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Hello everyone, Technocrane is a great tool, and I try to use it whenever the logistics and budget allows for it. I recently shot a commercial on a soundstage in Istanbul where I had to hang actors on wires where they would spend the whole day so Technocrane with a zoom was an obvious choice. I could be versatile and fast. I designed a shot where we did a straight pull back from a window over a sofa. The lens was 25mm. The distance traveled was about 6-7 meters. The problem was that the beginning and end were too shaky. We talked this over with my DOP and the conclusion was that either the Flighthead was not able to accommodate the large 16.5-100mm (i doubt it) master zoom and/or the operator was not 'sensitive' enough to handle the shot (which is more likely since technocranes don't get rented quite often, so the crews don't have enough manhours). The speed was set to '6' at first. At that speed the shake was too much to stabilize and strangely on the z-axis too, I don't know how they did it. Then we gradually came down to 3! and even at that speed there was significant vibration during start and stop. The grips kept saying the lens was too heavy and that everybody stabilizes but I have my reservations. I don't think post stabilization is or should be the 'natural side-effect' of a technocrane shot. I mean I should be able to use it like a smooth dolly right? Supertechnocrane 30' - Flighthead- ArriAlexa - 16.5-100mm Master zoom. --

Im up to DP my third feature and we are shooting for 20 days. Its pretty ambitious for the budget but we arent doing anything super crazy - it is very much like the movie Prisoners in tone, story and cinematography. The Producer is wanting to shoot single camera, as to not have to spend money on the extra B camera, crew and post costs that come with more footage, and instead is in favor of getting more gear to make a better A camera. My initial thought was that we would need two cameras to make our days (I shot two cameras on my last feature, which was a comedy, and being able to leap frog with setup/shooting and get extra shots in when needed I felt saved us alot of time, and that is what I am pretty comfortable with. my first feature was single camera, but it was all handheld and a much much smaller scale.) This show is 100 percent sticks and dolly, some jib with occasional steadicam. Another thought was to shoot single camera mostly from a small technocrane (thinking the mini 6'-12' technocrane ,moviebird 17 or chapmans Hydrascope 15', I want to use it for interiors and my thought was anything larger might be too large for int scenes.) now I have never used a technocrane, but from what I have read and talking with my Key grip, I have heard they can save alot of time on set, and much are faster than dolly and sticks because I could get most if not all all my shots from a single setup. but they are expensive for sure.. Something to consideration is that I am working with an awesome first time director, but for his sake I thought single camera might be easier for him so he can focus on the one frame and not have his(and my own) attention shift between two cameras, so I feel the end product could benefit from single camera. And making him as comfortable as possible is high on my priority list (I normally operate, but Im choosing to get an operator so I can be with him at video village and support him the best I can) Another idea is having a remote head on a fisher 23 Jib arm on the Fisher 10 dolly in place of a technocrane like deakins does. I have my own thoughts, but in yalls opinion, how would that compare to the technocrane approach? I would love some opinions and advice! Getting a 2nd camera package and crew for it, or single camera on a small technocrane or remote head on jib? The producer is pretty open and trusts me, and I know if I make my case for either one, there is a good chance I'll get what I ask for. Thank you all so much! Chaz

If anyone is interested in buying a used 24ft techno crane that works and looks new just email me ....