Zander Kroon

PRICE DROP: $800 OBO

In new condition with pouch. No physical or cosmetic damage. Asking $900 OBO. Available for local sale in the LA area otherwise I can ship.

I come to this website to have mature, educational discussions about this industry and everything related. I'm not here to be talked down to or disrespected. I'll just take my questions elsewhere.

I need to clarify here: I'm a fairly experienced dolly grip, I've been working for almost 6 years now. Young, but going strong. This thread was meant to be a discussion about tips, tricks, and unique tools that people have learned over the years but others may not have heard of. For example I had to do a complicated dolly move for a 3d tv pilot this winter. The move had to be 1 minute and 35 seconds, 20 feet straight, 90 degree curve then another 16 feet to finish the move. Every second of the move had to match as closely as possible to the last take for VFX work. To do this I taped marks in time increments along the track and mounted a laser pointer on the dolly so I had an exact reference point. Then used a stop watch as I pushed through the move.

I was just hired for a 15 day show as a dolly grip. Not sure when one yet although I'm assuming Fisher 10. This has motivated me to update/replace the tools I've lost and broken over the summer. Since I'm going shopping soon, I thought it would be a good idea to find out what clever gadgets, toys, tools, etc that some of the other dolly grips on the forum use. What are your must haves?

Bumping this thread back to life. Does anyone know if there is a place in or near Chicago where I can rent The Tube of Death or a similar device?

I could not disagree more with going to DePaul. As a favor to a friend I gaffed a DePaul shoot a few weeks back, easily one of the worst sets I've ever been on. First, the school barely has enough gear to supply to shoots in one weekend. We had to fly 8x rags on rolling junior stands the whole weekend. That's just one example of many. More importantly though, all the students on that shoot had the least experience and set knowledge of any film students I have worked with. They were very nice and respectful but when I had conversations about sets they've worked on, classes, etc. I came to the opinion that the classes and set experiences they have are very watered down. I don't want to turn this into a DePaul vs. Columbia thread, but if cinematography is something that you're serious about Columbia is the place to go. I've worked with both schools dozens of times and I can't tell you how impressed I've been by Columbia students/alum.

Yeah, this just proved it.

Really?

I just finished school in Chicago, I attended Columbia to study cinematography. Over the past few years I moved up the ladder quickly, earning my union card with the Local 476 (as electrician/grip) at the end of junior year. Now that I have graduated I plan on moving to LA in the fall, after the shooting season here ends. Although I love Chicago and have made a good name for myself here I know I need to head out to LA if I want a better chance of making it as a DP. Moving there is going to be a big step since I'll have to restart my networking and begin working up the ladder again. Although shooting is my end goal, I want to keep working on the big shows when I'm not shooting so I can keep food on the table and a roof over my head. So my question is, how easy or difficult would it be to get unionized out in LA? Would my current membership and union experience help? Also, in LA do you have to pick a side? Electric or grip? thanks folks

Wrong area.

On silent mode the high pitched singing an HMI produces should be very low but it may still be present. However, the frequency the noise produces is much higher than most human voices produce and our ears can detect. I suggest setting up early and letting the heads burn for a while. The engineer should be able to pick up which frequencies they heads are playing on and mute them out of the mix.

The cost of building your own metal dolly track and doorway dolly system will cost more than just renting for the days needed. This is assuming that you take the time and acquire the materials to do it properly. PVC and some skate wheels won't cost much but your dolly movements will be bumpy and sloppy. Save yourself a lot of money and labor, just rent.

Good production design is what will trick the audience and sell the shot, not lenses. Best way to approach this: Have your designer set up a faux yard on the demo floor where you will be shooting. Some astro turf, a fake bush, and wall treatment that looks like siding. Start with an empty medium, have the actor enter the shot, follow him down to the mower as he turns it on, then slowly pull back. Have the faux yard big enough that you can pull back a few feet to keep the illusion of being on a real yard, then quickly introduce product signs and reveal the full showroom. The faux yard will then look like a demo area for that specific model and the audience should buy it. Also, I agree with Marcus. Get some cinestyle lenses!

In the next few weeks I will be gaffing a spec commercial. One of the locations is a mainstream looking club where the male character will be prowling for girls. The DP and I would like to have DMX controlled theatrical style heads however it is out of the budget. Initially my thoughts on creating moving sources and changing colors, maybe even some sharp patterns, would be to yank the lens out of fresnels and shoot them into mirrors. We could gel the mirrors and tape patterns on the glass, then rig the mirrors to rotate. On paper this could work but would take a lot of time building before hand. Thoughts? If you folks have any other tips or tricks for a set up like this I would love to hear.