I just ordered a Magiqcam!!

[Wesley Wong]

Wow thanks for the insight.

[James Emory]

I'm assuming the opening shot for the Thomas Crowne Affair was done very similarly but really looked like one seemless shot. It started as a shot of the entire eastern coast, if not the continent, and came all the way down to street level.

[Charles Papert]

Can't remember that one.

For me, the opening of "Boogie Nights" is the shot to beat.

[Wesley Wong]

oh yeah. steadicam on a crane and down to and inside the disco? or was it compositing again ?

That and De Palma's Carlito's way sequence, captured me the most.

[Scott Balkum]

I had to watch it 3 times. If it was 1 shot, it must have been a back breaker.......

[Charles Papert]

The opening Boogie Nights really was one shot, no tricks. Great stuff.

I remain in awe of the Carlito's way sequence in Grand Central. Brilliant shot design on that one.

Maybe I will put up my own personal "back breaker"--a fast moving three minute one'r from the movie "Big Fat Liar".

[Wesley Wong]

4 weeks til shipping !!!

*faint*

Will master my DVX til then, I guess.



so when can we see the 'Big Fat Seqeunce' ? Does it invole Paul Giamatti ?

[Charles Papert]

Sure does...here's that shot..

Paul Giamatti was a lot of fun to work with; great guy. It turned out that we had several mutual friends from his college days.

We did the shot on a really hot day and it was the first time I've had to ask for a ten-minute "cool down" time in between takes. The length of the backing-up portion coupled with the walking speed plus a few obstacles (backing off curbs etc). conspired to leave me a bit breathless after the 4th take or so (what you are seeing was the 8th and final take). The shot was continuous until the end; there was a reverse of the studio head that was cut in but the master continued all the way through.

This shot was apparently transferred off the workprint, so it wasn't color timed and thus somewhat dark in places.

I referred to this as a 3 minute shot in my previous post--it turns out to be closer to 3.5 minutes. Sure seemed like about 11 at the time!

[Charles King]

Damn! Charles. I really envy you but not really, if you get my drift?!. You guys have the best of both world. You get to meet all the stars and work your magic with the steadicam, all that at the same time. But that weight baby! My back would have crashed out on me ;)

[Charles Papert]

Sure wish I had the back-mounted vest back then!

For the record: that was with a Panavision LWII, Primo lens (don't remember the focal length, but it looks like a 29mm to me) and Preston FI&Z with focus and iris motors working, on the PRO 1 sled with PRO arm and vest. Approximate weight of rig, 65-70 lbs.

[Justin Sammarco]

wow, what a great read from all of you. I just spend about 45 mintues reading through this thread.

I too was looking into purchasing something of this nature. I liked all the positive and honest reviews given by you guys! Charles, I do have to say nice work in those films!! Bravo!

Also are there any books out there that will help master the art of the steadycam shot? I'd love to read.


Just to comment on the lower back positioning and stress this product gives; I'm a bodybuilder on the side so I don't believe this will create much of a problem for me, never know tho. However, for those of you that are having some pain in your lower back make sure that you are properly stretching out your lower region prior to yoru shooting. Also you may want to look into doing several exercises that will help with your strength and mobility on set.

I suggest doing some "good mornings" which is an exercise performed by slightly bendign you knees and bending over at the waist keeping your back straight. Stopping at a 90 degree angle and coming back up to a standing position. You obviously want to do this with weight on your shoulders, similiar to that of a squat.

Also another exercise that is a little easier and less stressful on the lower back is broom twists. You simply sit down on a bench or chair, which ever you're comfortable with and place a broom stick or of the like (not too heavy) and turn at the waist to each side really stretching and working your obliques.

Also you may want to note that nothing says a strong lower back like a strong ab region. Work your abs as well to develop over all strength in your midsection for the best endurance and performance on your shoots.

oh, and is this a good link to purchase this product? : www.magiqcam.com

I'm assuming it is :)

Thanks again guys for the positive feed back and good insight on the shots as well. :)

[Arturo Tapia]

What is the price of the rig? I can't seem find any info on their website.

Also, where are they located?

The footage is incredble!

thanks in advance.

[Tony Hall]

The series one is 1450 and the series two is 1650. If you surf around the Magiqcam site you'll find the info. You can always call them too. I ordered one a few days ago and can't wait to get it.

[Ed Liew]

its cheaper to order through ebay and the package offered usually come with a case.
mark, how is your testing coming along? do you have to adjust the sled lenght to the maximum to get get the balance with dv500 and how many np1 battery do you use at one time?

ed

[Tony Hall]

I've never seen one on Ebay