appropriate
- feed the part or cutting tool at the appropriate feed rate

It’s taken me quite some time to figure it all out… and to be honest, I am still learning. It’s a bit Zen! Your best bet (if you are doing it yourself) is to buy some books, rent a video, and or google as much as you can on the topic. AND BE CAREFUL!

Second… Polish! This is so important, and seems so obvious, but the key is how… STEEL WOOL! Even a great cut, which produces a pretty good finish, will benefit from a little polishing. What most novices don’t understand is that the bright anodized finish they see on camera equipment results from anodizing a shiny part. Anodizing does not inherently made a dull finish look brighter. It’s not glossy paint. If you have a dull, ugly, matte finish… anodizing will just make that same finish black (or whatever color you choose). So you need the brightest finish possible before sending it off. The key is Steel Wool. Buy yourself a bag of coarse, medium and fine wool. Then go at it.

Finally, the finish. This is the key to making your part look professional. I have to admit, I don’t always do this myself. Often times its because I’ve installed electronics in the part that would require a ton of work to remove, or because I’ve put a part into use right away, and remembering to pull it out and send it in is a challenge. Another issue is that any plating company you hire to anodize or plate your work will chart a batch or lot fee. This means it will cost the same to process one piece as it will to process a couple dozen (typically about $75). So you want to send a bunch of stuff in together. This is difficult seeing as you probably won’t have a bunch of things ready all at once. So you’ll start using some, and then forget to get them plated.

Here are some things to remember when getting your parts anodized or plated:

- plating companies charge a lot fee… so save your parts up and do them all at once
- try and use the same alloy for most of your projects… you’ll pay a lot fee for each alloy (I like aluminum 7075)
- if you’ve been using the part and the finish is dull, hit it with some steel wool before sending it off

Filed under: Fabrication by Benjamin Semanoff
Tags: « anodizing - fabricating - Fabrication - machining - steadicam advice - steadicam equipment - steadicam fabrication - steadycam advice - steadycam equipment »
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Not too unfamiliar words. I’m sure we are all familiar with the PA standing outside of the camera truck waiting to escort you to set. Sometimes you arrive, and production is truly ready for you. Other times you’ve simply been brought on set way too early by an overzealous AD. And if there’s no work to be done, I don’t want to be there. This is not out of laziness. Just the contrary. There are a couple reasons I don’t want to be present.

The first reason is simple. I don’t like to be seen standing around. As a specialty guy, we get paid handsomely for our services. The last thing I want is a producer seeing me standing there doing nothing. Even worse, talking. Never engage in small talk on set.

But the second reason is that I can be doing other more productive things on the truck. This might include servicing equipment, organizing equipment, or my favorite… finding ways to do things faster & better! I remember one show, about 3 or 4 years ago, where I was B-Camera/Steadicam. In fact, there was very little B-Camera. So if I was invited to set, it was because there was a Steadicam shot. That was it. So I spent a lot of time on the truck. This time was spent finding as many efficiencies as possible for setting the rig up fast. I think we had it down to 5 minutes between me and the 2nd assistant. It was sweet. Everything was dialed in. So use your time wisely, and when you don’t have to stand around on set… DON’T. Find something better to do with your time. It will make you a better operator!

Filed under: Operating by BenSemanoff
Tags: « hiring steadycam - steadicam - steadicam advice - steadicam techniques - steady cam - steadycam - steadycam advice - steadycam techniques »
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I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was in a Steadicam Operators Association Workshop listening to Peter Abraham talk about tuning the arm. To paraphrase, Peter’s take on tuning the arm consisted of tweaking the lifting force of each section until the two sections bottomed out simultaneously when you boomed from the top of the boom range to the bottom, and vice versus. This is how I’ve done it now for years. Recently, I purchased a U2 rig with a G70 arm. The G70 is a fantasic arm. It has a phenominal boom range of 32″, and it has a rather clever adjustment for iso-elasticity which allows you to change the ride of the arm. There are some cons to this arm. Perhaps the most significant is the friction inherent in the arm. The friction results in the “bobble” in the boom we try to avoid as operators. So I’ve been re-examining my approach to tuning the arm.

When it comes down to it, the arm was designed to function very similarly to the human arm. This is why systems such as the Merlin do not require an arm… you just use your own arm! In fact, the human arm is more than likely much better than any arm on the market. The problem is (of course) that we can only lift a small amount for an extended period. So I started playing with the G70 arm…tuning it down so that it still acted in the way Peter taught me, but with the lifting force just below what was necessary to lift the load. Basically, if I let the arm go it will immediately bottom out.

The goal here is to include the human arm in the equation… so that we aren’t just holding the arm at a particular boom height, but rather lifting slightly. This way, the friction of the arm doesn’t play as important of a roll. When I tried this, I was pleased with the results. Of course it means more work for your right arm. However, I have found that it reminds me to make specific choices with the boom height. I like that!

In addition, if we look at the act of “booming down” we see that causes us to lean forward ever so slightly. We of course can offset this by leaning back ever so slightly. However, if we tune the arm down slightly… booming down is “automatic,” but of course booming up requires more force than previously required. This doesn’t bother me too much. It may, as in booming down, cause me to lean back slightly as I boom up… but I’d much rather be forced to lean back slightly over leaning forward.

Update: “Tiffen is now offering an upgrade to the G70 arm which consists of changing the lower end blocks of each arm segment, replacing components in the ride and lift assemblies along with changing bearings in the ride and lift assemblies to a new style. The upgrade costs $2500.00 and can be completed in two business days.”

Filed under: Operating by Benjamin Semanoff
Tags: « G50 - G50 Arm - G70 - G70 Arm - steadicam - steadicam advice - steadicam techniques - steady cam - steadycam - steadycam advice - steadycam techniques »
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The ability to travel with gear inexpensively can make or break your ability to get a job. Especially when people you typically work for have short out-of-town shoots and are on the fence about bringing you with. So here are some quick tips to getting your gear there safely and inexpensively.

The fastest, least expensive way to get your gear there is by traveling it on the plane with you as excess baggage. Its not necessarily the most convenient since you have to travel with several cases, sometime alone (cue SkyCaps). But it requires almost no paperwork, doesn’t require you to lose a day with the gear before and after the job, and gets the gear there the minute you arrive (hopefully).

When flying with gear, your best bet is to book a direct flight (if possible). This will improve your chances of seeing the gear on the baggage carousel when you arrive. In some cases (especially with Southwest) its almost impossible to get anywhere on a direct flight. However, Southwest does allow you to select flights that stop, but don’t change planes. Pick those if available!

The next important factor is the choice of airline. This is critical if your goal is to save some dough. A few airlines offer something called a “Media Rate.” They all have their own definitions for this, but basically it means that you are traveling on behalf of some media related company for work in TV, News, Film, Commercials, etc. In order to prove this you’ll need to show some sort of identifications that verifies this to the airline. This can be a company ID, credential, or even a memo on letterhead. Show this at the counter when you arrive at the airport. Be sure to go to the airlines website ahead of time and print out their media rate policy… not all ticketing agents are created equal, and some have no experience with such things. You might even plan to get there a little earlier than usual since their lack of familiarity might turn into some lost time!

So what does this “Media Rate” get you? Basically, they charge $50 for every excess item. Plus they increase the limits from 50lbs/bag to 100lbs/bag, and the size from 62″ (length+width+height) to 100″. Sometimes they limit the number of excess bags, but i think its something like 20 bags. You will need to check on that!

Finally, you need to know which airlines offer this service. You’ll go crazy trying to research the subject. So here’s what I know. American Airlines, Southwest, & Delta offer media rates. If you go to their website you should be able to find the details fairly easy. If you are curious about any other airlines, go to their webpage and do some quick searching. If the answer doesn’t pop out quickly… give up. Don’t call them either… if its not on the site they probably don’t offer it and you’ll waste hours on the phone.

Good luck and safe travels!

Filed under: Uncategorized by Benjamin Semanoff
Tags: « excess baggage - media rate - steadicam - steadicam advice - steadicam techniques - steadycam advice - steadycam techniques »
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I’m on a plane back from Sweden after picking up my new (used) Ultra 2 from the guys at Camera Center in Gothenburg (shout out to Paul Blomgren, Hans Johansson, Michael Petersen, Richard, Michelle & Christian). Since I was already going there to evaluate the gear I figured I should make a trip out of it… so my wife and I found sitters for the kids and off we went. After a couple days in Stockholm we headed off to a resort in the mountains. Unfortunately it was off season, so the cool stuff we really wanted to do (like Dog Sledding, Snow Mobiling, etc) wasn’t in full swing yet.

It did however remind me of my experience with Steadicam and Snow Mobiles while working on an H&R Block commercial in Whistler, Vancouver. Working on a ski slope is challenging enough, but moving the camera is a who other ball of wax.

The most important factor to keep in mind while working on a ski slope is the “slope.” This has a huge impact on the orientation of your socket block, and whether the arm & rig are working with you or against you. If you trim the block for driving downhill, the rig is going to be unruly while driving back uphill for your reset. Especially when everyone wants a fast reset, and your not only trying to hold onto the rig, but holding onto the snow mobile for dear life.

Of course, its terribly difficult to adjust the socket block quickly with gloves on, the rig on the arm, and in the few seconds available. In retrospect, a rig that would quickly allow for gross adjustment to the orientation of the Garfield mount would have been a lifesaver.

The next challenge is the snow. This is where rain gear, or my favorite choice in water protection, stretch wrap, comes into play. This is a great, inexpensive solution. Skip the stuff sold for food… that stuff is often more expensive (since its made for working with food) and doesn’t offer a convenient applicator for use in the field. I prefer the stuff sold for packing. You can get it a Home Depot or Lowes (in the moving section). It comes with a great applicator, and its easy to fit in a case or bag. It goes on fast and cuts off quickly.

Finally, the last tip (which really applies to all vehicle scenarios), is communication. Make sure you have some open line off communication with the driver. A walkie-talkie is NO GOOD. That requires you to push a button. This is difficult when both of your hands are on the rig. You need a duplex solution that lets you communicate live with, at the very least, the driver. A cell-phone with an ear-bud is a cheap solution… but there are others out there if you have some money to spend!

So, with that, back to watching “Blades of Glory” on my 8 hour flight and keeping my fingers crossed that all the gear makes it onto the baggage carousel when I land. Good luck with all of you vehicle work… Keep Safe!

Filed under: Operating by Benjamin Semanoff
Tags: « steadicam - steadicam advice - steadicam techniques - steady cam - steadycam - steadycam advice - steadycam techniques - Ultra2 - used steadicam - used steadycam »
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