Panther Dollies: Your thoughts

[himmat deol]

The only way the column can go up by itself is when the belt underneath between motor and spindle has come loose.

This can happen during transport (vibrations) and usage and should be checked regularly. The belt should be so tight that you can push it in for max. 1 cm with your thumb.

 

The motor has a brake build in that is in principle always braking when NOT powered. That is the "click" that you hear when you touch the control very lightly. But the brake can not dis-engage BEFORE the motor is powered.

The Panther is full of safety circuits and switches.

 

 

Ok .. but what bout down ???? . This happened in front of me recently . The dp came down on the column and the underslung seat bar that the grip had left on (although the dp was sitting on the regular seat) swung round and got stuck against the body. The grip took the dp back up to remove the bar and the second he hit the button the column UNLOCKED an came down 5 feet with a crash . The seat missed the grips hand by a couple of inches , Dp shaken but unhurt , camera and lens was ok but could only be confirmed after dailies .. an general panic for all around . We called panther and they told us the onlyway it could happen was if something obstructs the column on the way down . The column unlocks to prevent damage . Through a combination of human error and ignorance we came to that exact situation . So heads up everyone .

 

Worked on the Fisher 10 for the first time though .. What a beast .... But beautiful control and tracking . Will kill you liftin it though .. Did what we think is the world record longest track on Wes Anderson's "Darjeeling Limited " . But before i disclose , how long is the longest track you have ever seen on a dolly everybody ?

[David Erlichman]

how long is the longest track you have ever seen on a dolly everybody ?

 

I've done 200 ft + through a forest where the track at one point was touching ground and 3' in the air at other point (used LumaBeams). Two dollies on the rails too with Ops and focus pullers riding.

[robert duke]

200ft!!?!! wow, that bests mine, I laid a mere 160ft on a road only to have the director change the shot to a high hat off a pickup truck following a character 3 blocks.

[Tony Brown]

Panthers are a nightmare.... I use them in Turkey (no choice) and its painful. Avoid.

 

Movietech is an Italian copy of the Peewee..... Not great. My dolly of preference is still the Hustler. heavy, solid, super smooth jib...... fabulous bit of kit.

[Darryl Richard Humber]

Another thing that is superior on the Panther's is the fact that the DP can control the jib, which makes for much smoother and precise framing. Because even if you're the most experienced grip in the world, if you have a lot of marks and fast motion to hit, it's impossible to do smooth and precise jibs at the same time. Even with a grip assistant it's hard to nail on fast moves.

What dolly grip you been working with?

[Adam Frisch FSF]

What dolly grip you been working with?

 

Seriously, show me any grip that can gun it between two end marks repeatedly for a 3 minute song (which is a staple on music videos) with a fat DP (that'd be me) onboard and a heavy AC on a Fisher 11 AND hit precise smooth feathered jib marks. That's why they have grip assistants. Which we can't afford on music videos.

[Tony Brown]

Seriously, show me any grip that can gun it between two end marks repeatedly for a 3 minute song (which is a staple on music videos) with a fat DP (that'd be me) onboard and a heavy AC on a Fisher 11 AND hit precise smooth feathered jib marks. That's why they have grip assistants. Which we can't afford on music videos.

 

Traditionally in the UK it was always the 2nd AC's job to do the jibs (and zooms). I used to love it.

[Darryl Richard Humber]

Seriously, show me any grip that can gun it between two end marks repeatedly for a 3 minute song (which is a staple on music videos) with a fat DP (that'd be me) onboard and a heavy AC on a Fisher 11 AND hit precise smooth feathered jib marks. That's why they have grip assistants. Which we can't afford on music videos.

 

Sorry dude, I didn't mean to sound snarky, (my wife tells me that is a talent I unfortunately possess). But that is a common scenario that we (dolly grips) face every day. The Fisher 11 marking wheel is notorious for sticking, which makes hitting precise marks hard if you don't realize it's happening.

[Adam Frisch FSF]

That's fine - no snarkiness detected.

 

PeeWee's in my experience have a tighter "bite" on the jib than Fisher's do, but it varies from model to model. I just find that hydraulic or pneumatic dollies are a little less precise in this regard compared to the Panther's. But that's just my experience. The Panther's have other problems that make them unsuitable for many jobs.