you could look in the SF area reel directory ..

http://www.reeldirectory.com/listings/

Glidecam stabilization need
 

Hi,

I bought a Glidecam v20 but have been completely unsuccessful in mounting and balancing my Mini35/HD100U. hopefully someone in LA can help me out. I'll pay $100 to balance it and show me how to modify when I change lenses, and perhaps a few tips on how to operate.

Let me know.

Duke@superbadmusic.com

Put Glidecam in subject box

duke

Hi Brian...

Here's a few pointers that might help. Once you understand the fundamentals, it's pretty easy, actually.

First: Set up the sled as you'd have it outfitted, minus the camera. Mount the battery, monitor and other accessories as you would. Then suspend it off a c-stand or other sturdy support.

Now use the provided weights to get the sled to balance perfectly upright. You might have to shift the battery and monitor positions to get it where you want it.

Now, set up the camera with all the necessary accessories. Be sure to include battery and tape. Don't set it up on the Glidecam just yet.

Once you have the viewfinder and other equipment in place, see if you can find the camera's center of balance. Lay a pencil or dowel flat on a table and sit the camera on it so that it teeter-totters. Carefully shift the camera forward and backward until you find the point where the camera will balance nicely atop the dowel.

Make note of where the dowel is in relation to the camera. This is where the fore-aft balance point is.

Now do the same thing to see where the camera's balance point is from side to side to get its lateral point of balance.

Where the fore-aft and lateral balance lines intersect is the camera's center of balance.

The idea is to get the center of the camera's balance point to line up with the center of the sled's camera platform. The mistake often made is to put the camera's tripod socket right over the center of the sled's camera platform -- and a balancing nightmare soon follows.

Also, the sled itself needs to be properly balanced before the camera is mounted. That step often is overlooked and further balancing problems crop up. But if you balance the sled, and find the balance point of the camera then 99 percent of your balance problems get solved before the camera even gets mounted on the sled.

There are a number of holes in the sled's camera platform which will allow you to place the camera's tripod socket in the appropriate spot.

Once you mount the camera over the right spot on the sled, the whole sled/camera rig could either be top-heavy or bottom-heavy.

If it's top-heavy, you'll need to shift the support arm higher on the sled's column. If it's bottom-heavy, you'll need to shift it lower.

The precise location of the support arm will be determined by how fast the sled swings from a horizontal position back to vertical. Some say two seconds. Some say three. Depends on whether you want the rig "tender" or "lean." A lean rig will be easier to keep upright but will tend to swing if you accelerate or shift quickly. A tender rig will be harder to keep upright but is less likely to swing with sudden movements.

The fine adjustment screws on the sled's camera platform can be used to make fine corrections in tilt and roll. You can get the camera to operate with a slight downward tilt or upward tilt, depending on circumstances.

You might also want to set up the camera platform with a quick release to allow the camera to be mounted on a tripod and back onto the Glidecam without having to wrestle with the Glidecam's camera plate. I'd suggest a Manfrotto 394: It's got a low profile, it's pretty robust, locks positively and the camera will go back to the exact same position everytime, which makes keeping the balance a whole lot easier.

Hope this helps!

Good advice Dean. The only thing that I might wonder about is doing the initial sled balance (i.e. dynamic) off the dock; it will be so bottom heavy that it will be hard to get anything close to a fine tune of balance this way. I would probably suggest using the dowel/pencil method on the camera-less sled instead, which will give a more accurate reading of the fore/aft balance of the sled.

Hi Charles...

In the Glidecam seminar we were using a circular bubble level placed on the camera platform, with the camera-less rig suspended from a c-stand and dock, to get the sled balanced.

How do the Steadicam pros do it?

I don't use a Glidecam all that much but it's a wonderful tool when it's needed.

Well, the way I do it is with the camera in place, by spin-balancing the whole assembly once it is static balanced and then making adjustments from there. It is actually not always the case that just by having a "centered" rig that dynamic balance will always be achieved; the point is that the whole mass including the camera must be dynamically balanced, and because the monitor is raised off the base somewhat, it's not as simple as drawing straight lines through the center of the post and assuming those will always be good. It's sort of too complicated and cerebral to get into here.

In any event, it should be pretty intuitive that if the rig is extremely bottom heavy as it would be if you hang it off the dock with no camera in place, it will make it hard to finesse the fine-tuning of fore-aft level. It's just the same as if you have the camera onboard and have the rig very bottom heavy (1 second drop or faster. Same thing without the camera.

Finding the basic fore-aft balance of the rig with the fulcrum method as you described with the camera by itself is likely to provide a faster and more accurate method, but ultimately the spin balance is the final test that counts. The problem with many DV rigs out there is that the gimbal may not be linear enough to deliver a flat spin even when the rig is truly in dynamic trim.

Sounds like the way engine crankshafts and even wheels are balanced.

As with all things worth knowing well, this is also subtle and complex!

need help writing script please
 

Hello, I am looking for help with a script writing issue and don't know exactly where I should post for help, I joined 2 script writing forums but was told that they deal only with "screenplay" script writing so I am hoping this forum will either help or lead me to the correct place.
I use a music playback software that has a small screen which displays the Album Art Covers of each Artist when their respective songs are playing, I need to magnify that small screen and though of using my slideshow software to display the images but was told that I would need to write a script to do this. A person on my music software's forum wrote a script for this and when I tried it, I ran into some technical difficulties and she does not have the time to help troubleshoot it.
I can provide her exact instructions for anyone to see. Anyway so I need help in either getting hers to work or getting someone to write me a script for this. I have the basic instructions that is needed for this from both my music software and slideshow developers. I don't know anything about script writing so I am lost here, if there is anyone who can help me with this, please post, if not, then canyone refer me to any other forum where I might be able to get help with this please? Thanks.

Thanks for the advice guys, however, I am more of a visual person so I would need to see it before me. Paying soemone to help me out and get started will be worth it.

Dean too bad you're not in LA. Unless Charless wants to help me get started -=)

Hey Brian,

Steadicam is having a workshop this December 10 & 11. It's a 2 day workshop. Cost is $500.

There is also another workshop which is 5 day intensive. At Malibu and over $2K.

Or beg Charles...Or go to DVXuser and ask "pookie" aka Chris...

Or ask Millo?...wait he isn't in LA.

Good luck anyways

That particular individual was falsely claiming he was Chris Haarhoff in his online profile a while back--a major black mark, in my opinion.

So you are saying he's not Chris...?

Chris something maybe, but definitely not Chris Haarhoff.

Hey Charles,

when is your Steadicam book/DVD/seminar/workshop/school going to form?

It's so unfortunate you have work :)

DVD is progressing, hoping to schedule the shoot alongside another shoot with similar requirements in the next six weeks.

just sent an e-mail with subject heading "steadicam operator"

To me? If so, I didn't get it.

Also, Charles did you get my last email?

Duke

Brian...e-mail was to Charles...

I heard that he was working on a steadicam training DVD.

LA Shoot This Monday
 

A client of mine is looking for a shooter and boom pole guy for a shoot in 3 miles from LAX on Monday. She is an exercise guru and is doing a DV on her method. The shoot would take place in a gym. Now here is the confusing part----Her DP in Texas shot 16:9 progressive using a XL2----I shot in New York using a PD-150 (didin't find out until the day of the shoot that the first part of the video was shot in 16:9), so what I did was frame for 16:9 and shot in standard 4:3. Anyhow, I'm looking for someone with an XL2, or any other camera that supports TRUE 16:9. Sound would go directly into the camera and I all I would need is boom pole operator with a decent mic.


Sorry for the late post, but this lady is a newbie at production and hasn't dotted all her "i's" and crossed her "t's". Having said that she is a joy to work with. The pay isn't great, 500 bucks for half a days work, but maybe someone has a couple of hours of down time to fill and would like to work with a gorgeous fitness person! (You can see I'm desperate). Anyway, contact me at rextilleon@gmail.com ASAP if you are interested.

Toronto Telecine
 

Looking for someone in Toronto who knows a ceap place to get 16mm put on DV.

ZThanks

Need greenscreen footage for tracking
 

I just bought PFTrack for usage next year with some greenscreen sequences in a music video, but I don't yet have any footage to learn the software with. If anyone has some motion shots of green or bluescreen footage with tracking markers (less than a minute is fine) that they'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate it. Any survey data would also be helpful. I have space on an FTP server where you can upload it.


Thanks,

Benjamin Kantor
Cinematographer

IIRC, these guys have a few free samples on their site.

Bob-

Thanks. Although useful, these shots are all statics. What I'm looking for is motion shots with tracking marks (to matchmove the motion to 3d backgrounds).

Well they are not static, but I don't know what a tracking marks are ....

I think it's just a confusion of semantics. When I say static, I mean that the shots are are all locked off--there is no camera movement.

Tracking marks are markers (usually pieces of tape) that are placed onto the greenscreen material so that the matchmover can track the camera movement of the shot in post as a 3d vector and match it to CG elements. There are pieces of software, such as Boujou and PFTrack, which do this automatically. Without the tracking marks, there would be no reference within the frame as to the three dimensional movement of the camera, so it would have to be estimated manually, which is excruciating.

[oops]

Thanks for the class. :)

I'm surprised that the folks at PixelFarm don't have some examples with the software.
I use MatchMover Pro and that came with a few tracking examples.
Can't remember if Boujou did, but that's better for non greenscreen tracks.

Tim Dobbert's book on Matchmoving comes with some one or two bluescreen clips for tracking practice.

I'll dig around my files to see if there's anything not covered by NDA that I can share.

Good luck.

I've used this person for 8mm to DV. I believe he does 16mm as well. Ari Weisberg. 416-781-5527.

Regards, Myron

what $$ figure do you consider to be cheap ?

16mm telecined to dv looks good ..BUT you shot 16 !! why not give it some depth !!! there must be a place up your way that will do digibeta type transfer to hard drive or HD to hard drive or if you don't mind HDV??

check out the OMDC's (Ontario Media Development Corp.) website at www.omdc.on.ca and click on their production guide. Most post houses are listed in there as well as freelancers. Another source would be www.playbackmag.com , they have Canada wide listings.

Need Intern/Assistant in Raleigh, NC
 

If anyone lives in Raleigh and is just starting out and wants some good experience, let me know and mention you heard it from DVi! I'm looking for some help in the new year. Don't post here...email me via profile. Thanks. Kevin

-----

Video Production Assistant Needed

Need someone who is ambitious and wants to learn a lot about video production and editing. This will be a 30 hours per week internship for 3 months as a trial period (with negotiable pay depending on experience/knowledge/etc.) that will hopefully turn into a full-time paid position. This company specializes in mostly corporate video, but is branching into more entertainment-based media. Located in North Raleigh.

Basic knowledge of editing and shooting required using Mac-based software including Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, etc. Intern/employee will be responsible for loading footage, basic editing, basic DV and HD shooting with Canon cameras and various office organization. An interest or skill in marketing/sales assistance OR a knowledge of multimedia design is a great bonus.

Ambition and enthusiasm are the main qualities I am looking for. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to work hard, learn a lot and have access to great equipment and educational resources.

Work period begins early January. Send resume and letter of why you want this job/internship via email. Thanks!

Things got reschedualed and recasted, im still looking!

Telecine
 

Remember the rule of video production; Good, Fast, Cheap ... Pick two.
Since a Telecine suite starts at about $250k then generally are not cheap, however they are fast & good, especially in Toronto.
I don't remember how many have 16mm gates, but probably most of them.
The big boys are, Deluxe, Eyes Post Group, Command Post & Transfer, D.A.V.E, Casablanca Magnetic North. There are probably a few I have missed of have merged in the past couple of years, but these are the big boys.
Depending on the quality of the original footage you can probably order a one light transfer and get good results and colour correct in post. If the footage needs some TLC then things get more expensive.
Good Luck.

Vegas Color Correction
 

Anyone live within an hour or so of Cincinnati Ohio who I can pay by the hour to go over color correction in Vegas? If so, please email

Jon@trulux.com

Thanks,

Jon

Kathy. One suggestion that might help you add business. If you could get a simple tape deck or two so you could transfer Super 8 to DVCam, DV or DVCPro, I would think you might get more people here excited.

My wife just bought a Canon 814 Auto Zoom Super 8 for me for Christmas and I plan on putting a few rolls through it right away. I will be wanting them dubbed to tape for editing in my Avid at 24 frames.

If you picked up even a Sony DSR-11 deck, you could offer DVCam and DV/MiniDV video dubs. They run about $1700 or so new. DVCPro would be another good option but they are a bit more and only record the one, DVCPro format.

You will have to let us know what the method is you use to transfer to DVD/tape. Most of us would love to see frame scanning rather than simply a camera shooting a projection screen.

Keep in touch,

Sean McHenry

Sean,
Don't pass up the chance to shoot vision 200 negative stock. Drop by Pro 8
http://pro8mm.com/Merchant2/merchant...tegory_Code=PF

to see what's available.

dvx100
 

Can anyone in the london area hire me a dvx100a for a day?

Potential music video help this spring
 

This isn't quite in the bag yet but I think I am going to get permission from a goth band to do a short video for them. I may shoot Super 8mm film but I may also go DVCam or AG-DVX100. Not sure yet on the format but, I have created a web page in a plea for help on this monster.

The musical piece is long for a typical MTV piece so I don't know that it would even get airtime anyplace. It's too good to chop up and I just plain like it like it is. It's 6.5 minutes long.

You can read all the details here:
http://www.surgetechservices.com/smc...ffertorium.htm

If anyone has anything they want to mention or services they would like to donate in the central Ohio area, I'll probably be game. Planning to get to work when the weather lightens up. No firm schedule yet. Too much up in the air at this point.

This is a pet project, not a paid one. I want to help get these guys some exposure as well as do a great job I can point to later in life. A portfolio/experience builder.

I will update the page as time goes by and we get closer to doing something with this.

Thanks everyone, enjoy the music. Wait till you see where they are from.

Sean McHenry

Thanks
 

Thanks Richard. Someone dropped off a roll of Tri-X and Kodachrome 40 (refrigerated) for me to play with when my wife let's me have it Christmas morning. I'm pretty excited.

Check out this thread I just started. I know several guys still shooting Super 8mm here in town so I will be learning from them for a while.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...846#post397846

Sean

How much to offer for a 1 day shoot
 

I'm looking to find someone with a DVX100