robert duke

Sandbags are cheap and easily manufactured. most Tent companies make their own or for you for the right $. You can buy ballistic nylon ( cordura) on the web pretty cheap in a variety of colors. Sandbags are nice because of their price, ease of materials access, and when they leak you just sweep. Shot bags are denser. they are heavy in a smaller package. When you have limited space in a truck they are great because you can fit more into a smaller space. I keep 12 20lb shot bags in a single milkcrate. (not for lifting but for organization.) I keep only six 20lb sandbags in a milkcrate. Shot bags are twice the price of sandbags. Shot bags also leave a huge mess than can be a pain in the A(*&^%$. to clean up. I spilled some shot in my house three years ago and we are still finding it in corners and under bare feet. I prefer shotbags to sandbags. They dry quicker, more compact, etc. They dont hit the ground on c-stands. I have a custom sewer who ROCKS. He is cheaper than anybody else. for his number PM me. He makes some really nice fillable sandbags.

I had a similar experience with Time Warner a decade ago.

LED's man LED. ;)

Dory, Hey I was with that crappy shark film there in Ft Bragg last summer. GO have a drink at the TW bar and grill. I use my stolen mug for pens.

It isnt the doctors and hospitals with the $ it is the Insurance companies. I agree with you the Govmt does become a lucrative cash cow when subsidized health care is created. Tennessee had a subsidized program that was a pioneer in health care for the working poor. There was a huge scandal labeled the Tennessee waltz. several lawmakers and corporate sponsors were caught in bribery scandals that destroyed it. Now there is a group called the Church Health care. It is Christian based but not overtly. Early in my career I was a client of this. It is spreading throughout the south for a low cost health insurance alternative. It actually was developed using models from the Canadian health care system. Doctors sign up for a day at a clinic owned by the Church health care. Members go to the clinic and are seen by a doctor, if more medical screening is neccessary they are sent to an affiliated doctor. There are affiliated emergency rooms etc. It is pretty cool. Look it up. We as a people have to help without the government because they wont help. I helped do a membership video for recruiting doctors years ago after leaving the system. I got to give back. http://www.churchhealthcenter.org/

John, Off subject but if the house is vacant you should switch the water heater off and drain it. ( draining it prevents it from rusting out under stagnant water and dropping all the water on the floor). You wouldnt believe the $$ those things suck up. Also kill the refrigerator and leave it open for ventilation.

What about a snorkel lens system and a mini dolly/ladder dolly? The lens would allow fitting through chair legs allowing that the chairs would be slowly moved out as the camera passed. It is a difficult shot all round. maybe a stinger arm on a plate dolly.

It all seems simple in THOSE terms. But the truth here is that Major corporations/industries would stand to lose. Industries with Very potent lobbyists. Lobbyists are a funny way our government acctually runs. Our bills and laws arent written by legislators as they would have you believe. Laws are written by lobbyists and "shopped" around much like films. So to get laws passed such as a GST it would have to be written by a lobbyist and shopped to more legislators than its opponents. The health insurance industry here is one of the MOST powerful lobbying bodies. They would stand to Lose everything or so they would have you believe. They would stop at nothing to knock down any law that would even hint at money leaving their coffers.

Yes I agree National health care would be HUGE. I would love it. But how would we pay for it. Social security is on the verge of bankruptcy. I saw last night that the USA Comptroller is saying that by 2012 we will need $58trillion to just pay for the social security programs as is. That it makes every household $400,000 a year in debt. That doesnt include all that pesky military spending and other social programs. Mccain and Guilani are set for health care. Serving one sentence as a senator/Representative gains you lifelong healthcare. Mccain has one of the best health care programs offered, the USGA healthcare program. second only to that is the healthcare for the NBA. After that it is the IATSE healthcare program. The Baby boomers start retiring this year. and it only gets worse. Our government needs a major overhaul. It is voting season. \ Sorry off topic. I agree richard. we all deserve a government that cares for its people. So far our government shows us that the rich are protected, the middle class carry the weight and the poor only get more disenfrachised from the rest. There are No right answers. there is No candidate that speaks to solve all these issues. heck there are few that even have a printed plan as to fix any of these issues.

Sorry Will but we dont receive residuals. Our heath care is paid as we work, and deposited to a sort of savings account for us. Once that well runs dry, you have to pay it yourself or risk losing your health insurance. Once you lose it, it is harder to get it back. The Iatse benifits board created a new lower grade health plan as an umbrella for those at risk. It is a crappy plan but better than none. I have a lot of friends who receive "mailbox money". The IATSE contract does not allow for that.

Yes but even zircs? and blood filled paintballs are expensive.

Veni - I came. Vidi - I saw Vici - I conquered.

It depends on the production and my relationship to the producer. I cut a lot of discounts on some shows and hold to my guns on others. Having them allows you to make your life easier when production cant afford them or forgets to include them. It also allows you to control what has occured to the wheels. On low budgets they frequently go for the low bid on gear. Rental skates ( save for the fisher skates) can and usually see little upkeep. By owning your own they allow you to never have to apologize for a bad set of wheels. I have also take to throwing doorway dollies up on my skate wheels on low budgets because it is faster than switching to hot buttons. On the last feature I was working with a Key who insisted I use his instead of mine. there are several models of skate trays out there and love my modern skate wheels but am curious about the Losmandy porta glides. Owning your own set of wheels makes it so you have some more control about how much you make. Kit rentals make you more. Some productions dont offer kit rentals for things like that. It is up to you to decide if is worth the investment. having skatewheels also brands you as a DOLLY grip rather than just a grip. you are right about spending personal money on expendible items. It has been the case several times that I have sold a can of pledge to production when theirs ran out. Have those items on hand makes you faster than waiting for the PA to go get more.

While I have not used that specific brand. I have used fluorescent tube sleeves. Both the soft ones like GAM geltubes and the hard plastic type. They allow for easy gelling of tubes. Heat buildup affects fluorescent tube color output. These tubes are great for effects lighting and club lighting. The Gam tubes make colorcorrecting tubes easy when the fixture is in the frame. I used to use them on CFL's with an architectural photographer I used to work with. Check em out you might like them.

I own my own skate wheels as do may dolly grips do, Some dolly grips i work with even own their own track, dance floor, and plywood.

I have bale blocks/ TVMP adapters for sale. These are only 5/8 stand adapters, but they work for all PAR64 and other lights that dont normally come with stand mounts. I am selling these on Ebay for 10.50. I will sell them here for members for $7.00 plus shipping. email me for info or check em out on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...s=tab%3DSelling

I think even in the long run Modern is a better choice. The fact that the stands are stainless steel ( no rust, no chipping chrome, no worry about rain, pools, etc) makes them a better choice. Norms raised their prices last spring, make their baby stands $210. I havent checked their prices in a while. The fact that their heads are built so you can run the arm through either side of the head is a major detraction. The fit and finish of the norms brand has become less and less over the years. I dont know if it is because old man norms retired and his son took over but the quality has gone down hill and the prices way up. I have a norms hostess tray and ball head. The hostess tray seems a lower quality than the modern one. I dont work for Modern, I am just a fan. As a gear owner I only buy modern these days, it just makes sense price and quality wise. You can walk into Modern any day of the week and ask Seno a question. It is a family run operation. If you have a problem with their gear they will fix it. they also fix other people's gear.

Modern also offers the 25% off. I feel the contest is between modern and american these days. Modern has a new head and all their c-stands are made from stainless steel( no chrome to peel off). the new matthews are nice, better than the norms. I almost feel like norms is going out of buisness. last time I priced from them they were as expensive as matthews, and more than modern.

Take a 4x4 frame, add bead board to it, cover it with rosco mirror, or one of rosco's reflector media. the frame keeps the bead board from losing its flat surface as bad as it would without it. you can also do this with gatorboard (a plastic faced foam core). I had a best boy who recovered a crappy reflector with aluminum foil. It was convincing enough but had a harder look than soft side normally does. He did the whole surface using spray77 and 10" squares of aluminum. He even tried emulate the feathers of the silver leaf. The DP thought we had gotten new boards. this worked OK for about a week before the spray77 crapped out.

It is a very common practice. I frequently do this with very specific cuts, or awkward placements. or cuts that are difficult to see. I find it easier to tag team the flag in these situations. You might also find this is easier when the hammers are inexperienced. Seeing light is a skill that takes time to develop. As is operating a century stand. It helps young grips to learn the ways of a C stand without the fetterings of a flag. It allows you to supervise them and get the job done without making them feel bad about their skill with the stand. As for your bagging technique. I wont criticize but you will find you can take a bag off quite easily by flipping it off to one side as you lift. The Purse style bags still suck but you make do with what you got. It is amazing the amount of weight a c-stand can offset without a bag if the big leg is directly under the weight of the arm. The more you do this the more you find that you need small bags, the more your back thanks you for not carrying 35lbers all day. I think Chris didnt understand your usage of "jig".

Look up Airstar, They are nice people. I have used their balloons. You normally get an operator from the company with the balloon.

I think Barring Chalk, you have the basic kit for a dolly grip. What you need is more experience it sounds like. I dont know the work system in the UK so I cannot speak for that. Try to be a B camera dolly or just a grip and help the dolly grip out as much as possible. You have to wait to move up sometimes. Maybe if you got some buisness cards with name number and DOLLY grip on it it might help you get more work. There has been talk here of local 600 trying to take over dolly grips. I understand this because the dolly grip has a major impact on the comprehensive product of the visual storytelling. Dolly moves impact a story. Slow or fast add to the flavor of a piece. If you want to spend money here are somethings to buy: small monitor to assist in moves. laser pointer and holder. baby powder silicon spray cup holder Camera Slider all these things arent needed to be a dolly grip, the people who taught me would have thrown them away and cursed me for using them. Dolly grips needs are to be able to work fast, exact, understand spacial relations ( see measurments and guesstimate them) , have rhythm, and visualization of the needs of the DP. The dolly grip works hand in hand with the camera operator, he has to listen for and hear the operator's voice when he whispers directions during a take. Gadgets are extras for dolly's but they frequently just get in the way of a dolly grip's need for speed to move on to the next set up. Good luck, Be patient about moving up.

the front edge of the open side of the box.

Argue with an Idiot and people will confuse who is who. END OF STORY :P

Hey, I didnt know you did HACK!?!?! I just talked to Kyle Klutz and Ben Van Cleave is my roommate! Small world. How bout that!