Sanjay Sami

Why thank you Bryan ! How have you been ? I am thawing out after a freezing 4 months in Germany :-)

Interesting article, and thats how it often works, but I have a different take on it, and try and ensure (not always possible) that the movies that I am Key Grip on work differently.

For example in David Elkins case :

"I was on a union show as 1st AC, and during a setup for a new scene, the DP [director of photography]Â asked me to move the camera dolly a few inches. I unlocked the dolly, moved it, and as I was locking it in place, the Key Grip was right in my face and said, “If you touch that dolly again I’ll report you to the union.” "

If I was the Key Grip, my first reaction would be to ask why the Dolly Grip was not at the Dolly. If he needs relief, he should have another Grip standing by until he returns. I would thank the 1st AC for covering for an inattentive Grip Dept.

Leto,

I dont think many grips (me included) have a huge knowledge of the origins of their trade.

I believe you are based in the UK. The Grip system used there is very different from the system used in the US.

If you are in the UK and want to talk to very experienced grips, my advice would be to seek out Denis Frazer and Kenny Atherfold.

They are veterans who have been around a long time, and you could sit across a table from them and have a chat. Denis retired from active work on set a while ago (he runs Chapman Leonards operations in Europe) and Kenny Atherfold still works.

Slightly younger, but hugely experienced grips are John Flemming and David Appleby. Speaking to either of them would give you a wealth of knowledge. A lot of the really big jobs that happen in the UK are done by John and David, who apart from being great Grips, are also great guys.

Good luck, and welcome to the Grip World !

The Indie Dolly definitely looks the more solid of the 2 (I have no experience with either)

If you are looking for a dolly only for track, why not consider buying skateboard trays (the kind we sit a proper dolly on) and using a 1 inch thick ply board on it. It will be really smooth, you can mount anything on it, and it costs about the same as these other dollies.

http://www.willyswidgets.com/products/camera-dolly-32-wheel-channel-dolly-complete/

No problem for an interior.

Hi Jon ... just good old muscle :-)

Wes Anderson movies are a real test of precision. Am working on his next one as we speak.

I have never heard of narrow gauge track. Normally we just scssor the track to make it narrower as we need. It is variable. I lock to wheel arms on one side of the dolly, and keep the other side free. I usually use a PeeWee for narrow track shots.

Full, Half, Quarter & Pancake = 8", 4", 2" & 1"

I usually call the 3 orientations - 'Standing', 'Sitting' and 'Sleeping' - you need no knowledge of Geography to get it right.

Hire Ussain Bolt as your Dolly Grip.

I saw it at the broadcast expo in Mumbai. Its basically a 3 column riser instead of 2 risers. What that achieves is a lower bottom position without adding the dreaded low mode. What it sacrifices is payload capacity. It hasnt been out long enough to get reports from the field.

In my opinion, the lowered height ( a few inches) doesnt balance out the fact that you now have a lot more moving parts, and more stress on the overall system and a lowered payload.

I am not a big fan of the centre column dollies anyway.

Can you post a picture ?

And .... how on earth do you misplace a Mitchell gear head ??!!

It always looks that way, because the body of the head is mounted via a wire spring plate. This shakes the head (but does not jar it ) but the camera stays very stable. If you look at the head while the shot is in progress, it seems like its all over the place, but video playback is stable.

I like to use 8' long carpet runners. They can be purchased from a home improvement store (the blue or orange stores). They are just wider than the track. Flip them fuzzy side down and rubber side up so you can slide the runners and the track for adjustments.

Good idea.

Use silicone - it doesn't build up like Pledge does (although Pledge works fine)

for the creaking floor, I have found that if I give the sound guy a good pair of ear plugs, it solves the problem :)

I would make special skate things for a dolly. I don't know if you have the budget for a dolly or not. Pneumatic tires on the dolly should work nice on a rink. Depending on the speed I wouldn't put the grip on skates, but rather some nice boots with some yaktraxs. If you are under a tight budget, here's something I rigged up for a speedskating piece where we needed the camera low to the ice. I dished plexiglass with a heat gun to make mini saucer sleds to slide over the ice, it worked really well. After this photo, I added a longer cable for the camera and a t-bar for easier pushing.

 

Love it !! :)

Hi,

 

I'm trying to figure out the best dolly/slider solution for my specific application. I need to be extremely mobile (be able to transport my gear in the trunk of a NYC cab). As far as track goes, I think 4' is about as long I can go without having issues.

 

So, in order to do a fairly decent length dolly move, I'll need to find a way to connect speed rail in a fairly precise way, so that when the slider goes between two sections of track, there wont be a bump.

 

Anyone out there figure out a way to connect multiple sections of speed rail for this purpose?

You are not going to be able to make speed rail completely bump free. Get 4 foot sections of precision track and take out the cross pieces so that they occupy only 4 foot. If you get Panther stainless precision track, the sleepers can be bolted on very quickly. They join with latches on the I-beam part of the track. Very smooth.

Panther makes a 1 metre track. 4 foot would be a special order.

Zander take a look at http://www.dollygrippery.net

Use the search function. There is a wealth of information there.

Like D,

I too use Chapman where I have a choice. I own a Hybrid 3 and have made a bunch of bits for it.

I hate the push bars, so I made my own, which ends in an Anderton pin. This eliminates any play in the push bar to dolly connection and helps with slow moves when you've levelled lay-of-the-land.

I also made it longer, so I don't have to stoop to push.

If I think of more, I will post.

 

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.

For that kind of move a metronome works better than a stopwatch. You can get a metronome app on your ipod touch and listen with headphones if there is dialogue over the move. The speed of the clicks can be adjusted so you can tune it to whatever speed you need. You also do not need to keep glancing at marks, stopwatch and actors.

I've been searching around and either I find the thin moving blankets or the expensive quilted Matthews or similar named blankets.

 

I'd love to get some tip where to get the quilted furniture pads that also it advertised in the states for around 12 dollars each. Unfortunately the shipping price from the states is way more than the blankets, hence I want to find them here...

 

Thanks in advance!

Maybe IKEA or a home furnishing store ? I get them made out of rexine, so they can be cleaned easily .

You have discovered one of the most frustrating realities in the grip world.

All Mitchell / Moy fittings are not the same. There are small differences. Place a fisher and chapman mitchell receiver against each other - they dont match.

Hello, I'm looking to put together parts for a menace arm or two, but want to know exactly what I should be looking for? Also what would be the limits for it? In weight, length, etc. Is a hi hi overhead wide base stand fit for the job? And what type of pipe should be used

 

Will this do the job? http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/most11piboki.html

The Modern fittings will allow you to build a boom. Is that what you are trying to buid ?

A menace arm (as I know it) is this - http://www.msegrip.com/product/booms-arms/matthews-max.html

Hello, I'm looking to put together parts for a menace arm or two, but want to know exactly what I should be looking for? Also what would be the limits for it? In weight, length, etc. Is a hi hi overhead wide base stand fit for the job? And what type of pipe should be used

 

Will this do the job? http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/most11piboki.html

You will need to be more specific in your question. What materials you use will determine the length and load carrying capacity.

Do you have experience building or putting them together ? I am guessing you do not. In which case, the correct way to go about this is to work with someone who has experience.

Menace arms can cause a lot of damage and harm if not done right.

Hello all, my name is Ricardo (Ricky). I'm in the process of building a truck in Houston, I'm starting to bring in gels and need some frames. I'm still considering just buying some matthews 4x4s, but I do like to build a lot of stuff myself.

What would you use to build an open frame? The material, dimensions, etc? Or would it be less trouble to buy them from matthews?

 

And what would normally be a good amount and size of frames to have for a 2ton?

 

Thanks!

If you can weld aluminium, thats what I would suggest for 4x4's

You could use wood as well with a screw in baby pin. They can last fairly long if well cared for (I am lucky if mine make it through one film :rolleyes: )

My feeling is that its better to buy them. I make them only in an emergency, when we have an unexpectedly large lighting setup in a location where ordering more in time is not an option .

Not Claudio Miranda ? I did a movie with him, and he uses them as well, but not in the same way as Bob.

I'll ask Chris.

Take care

 

Samjay, why do you keep three 80'x200' black silks on your truck for a DP that rarely films in India? That seems like a lot of wasted space that could be filled with something that is used more often...

Only bring it in when I am working with Bob.

Chris is a good friend of mine.

The GF 16 crane is co-owned by Bob and Chris. While that crane is not well known in the States, it is a very popular ride on and remote crane elsewhere. Bob can be maddening with his "Bob-Com" radio commands whilst a shot is in progress, but in general, once you get used to it, it adds a lot of speed and reduces stress on set. I work with him in south east asia as well.

Chris did Hugo with him in the UK, but Dieter Bahr was his Key Grip on Inglorious Bastards in Germany. Dieter did not get on well with him, from what I have heard :-)