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robert duke

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Everything posted by robert duke

  1. depending on how fast they are riding. use a golf cart or gator and shoot from the back of it. We did this for the shot in Black snake moan where CR walked down the road with the combine behind her. you can go hand held if the cameraman can take it or you can get a steadicam vehicle mount and ise a steadicam off the back of the cart. Or and this is what makes us grips sweat. If they are going slow you can have the dolly grip pull you on a western dolly. this can be very exhausting to do repeated takes. The best way is really the gator ( a gas powered farm vehicle) it is rentable almost anywhere and it can go pretty fast. (yamaha, kubota, john deer and honda make different models). I have even put a Jimmy jib in the back of one. it all depends on your budget and time and all those other factors that you want to make artistic choices for.
  2. I have been with my girl for 7 years now and I travel constantly, living in a small town and going away for work. I am in LA now working as she and I talk 3 times a day. breakfast(phone) lunch (phone) and dinner ( phone). I have seen this line of work destroy some pretty healthy relationships. My girl has been there for me at the hardest times, but she understands the passion. I think this stuff becomes universal in this industry.
  3. set lighting technicians handbook by harry box. check it out on amazon. I got a used one on half.com
  4. I saw a cool effect like that with xenon's with doubles color scollers. they had painted or printed patterns on clear gel rolls. the lamp was a 5k syncrolite moving head. It was extremely convincing. I saw at a concert in a BIG ARENA. they were projecting onto the audience through haze. WOW. very cool I had to check out the lights after and "tuck that idea in my hat". you might could do it with a smaller lamp. the 5k xenon syncrolites were 4x4x4 controlled by a hog pc. DUKE
  5. ask if they know the director of "hustle and flow" shot and won the LA film festival with a film shot on digital 8 a camera that at the time was sold at walmart for $800. the title of that film was "the poor and hungry"
  6. Adam, sorry to go off topic but I have a "carmike" close as well and have gotten to the point of refusal to go there and will drive 60 miles to the next closest theater just to see films. Is this a problem at all carmike cinema's? PS ours went digital but the projection still sucks. lost in the wonders of small town life but working the big city ways.
  7. check out glide shot industries, or long valley equipment. they both have basic dollies that I feel rival the cost and quality of the indie dolly and the microdolly. I have experience with both and was unimpressed with the add ons.
  8. Long valley equipment, the makers of the seven jib, make a rig that via adjustments allows the user to rotate 360' around the lens. I am not associated with them but it is a cool little rig. If they dont have it in stock, you could have one made at a machine shop. all it is is a pillowblock with a hande to an adjustable L plate. check out long valley they seem to be nice guys.
  9. Don't forget the grip world can assist you as well with 4x4 mirrors and shiny boards. If you luck out and get a sunny day the sun can give you a no power 18k. also 12x12 silver lame or a rag that I only know of as a microwave ( it is like a chrome/silver grifflyn) I think it is via matthews. beach days for me have always been grip days.
  10. Heat should be a consideration. Having dealt with practical locations heat can sometimes be a huge issue. ever get locked in an office for a talking head and feel like you lost five pounds by the end of the day. kino's are nice as a soft light and you can get a softer light by bouncing into a larger board in a narrow space. kino's were invented to deal with confined spaces. you can also have daylight tubes in them which makes for a cool super soft daylight source.
  11. I am a key grip and have a couple years experience on low to 5 million budget features. I am trying to expand my list of DP's and Producers. I wanted to know is it worth me attempting to put together a reel. I have several nice car mount shots and some nice jib/dolly combo shots. but is it worth me putting a reel together? just wanted some other opinions out there. Thanks.
  12. you want a hazer, not a fogger. you might be able to create it using a pro fogger on the lowest volume setting and letting it run continuously. but a Hazer is what you want. LeMaitre makes a great hazer as does Martin and MDG. your local Rocknroll lighting rental place should have one.
  13. try increasing the house practical with a 150 or 200w bulb. that or clamp a 500w dp to the over head fixture and using it a down light. use a 500w dp and bounce it off the ceiling. use a tota door hanger mount and bounce a tota off the ceiling. there are a billion ways to do this. mess around in the bathroom and find something you like. RObert Duke Key grip Memphis
  14. first hire someone who has done this or is at least a qualified rigger. second it can be done a couple ways depending on budget and fixtures used. I like the two ten foot peices of 12x12 box truss run through the basket and secured. you can then rig the light and the 8x via speed rail or rope/cable underneath. use the base of the condor to operate the lift, tilt, and pan. sorry I dont have photo's. I just realized I dont even have any good photo's of myself at work.
  15. Thats the dolly grip's issue. A good dolly grip can stop on a dime. harder sure but smoother.
  16. The harder the wheel the less they will flatten. the rubber on the u- shaped wheels flattens, but not much. The harder the wheel the more you will feel any scratch or dirt on the track. since you plan on either pipe or pvc I would recommend a wheel with a durometer hardness ( a scientific scale) of around 98a. check ebay for skate wheels. They have some great dealers that are excellent prices. I have been looking at building a newer dolly using roller skate wheels (not inline skate). the roller skate wheels are harder interior core than skate board wheels and are larger diameter. they fall in the hard but not too hard, soft but not too soft. Check out the modern speed rail style skate wheels. They break down and are adjustable for different width tracks. I would suggest using more wheels than four, if only to ensure a smoother ride. I have had many time a director and sound guy wants to ride the dolly pushing the wieght on the dolly up. but also remember more weight = more momentum= smoother push. I always invite the AC to ride and the sound guy so that I have more wieght. The heavier the dolly the better. Robert Duke Key Grip Memphis TN
  17. Check out Modern studio or willey's widgets. They have eight wheels per truck. the more wheels the more the load is spead and the more capacity for the dolly. I have a door way set with four wheels per corner, it runs fine for loads on a doorway dolly. I have a set of modern skate trays with eight wheels per corner. I use this with fischers and chapman, I also use this with the panther dolly. I have even begun for speed sake using the dolly trays with the doorway dolly rubber wheels so I dont have to take time to switch wheel sets. Losmandy makes a set of trays with different diameter wheels so that even with high loads when the wheels get a flat spot the varied diameter smooths out the ride to hide the bump. I usually just rock the wheels out just before the shot. your u shaped wheels will work. the panther has them and the fisher and chapman have them as options. I only use the panther set on straight track. It squeaks like the dickens on round track. I never use the fischer or chapmans bc I have a set of dolly trays. These make life faster and less worries about dirt or gravel in the wheel. The panther u wheels seem to tear up frequently because of dirt and rooling on hard floors, which is why I dont like the panther as a dolly. ( I know there are fans of it) Build your dolly the way you want it. experiment. If you have the wheels make one of each and find the one you like. If it works great let us know, it might be your million dollar idea. Robert Duke Key Grip Memphis,TN
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