Camillo Foramitti

I would definitely add some extra padding to the shoulder pad. The 416's shoulder pad is pretty hard and uncomfortable when you have a lot of handheld shooting. I can also recommend trying the blue handle rig at your rental house. Many operators prefer it instead of Arri's handheld rig. If you have the budget you could youse a wireless focus unit instead of a normal follow focus. It makes moving around during shots a lot easier for your operator and your AC. Also make sure that you only attach accessories to the camera that you really need for this particular shot. The 416 is very light but on a long day every single gramme makes a difference.

I haven't tried it but maybe you can't use the Master Primes on a SR3. And I am guessing Arri's marketing had to provide some reasons for shelling out the money for a new camera.

I have used both S4s and Ultra Primes on SR3s without a problem. With some of these lenses you have to move the viewfinder a little bit up but thats all.

David, I am pretty sure they have it at Moviecam/Arri Rental in Vienna. Don't know about the price. I personally don't have one. A normal flashlight has always worked for me. But I have seen a lot of ACs using it on SR3s and 416s.

Otoscopes are used by ACs to check the gate. You use them mostly on 16mm cameras since the gate is so small. For 35mm a normal flashlight works as well.

Whenever you change a mag on one camera you write only this roll's number on the slate and shoot a few frames. The editor will know exactly what roll it is. When actually shooting you just write the numbers for A and B cameras on the slate.

I just talked with an Operator about the topic. He told me that the Compact's Viewfinder is indeed newer and better. He said that the Super America's viewfinder is very greenish and not as sharp as the Compact's.

Since I have never worked with a Super America I don't know. But my guess is that they designed a new one for the Compact since it came out ten years later.

If you get a Compact Mk2 it will have the Arricam's viewfinder which makes a huge difference.

Personally, I think that the Chrosziel is a crappy piece of equipment. Actually I believe that most of their stuff is crap. Why not just rent a good follow focus together with the other camera equipment?

There are decimeters.

The only way I know how to use the 24-290 Optimo in a handheld setup is to use a bungee rig on a jib arm. Otherwise it is way too front heavy and probably impossible to operate.

My favourite remote focus unit is the cmotion. It has a modular design so you only have to carry around what you really need. Check it out at http://www.cmotion.at/

Veoh.com is quite good. There is no size and length limit. The upload is quite fast and the image quality is way better than youtube.

I am pretty sure I've heard people refering to the Compact MK2 as Mark 2. If you are familiar with the Arricam you will have no problems with the MK2. It is basicly the same camera.

Look at Best Boy bags. www.best-boy.com

Yes, but this is the last one. That's what I meant to say. All they do anymore ist modify and repair old Moviecams and develop some minor stuff for the Arricams.

I still believe that the Moviecam Compact is the perfect feature film camera. It has everything you need and no useless fancy stuff. It's a shame they don't develop new cameras anymore.

Normally you would have focus problems when interchanging normal SR3 mags and HS mags. However the mags can be modified to eliminate this problem. I have talked to a rental house about this issue and was told that all their magazines have been made interchangeable so I wouldn't have to worry. So just ask your rental house if their mags are interchangeable.

If you do handheld stuff bring something soft with you that can be used as a shoulder pad. Not having a satisfying handheld configuration is the only bad thing I know about the SR3. Otherwise it's a great camera, loading is very easy.

The Polish Brothers do commercials, don't they? I guess they could get you into commercials easiely. Or am I mistaken?

He is a member of CML. You might be able to contact him there.

Yes, you have to open two stops.

Well, where I come frome union contracts are applicable for every employee, not union members only. So everyone has the benefit of minimun wages, health care etc. Being a union member makes you a part of decison making, nothing else. But of course the factor of competence is not an issue. It shouldn't be anayway. Unions are supposed to serve employees, not employers. They shouldn't force people out of jobs.

And an article here.