Warwick Hempleman

Hi guys, sorry I'm late :) Their new dolly, which if I remember correctly was called the Albatros, was on display at the Cinec in 2014 in Munich. My opinion is biased and so I'll keep it to myself, excpet to say that it continues the tradition of Cine Tech dollies. That may be why you haven't seen one anywhere else yet.

Anybody else heading to Bydgoszcz? Camerimage has once again put together a good program and good workshops. I'll be there as will many of the usual suspects. The event is from Nov. 26th to Dec. 3rd. Here's a link to their site: http://www.pluscamerimage.pl/index.php?news=27008&lang=en

Bert, A simple explanation, really. I wanted to check with a person who would prefer to remain unidentified to keep his life simpler, so I went private. After I was able to contact him, he expressed no interest in getting involved in the rebuild projects and felt that he didn't have much to add to what's out there. So, let's see, respecting another person's right to privacy played a big role. Is that okay with you? Wick Hempleman J. L. Fisher GmbH

Keep at it with the methylated spirits, or petroleum, or acetone. Heat (like a heat pistol or hair dryer) will also help a lot. It'll take a while, but the gunk will all come off. If the C-stand is plated, DON'T use an abrasive.

I feel compelled to add a few words about track diameter, gauge and lengths. Standard Track diameter globally is an o.d. of 1 1/2" which is roughly 38mm. 1 1/4" is also common, but you'll find that most dolly wheels roll best on 1 1/2" as the manufacturers tend to build to that o.d. Standard Track Gauge is commonly 24 1/2" which is roughly 62 cm. A common length is 8', but as Phil says, use the lengths you get, especially when you are working with your own straight sections. The wooden sleepers work well, but bear in mind what your load rating will be on the sections. Spreading the sleepers too wide will certainly result in sag, bending or in a worst case scenario, breaking. Are you planning to construct curves? On that budget? As Phil says, get quotes up front. Phil, your dolly and track system looks great. Your description of how you've set it all up is excellent. I second your note on welding - don't do it (Pads lost me, too, by the way). Warwick Hempleman

Andrew, Rigging to planes is serious stuff. Don't do anything that is not approved by the FAA, the pilot, and your insurer. If any of these give you any reply less than "OK" in writing, do what they require for approval. When in doubt get a qualified person to perform the procedure. Like Brian said, the best thing in your case will probably be handheld and INSIDE the plane. Warwick Hempleman

If you can pull the covers (body panels) off the kart, go directly on to the frame. Grip heads and short or sawed grip arms will let you rig a platform fairly easily and flexibly. JD's comments about 3 points and not overtightening your safeties to the point that they compromise the primary rig are very good, also the camera tether and for that matter tethers in general. Those karts have next to no ground clearance, so any rig you add will lower and twist the car frame, watch for clearance and drag on the pavement. Above all, leave yourself time to rig. If you can get a kart for a few hours before shooting, buld rigs and play around. It will save an enormous amount of frustration on set. I just noticed the original request was in June - doh! - So how'd it go, Wes?

Ariel, It's not a myth at all. Rob and Onno pretty much hit all the bases. The main difference is flagging and rigging. You could say that's Us vs UK gripping, with the continent being a mix of both on smaller productions and smaller budgets. I tend to call what we do here in Germany the "Big Happy Family" school of crewing. Departmental jurisdictions are nearly nonexistent with very flat hierarchy. This works for smaller stories, but generally falls apart for big setups.

The accumulator fail is pretty easy to spot, loss of pressure, disappearance of oil as it displaces the gas, and ultimately loss of boom function. As long as the tires are normally inflated, using the troughs is no issue at all. As to a comparison - you're looking at machines that were designed decades apart. Fisher and Chapman built on what the McAllister and Moviola Studio dollies could do. It'd be nice to have a working McAllister sitting around a stage for low budget or maybe 3D rigs, but otherwise you'll get more fun faster with a newer dolly.

There was a thread some time back on McAllisters, if I recall correctly. And if I further recall correctly the biggest difficulty is finding a membrane accumulator for the dolly's hydraulics system. The type used in McAllisters is apparently no longer available new. Since the membranes inevitably fail, the issue was sourcing or making a comparable replacement, or replacing the accumulator wit ha comparable, newer design. Here you get into physical and weight constraints. As to the track, most dolly track is 1 1/2" in the US anyway, but riding on top of the rails with that dolly sounds dubious at best. The tires ought to fit into most skateboard troughs. And I stand by Pledge as an anti-squeak spray.

Or as Mr. Natural always said, "Get the right tool for the right job"!

Apart from securing the arm to the vehicle, you'll have enormous shake problems if you aren't using a stabilized remote head (Wescam, Libra, Flight Head, etc.), especially at anything approaching the speed of horses galloping. You may want to move the action to a location where the tracking vehicle is on a road and the horses & background are off-road. Also, horses will be very skittish with a crane arm swinging in front of their faces. Are the riders and horses familiar with working with cameras? Are the riders stunt people or "just" actors? Is your grip experienced with operating an arm in a moving vehicle? The physics of that are interesting, to put it gently. Is there enough room in the bed of the truck to operate the arm? Where are the remote head op, the director, the DP, the AC, sound, and the other essential crew going to sit / ride? Will the driver of the tracking vehicle be a stunt driver, or at least have experience doing this sort of thing?

..Not!

Servus Daniel, und Schöne Grüße an den Südtirol, The Elemack Cricket has a mechanically driven column, whereas the Magnum, Panther and GFM dollies use a pressurized gas cylinder. You will have extreme difficulty getting parts and service for an Elemack Cricket, so you might want to look in to that issue first. Oil leaking is a classic problem with the Elemack Spider dollies, the precursor to the Cricket. This almost always is a result of somebody pumping up the column before unlocking the risers. That permanently damages the seals, and - what a surprise - they leak oil. Elemack has good track wheels, but you'll want to see if they are integrated wheels, or if you have to swap the studio wheels for track wheels. Wick

** Shameless Plug ** Try a Fisher Model 23 next time out.

Robert, I'll second Sanjay's comments. Also, if you're looking at a used crane package, get the serial numbers and contact the manufacturer in case there's a record of an accident or repairs with that crane. By all means set the thing up in every possible configuration and see how it feels. you may find it easier to shop for the remote head package separately. I'm a fan of "Old Skool" analog heads, as they can take a licking and keep on ticking. Plus they're pretty cheap nowadays. Wick

Robert's covered it well. a 12 x 12 is a lot more sail area than the typical windsurfer uses. Make sure your guys know their knots, and remember that even properly tied, if the wind comes in at an opportune angle, the 12x could easily bend the top risers on your stands. We also used to tie the frame around the ears to the stands, to prevent them lifting out. Wick Hempleman

Sanjay's right. Round peg / square hole. The square track from Fisher is pretty well-represented in your area, Daryn. Unless the rental houses can provide you with a skateboard wheel sled specifically made for square curved track, or you can use a Fisher dolly on the rails, you won't be happy with the Elemack on it's wheels designed for round track. Shameless plug: Fisher does make round track of course, and we now have a very tight radius circle (4 90° sections). Maybe one of the places there would like to get some of our round stuff? I'll be at the NAB in April, by the way If any other readers make it out, come see me at the J. L. Fisher booth. Wick Hempleman J. L. Fisher GmbH

I wasn't able to call up the submission guidelines to see what was stated, but the Camerimage Student Etudes competition films are all shown on one day in one theatre. Camerimage is indeed set up to run multiple formats, but the Student Etudes screeings is a one day marathon, and is the only viewing chance for these films for the jury as well as for the audience. For those who have not been to Camerimage, the Wielky Theatre is a large theater (akin to West End or Vaudeville houses) seating several thousand, and is used as a cinema for the festival. If the requirement is for one medium, as the gentlemen who have worked other festivals will comfirm, it's not unreasonable. The Camerimage festival is unique in it's dedicaton to the cinematography, hence the stringent requirements for material. Some day it may of course go fully digital. Here's this year's jury for the Student Etudes: Sir Alan Parker - Jury President (director - Pink Floyd The Wall, Evita, Harry Angel, Birdy) Don Burgess (cinematographer - The Book of Eli, Forrest Gump, Contact) Don McAlpine (cinematographer - Tempest, Moulin Rouge) Lilly Kilvert (production designer - Legends of the Fall,The Last Samurai, The Siege) Lorenzo Codelli (film critic, advisor at Cannes festival and author) Allen Hughes (director, producer - Menace II Society, Out of Hell, Dead Presidents) Michael Seresin (cinematographer - Angela's Ashes, Mercury Rising, Birdy) Oliver Stapleton (cinematographer - Absolute Beginners, Buffalo Soldiers) Paweł Pawlikowski (director - From Moscow to Pietushki, Last Resort, Stringer) For those who have never made the trek to Lodz, I highly recommend it. Warwick Hempleman

I'm a little late replying. But I'll be there with J. L. Fisher. Drop by. Hope you got your print issue worked out. Warwick Hempleman

Apart from agreeing with the working brothers, let me add this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaverboard Beaverboard (also beaver board) is a light wood-like building material, formed of wood fibre compressed into sheets. Originally a trademark[1]. It has occasionally been used as a canvas by artists; most famously, the iconic painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood is painted on a beaverboard panel. That's what I always thought it was. What you attach to it or what it reminds you of is your business.

Riggs, What school is this from? What's the Serial Number on the dolly? If the school doesn't have a trained service tech, they NEED to contact Fisher imediately and set up a training date. The dollies are robust and can take a pounding for years, but sooner or later they need some work. The Tens especially are prone to lose Nitrogen, which as Daniel described is most likely the problem. Daniel, thanks for a succinct description of what the Cueing does, too. I'll be at Fisher in LA the next two weeks, and at the NAB after that.

Shameless plug: Licht-Technik GmbH, in Munich, has been making motorized yokes for years. Very reliable and adaptable to most available lamps. All control is DMX-based and can be expanded to barn doors and gels. Prior to ARRI's 18k, all the yokes marketed by ARRI were built by Licht-Technik.

I used to say "My weight is my rate" but that was 25 years ago and I was weightlifting. :) Call the unions and ask there. The brothers and sisters will surely provide you with our standard scale rates. In addition to calling the unions and asking for rate cards, ask crew guys iny our area. Assume that what they'll tell you is the top figure they'd ask for or have ever gotten. Further assume that depending on how busy they are, the price can be negotiated down quite a bit. Since you're talking about independent / non-union jurisdiction stuff, prices will be fluid. Also see where the guys stand on OT rates, weekend work, turnaround time and travel time & travel days if you have them in your schedule. Don't forget to ask about kit rentals or other charges the guys may hope to add on. In El Paso, some crew booking may go through rental houses, so you might want to ask what their package prices are like (equipment +truck+crew). Actors may be more interested in keeping their SAG benefits and eligibility days covered than getting overscale money, so as David says, you'll be able to use the rate cards as a fairly safe guide. Once you get your numbers where want'em add 10% across the board for whatever you haven't thought about. Later you'll be glad you did.

If you have some pictures, please do upload them. Also, you may be aware of the BSC Equipment show at Elstree this March 13th & 14th. You might be able to get some values there.