robert duke

The Job BTW is best boy electric. Frequently knowing how to do something isnt the key idea, knowing someone who does know is the key. IF you feel you could do the other qualities of the job well, take it. hire someone who knows how to do the tasks you dont know to be there for you.

The gel is wasted. Anytime you gel a window the gel becomes trash. any wrinkle or crease in the gel can show up if it is reused. Like wise scratches and gunk also render gel unusable. Now before I get a lot of responses about it worked for you... You can reuse gel if you are willing to deal with those possible issues. you can be ultra careful and reuse gel, you can take the time to delicately clean the gunk off each piece and reuse it. However everytime you handle it you risk scratching bending or aggravating any other reason that would make it unusable. Gel is an expendable. I know low and ultra low budgets try to cut as many corners and reuse as much as possible. now you can use hard gels or quickframes to gel windows repeatedly. hard gels are plexiglass sheets that are tinted. they come in a variety of colors densities, and manufacturers. very pricey. Quickframes are homedepot/lowes and are snap together window screen material frames. they are easy to assemble and you can make them almost any size. you can then change out different ND densities quickly and efficiently. HOWEVER the gel can flex in the wind and become visible. There is always a solutions not always one you can afford. you can have: good or cheap or fast Pick two.

Hey I m glad it worked for you. I feel I get faster and faster gelling windows over the years and the sprite trick is awesome. I hope you had a good shoot. Robert

We used to use Stretch wrap/ packaging stretch wrap to wrap bates with but it just became Another expendable to have production complain about. It works really well for connectors.

Steve, Try the three silent grids, and a HIlight. The highlight is close to hamshire frost, or shower curtains. Also did you not get a hold of Jose? Give me a PM.

Not Really It just cracks and falls apart, very unexciting. 12k Par fresnel =roughly $200. Now a 1k FCM bulb popping over a 20x silk is very exciting. There is a reason new nook lights have a wire mesh screen in front of them.

Shure FP-32 mixer for sale : 3 channel xlr input, two channel xlr outputs . It is your basic analog field mixer. battery powered. comes with the Portabrace cover and sling. $400 OBO Sennhizer MKH 416 p48 short shotgun. comes with hard wood case. It is a great working shotgun, I just dont use it. $650 obo also for sale on EBAY!! pm me

Dave, Yeah we are in full production, trying not to cross bounderies here on the listserve. Gimme a call if you still have my number! Steve yes they are filled with sand! Robert

I have started making sandbags and overheads in my downtime. PM if you are interested in any. 20lb sandbags $25 35lb sandbags $45 I am also doing recovers and repairs. Since I am in the southeast, I can help with shipping some.

Threaded baby pin screwed in to handle? TVMP adapter on light? Curious as to what the usage was.

Speed rail is Schedule 40 aluminum tube alloy 6061. It is available from most metal distributors. There is no magic 7ft will do number. c-stands may be OK for 6x6 and 8x8's depending on conditions. you can risk a 12x12 with cstands but one light wind will ruin a c-stand and your day, and possible other peoples lives. Combos, rollers, and mombos are the best for 12x12s, and larger frames. Spend the money and save your self the losses and the risk. 1" hardware for square frames is suffiecient unless you are in heavy winds frequently. 1.25 square tube is sturdier, and takes a beating better. Speed rail is pretty rock solid in 12x12 to 20x20 frames. bigger frames need more. The coupler is fine if you are in a studio or light wind. I does become ANOTHER thing to lose, break, or not be used right. Remember to secure your frames with rope and tent stakes. Learn the truckers hitch.

I recently worked with the AMOVONA stuff. Setting a flag I broke the plate of a head! I know that as a grip I TIGHTEN and can be forceful, but in almost twenty years I have NEVER broke a head like that with a 2x3. That being said the AMVONA , and JTL stuff is total crap, I wouldnt encourage these manufacturers to stay in buisness. That said I know that the Impact stuff is different than AMVONA, JTL and others. The IMPACT stuff is KUPO, I believe. Sanjay you should be familiar with KUPO. I believe they are Bollywood based. The Kupo stuff is good from looking at it. I tried get a distributorship from them a couple years ago. I know a couple of larger manufacturers are reselling their stuff under their name.

How is the floor? If the floor is smooth I would say treat it like a dance floor move and use a Fischer 11. Otherwise you may have to construct a small dolly like a skateboard. You dont say how long the corridor is. The worry about seeing the track on an extented move. You may have to use one of the flexible track products. I would look into the fischer first it has a width of around 21" in narrow mode. this is where the Fischer is better than the Chapman. the Chapman will rotate over a long move bunging up the wall. You may even have to construct a narrow gauge dolly, I think Otto at solid grip systems might be able to help you.

Interesting concept, I have my doubts about a southern storm, Or Frog Choker as some people call it here. And yes we still shoot in it. The rain comes down pretty hard and heavy here when it comes. so the plastic is important here. We use it on our ballasts and our distro boxes.

It isnt. No plastic.

I get real funny looks when I ask for Celoflex, Cello wire, Or any of the variants short of stinky wrap at my local HD. I recommended filmtools because I KNOW it is there. I would love to be able to purchase it at my local HD for 1/3 the price. Hell I would sell it to productions here for a profit. Ace hardware doesnt carry it. I have two boxes of it. I might take the box in to home depot to see if they can give me a competitive price. Steve, Good luck. you might try the Expendibles Recycler in LA. He has great prices, kinda odd guy to deal with but...

Walter, my local HD doesn't carry it, nor is it on their website. could yo PM me with a price and sku so I can have it ordered via a store. duke

Most expendables suppliers carry it, and if you are lucky your local hardware store may. It is cellotex wire screen. designed for rescreening window screens. check filmtools they sell it by the cut sheet or by the roll.

Is it really better than a C- boom or regular boom pole?

It could mean any of these things. Suspend meaning to rig outside of the car. suspend meaning to hang off of the car. suspend as in vibration isolator (i like the one from Chapman if you have to have it) who knows?

The menace arm is not just a boom. The menace arm is a boom that extends beyond the reach of a boom. most boom arms only go to about 10' max. the menace arm can be made to go up to 18' ( 20' speedrail with 2' off the backside for counterweight). The new Max and mini max from matthews can accoplish that as well, but it is another specific use piece of gear taking up space in the truck. you can stiffen a menace arm by using speedrail shotguns/over unders for a double pipe or speed rail triangle truss fittings ( heavy). the true menace arm has a mast for a stiffening rope or ratchet strap. while you can use a 20x ear and a cardelini to fashion one quick you run the risk of bending your speed rail permanently. the light will also bounce around alot as you focus it. I havent used to matthews MAX nor mini MAX. anyone have a review of them?

here is the stand used: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3549...ight_Stand.html the speed rail is just a piece of schedule 40 aluminum tube. with 12x12 overhead ears holding the pipe in the stand's head. you can purchase speed rail at a local metal supply house in 21ft lengths, or smaller sometimes. The 12x12 ear try cinemagadgets.com or modern studio supply or film tools.

Iatse is according to their website a north american entity. USA, CANADA, Puerto rico, virgin Islands. The latter 2 not being countries but territories. Studio operations is an IATSE covered local. I dont know the local #, but have friends past and present in this local. They Do Hire NON union employees when all union members in the covered local are working/unavailable. Rental of property ( props, stages, lighting etc) cannot be covered by a union. The studios are welcome to rent to anyone they want. Just as the renting company is not required to hire Union employees. I know that there are Permit holders that work when the union body is working/unavailable. What strike is ongoing? The union does actively support striking and non working members. There are loan programs and job placement programs for non working members. As a grip I can call the union office and place myself on the available list and should a job come available I will be sent out by the office for the job. We recieve our benifits from the IATSE health and welfare, not from the studios directly, unless you are a contracted employee. That becomes a contract above the IASTE contract. In this a contracted employee is not the same. I do not know of any instance where IA covered positions are farmed out to non union shops from a studio such as WB. If you know of a specific instance, I would gladly discuss it with you and report it to the IA. I do not know of a 17yr employee pink slipped, I do not know the specifics of the situation but with some specifics I would gladly call any union office to sort it out. WE AS UNION MEMBERS ARE BROTHERS/SISTERS AND MUST TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER. Rumor mongering does nothing, Action does.

WB is like all the stages in LA a rentable stage. Open to all productions union and non union. Just because there were non union members there does not mean it is a non union shoot, nor that the unions have not already talked to a producer. The unions may have decided it was not finacially sound to try to flip a show. The unions are all different. the buisness agents are all different. They show up at different requests. Frequently they wont try to flip a show without an initial request by a crew member. They may inquire but may decide it is not fiscally viable. just because a union member does not know his steward does not mean they are not there. The shop steward is frequently a crew member and not a separate person. It may have been just that he did not make his presence known effectively. The people you talked to may have been ill informed. The unions have changed greatly in 30 years. The Unions ARE NOT GUTLESS. South Dakota and the Badlands or anywhere is not subject to being open territory. IATSE is an International Union. It covers all grounds. Just because one Buisness Agent wont drive 2 hrs does not mean another won't. I have been on a $500,000 show that flipped. I have been on a $6.5 million that did not. They do research who the producer is an make a decision about the likelyhood of flipping a show before they arrive. It maybe just the workload of that particular regions Buisness agent that determines how hard he works to flip a show.