Jump to content

Arri gear head


Recommended Posts

Hey lads ,

 

Quick question about Arri gear head, I'd like to know what direction do the wheels go ? What direction does the left wheel turn at what rotation ? And that of the right wheel ? Also could they be changed ? As in could I change the rotation of the left wheel to the opposite ?

 

Hope this is not confusing ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are two wheels, pan and tilt. The pan is on the left side and when you turn it clockwise, you are panning left. When you turn it counter-clockwise you are panning right. The wheel at the back is the tilt. Turning the wheel clockwise will tilt up and turning it counter-clockwise will tilt down. You cannot change this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I know, you cannot change any mechanical geared head. Remotely operated Hot Heads can be changed.

 

Stuart is correct. The Hot Heads can be changed; which is a great feature

IMHO. The problem I have with Panavision and Arri geared heads is that

when rotating the right wheel clockwise (from the view point of someone

standing perpendicular to camera right) the camera tilts up, rather than

downward.

 

That seems counter-intuitive, and if one is not very well practiced on the

geared head, one might (as I have, to my embarrassment) screw up a very

important take.

 

 

-Jerry Murrel

CineVision AR

Little Rock

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem I have with Panavision and Arri geared heads is that

when rotating the right wheel clockwise (from the view point of someone

standing perpendicular to camera right) the camera tilts up, rather than

downward.

 

That seems counter-intuitive, and if one is not very well practiced on the

geared head, one might (as I have, to my embarrassment) screw up a very

important take.

 

I'm not quite sure what you are saying. The configuration that it is in works great. If you've ever done a shot where you are panning so fast that you have to let go of the pan wheel and push the camera with the tilt wheel, I think you would see the benefit. You wouldn't want to do that any other way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you've ever done a shot where you are panning so fast that you have to let go of the pan wheel and push the camera with the tilt wheel, I think you would see the benefit. You wouldn't want to do that any other way.

 

I would say you should probably be on a fluid head in that situation.

 

I found geared heads very counter intuitive when I first used them, and it took me a long time to 'unlearn' my preconceived notions of how they operated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say you should probably be on a fluid head in that situation.

 

I found geared heads very counter intuitive when I first used them, and it took me a long time to 'unlearn' my preconceived notions of how they operated.

 

Not necessarily. On a dolly move you sometimes need something to hang onto. If you have a fluid head and the handle is the only thing there is, it goes where you go. On the gear head. the head doesn't move unless you turn the wheel. Sudden stops on a fluid head is something that also looks horrible in dailies. Gear heads become very easy to use once you learn them. The fluid head is often a crutch for those that haven't figured it out. They aren't easy, that's for sure but their use and purpose is hard to argue.

Edited by Tom Jensen
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say you should probably be on a fluid head in that situation.

 

I found geared heads very counter intuitive when I first used them, and it took me a long time to 'unlearn' my preconceived notions of how they operated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stuart Brereton wrote:

 

"I found geared heads very counter intuitive when I first used them, and it took me a long time to 'unlearn' my preconceived notions of how they operated."

 

 

I quite agree. I remember prepping a 35mm shoot at Panavision Hollywood and noticing that the DP (an AFI graduate) had not requested a Panny geared head, even though we were using a dolly.

 

I asked for one and the kind folks at Panavision supplied it at no extra charge. When we started shooting, the DP told me I could return the geared head to PV, as he preferred to shoot with an O'Connor fluid head. He told me that for him it was much simpler.

 

A recent production still from "Water For Elephants" shows Rodrigo Prieto operating on a dolly shot. He was also using an O'Connor 2575 Fluid Head for ease of use. Of course, these are both instances of DPs operating, rather than SOC camera operators.

 

Tom is certainly right about geared heads being excellent tools, and the Worrals and Technoheads are much more affordable than a high end O'Connor. But more and more they seem to be relics from an age in which many cameras weighed 100 lbs or more.

 

I would still use one with a 65mm Panaflex camera or an IMAX film camera. And I would need to practice for many hours.

 

 

-Jerry Murrel

CineVision AR

Little Rock

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To each their own. It is really the DP's prerogative. The operator will often use what the DP says to use. Whatever gives you confidence and makes your life easier, use it. One of the beauties of the geared head is that you can count turns of the wheels for repeatable moves. This is particularly useful when you need to land on an exact spot on longer lenses. With a fluid head it is sometimes difficult to repeat moves to exact positions. Fluid heads are great, I have nothing against them but like any job, you have to have the right tool for the job. Sometimes you just can't do the move on a fluid and sometimes you just can't do the shot on a gear head. That being said, I would want a geared head on every job if I could get it. Just remember that as an operator, you MUST know how to use one. If you get called for a job and your camera is given the geared head, production and the DP expects that you can to the job. In the 80's I went up to Otto Nemenz just about every weekend and practiced on the geared head until every move became second nature. It just takes a little commitment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not necessarily. On a dolly move you sometimes need something to hang onto. If you have a fluid head and the handle is the only thing there is, it goes where you go. On the gear head. the head doesn't move unless you turn the wheel. Sudden stops on a fluid head is something that also looks horrible in dailies. Gear heads become very easy to use once you learn them. The fluid head is often a crutch for those that haven't figured it out. They aren't easy, that's for sure but their use and purpose is hard to argue.

 

 

If you're doing a move that is beyond the capabilities of a gear head (panning so fast that you need to drag the head by the tilt handle) then you are definitely using the wrong tool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're doing a move that is beyond the capabilities of a gear head (panning so fast that you need to drag the head by the tilt handle) then you are definitely using the wrong tool.

 

You just have to know what you're doing. It's a skill, not a mistake. I've done it many, many times and I've seen it done many, many times by the best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In addition, letting the wheels spin isn't using the geared head beyond its' capabilities, you're using it beyond your hand's capability to turn the wheel fast enough. Stopping the wheel is an art. You have to use your hand as a brake and it can get hot fast. You have to ease it to a stop. Trust me, I'm not the only one who does this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've seen it done many times too, but every time I've thought "why not just use the O'Connor?". Each to their own, I guess.

 

Because the O'Connor head might be on another camera. Do you really want to stop production to swap heads, especially if the other camera can't do the shot without it or it's on the next stage or out on 2nd unit? You just have to learn to do it. Sometimes the rehearsal goes great without it and in the middle of the take, all of a sudden things speed you have to spin the wheel. It might be a stunt and you have one shot at it and it could mean the difference in getting the shot and not getting the shot. And what if it is a full speed dolly move that comes to an abrupt stop? The fluid head will dip down just about every time. My point is that sometimes you don't have a choice. Do you want to be the guy that says, "I can't do the shot because I don't have the right head." That never goes over well. Switching to third gear might speed things up but then then small turns of the wheel make for big camera moves that aren't as easy to control. The smoothest moves are in the lowest possible gears.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, sometimes you don't have a choice, and you'll need to use a head in a way it wasn't intended to work, but on every other occasion you should choose the most appropriate tool for the job. In my humble opinion, fluid heads are better for whip pans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, sometimes you don't have a choice, and you'll need to use a head in a way it wasn't intended to work, but on every other occasion you should choose the most appropriate tool for the job. In my humble opinion, fluid heads are better for whip pans.

 

Right tool for the right job always makes ones' life easier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my operating career I did quite a few whip pans on geared heads ( as well as the fast spin of the pan wheel maneuver Tom describes). I also did them on fluid heads. Certain nuances of a shot, also considering where the shot goes before and after the whip pan, dictated which head I would use. Having both at your disposal give one a choice, which is nice, but it takes a lot of experience and trial and error before all of the advantages become apparent.

 

These days, the speed and strapped budgets have dictated that I just can't allocate the extra money for a geared head in my packages as it would come at the expense of other crucial items (there's not one ounce of fat--I generally have to make decisions on the tiniest accessory. Yay). It would be nice to offer my operators that choice, but times have changed. There are a few advantages of the fluid head that are undeniable--working a little zoom into the shot (I was never quite convinced that having the AC do it with the gun was the right way) and the 90 degrees of tilt either direction without the time hit of tilt plates (which mess up the operating feel as well). There are ways around a lot of the classic complaints about using a fluid head on the dolly, such as momentarily applying the tilt brake when coming to a fast stop and increasing tilt friction to avoid the sudden dips from acceleration. For as long as I disagreed with those who claimed that the geared head produced a "mechanical" or (interestingly) "American" look to operating, I had to slowly accept that the reverse was true--the fluid head is just as capable of the precision of the geared head. Certainly there are some great tricks like counting the wheel rotations (nailing those fast stand-ups and sit downs every time), but I'm glad to not have to waste any time on set watching heads get changed or cameras rebalanced (and wedges slid in) as tilt plates are engaged. I kinda miss them though.

 

For new operators, it's a tough time as they become more rare on set but it is still an important skill to learn as they are the de facto for remote heads. Not easy to get thrown onto a Technocrane and have to wrap one's head around a complicated backpan when you are still trying to remember which direction is tilt down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

Yeah, sometimes you don't have a choice, and you'll need to use a head in a way it wasn't intended to work, but on every other occasion you should choose the most appropriate tool for the job. In my humble opinion, fluid heads are better for whip pans.

 

 

 

Sometimes a fluid head can lend an imprecise look to the ends of whip pans that even very experienced operators can't fix. It's simple, but something I admire every time I watch it is in The Shining when Jack is chopping at the door with his axe. The camera is panning back and forth with every chop but both ends of the move are very crisp with no vertical movement. Precise. I assume that was a geared head.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The camera is panning back and forth with every chop but both ends of the move are very crisp with no vertical movement. Precise. I assume that was a geared head.

 

It may well have been a geared head, particularly if Kubrick was using his own Mitchell cameras. I still maintain that those moves are equally possible with an O' Connor. With a geared head you can count the turns; with a fluid head, it's all about muscle memory, but a good operator should be able to nail both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A trick that I use is to fold a long strip of tape in half lengthwise but leaving a good three inches of sticky exposed on each end and tape it to the iris rods and then pan to the end where you want the shot to stop. Tape the other end to a c-stand or something solid so when you whip pan the tape becomes tight and stops at the end of the pan. If that makes sense. I'm not always good at explaining things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like using both a gear head and a fluid head.

 

The gear head is more fun, hands down. I have no doubt a fine camera operator would be able to mimic a shot performed on a gear head using a fluid head - but I think the quick dolly in/out is much tougher with a fluid head even if the tilt brake is in perfect condition and is expertly applied.

 

My best reason for using the gear head is that a gear head is naturally static - that is holding a static frame seems to be a normal/default condition and putting the camera in motion requires a conscious effort. In a wide screen format especially I find that to be a positive. With a fluid head, the camera is naturally "alive" and connected to the operator - so when a movement or motion vector attracts the attention of the operator it often results in a small but noticeable 'chase' with the camera. It can require some real fortitude to let your brilliant artists move within the frame and a gear head, for me, supports a passive style where a fluid head tends to be more active.

 

Getting your hands on a really well maintained gear head is a whole different kettle of fish. Finding a really good gear head is tough. I own 2, an Arrihead and an Arrihead 2 and both are as perfect as I can get them - the model 2 is just back from routine servicing and it is not perfect so I will have to spend alot of time and money giving it another trip cross country for further attention. The best gear head I've come across lives at Arri Rentals in Germany and they really do know how to make their heads perfect. So far the best I've worked with in this country is a Panahead brand new out of the box and that was just plain 'sexy' good.

 

Happy panning and tilting!

 

Neal Norton

Camera operator

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great notes Neal. I agree with you that the condition and particular model of gear head becomes a critical factor once you get good enough that these details manifest themselves, much as a more experienced musician will demand more from their instrument, or closer to home, a Steadicam operator! In that regard, it's probably easier to walk onto a random set and have more luck with a resident fluid head, provided it is the brand of choice (for me, that list begins and ends with O'Connor).

 

Ultimately, I think much of the nuance comes down to satisfying the operator vs the final results. I'm not confident that I can detect what type of head was in use simply by watching the final product unless the operating was notably weak (revealing the giveaway), except possibly in the case of the classic fast push-in. I do feel that the use of the tilt plate presents more of a handicap to operating than is generally discussed, sometimes resulting in a "hitchiness" to fast tilts. I can point to a shot I did years ago in a well-known feature to illustrate this point (conveniently not found on Youtube...ha)!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...